Values
The Biotechnical Faculty is building an academic community of professors, researchers, students and other collaborators, and is striving to establish itself at home and in the world. It bases its research, education, professional and public activities on values:
- academic excellence,
- ensuring high quality,
- academic freedom for researchers, teachers and students, especially freedom of creativity and mutual cooperation,
- innovation,
- international orientation and comparability,
- autonomy in relation to society,
- humanism and human rights,
- an ethical and responsible attitude towards nature and society.
Ethical Infrastructure of the Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana
The Biotechnical Faculty of the University of Ljubljana has, within the framework of its Strategy 2022–2027, established a comprehensive ethical governance structure referred to as the ethical infrastructure of the academic community. This infrastructure is conceived as a coherent ensemble of components and functions, the collective purpose of which is to strengthen members' commitment to shared values and to promote conduct in accordance with the Code of Ethics, legal norms, and standards of accountability.
The foundation of the ethical infrastructure rests upon three interrelated processes: normative integration, institutionalisation, and the socialisation of values. Normative integration ensures that norms are coherently aligned both vertically and horizontally – from institutional leadership to every individual member of the community. Institutionalisation refers to the embedding of ethical, legal, and other norms within the organisational structure of the Faculty. The socialisation of values, in turn, ensures that members of the academic community understand, internalise, and apply these norms in their day-to-day professional conduct.
Key Documents and Components
The ethical infrastructure of the Biotechnical Faculty is underpinned by the following key documents and components:
- Code of Ethics of the Biotechnical Faculty, UL – the central normative document, integrating principles of deontological ethics, virtue ethics, and utilitarianism, whilst establishing standards of academic integrity.
- Rules of Procedure of the Ethics Commission – governing the composition, competences, and procedures of the Commission as a working body of the Faculty Senate.
- Strategy of the Biotechnical Faculty, UL 2022–2027 – the strategic framework within which the establishment of an ethical infrastructure is identified as a priority activity.
- Code of Ethics for Researchers of the University of Ljubljana (2014) and the European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity by ALLEA (rev. 2023) – providing the external reference framework for scientific and research activities.
A particularly significant role within the ethical infrastructure is assigned to ethical communication, which serves as the principal mechanism for transmitting values from institutional leadership to every individual member of the academic community. Furthermore, the ethical infrastructure is closely aligned with broader objectives of sustainable development, as the Biotechnical Faculty understands its ethical responsibilities in the context of global challenges and the United Nations 2030 Agenda. In this respect, the ethical infrastructure extends well beyond internal organisational boundaries and becomes an expression of the Faculty’s commitment to the natural environment, human rights, and a sustainable future.