From 24 to 29 August 2026, the Biotechnical Faculty will host the seminar “Multi-level Drought Monitoring and Precision Irrigation Management.”

With the support of the University of Ljubljana’s Development Fund (RSF), the seminar brings together students and professors from 13 universities across the Balkans with experts from the wider European region.

The seminar aims to strengthen the knowledge and competencies of young professionals in drought monitoring and measures for the efficient management of water in agriculture. Students will present their research case studies and discuss them with the participating experts. The seminar will be held in English.

Programme

Day 1 – 24 August

Multi-level soil water monitoring in Slovenia (L)

Assist. Prof. Dr Rozalija Cvejić • University of Ljubljana

Agricultural water management under climate change: metrology, modelling and decision-making (L)

Dr Bruno Cheviron • INRAE, France

Remote sensing-based drought indices (L)

Prof. Dr Atila Bezdan • University of Novi Sad

Soil water monitoring using in-situ sensors (L)

Assist. Prof. Dr Vesna Zupanc • University of Ljubljana

Soil water monitoring networks (W)

Dr Sebastian Weller • METER Group

Student presentations will follow (L)

Day 2 – 25 August

On-farm water storage solutions and technologies for efficient water use (L)

Prof. Dr Vjekoslav Tanaskovic • Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje

Proximal sensing of soil water using neutron detectors (L)

Prof. Dr Gabrijel Ondrašek • University of Zagreb

Processing and interpretation of proximal sensing data (W)

Dr Martin Schrön • UFZ

Student presentations will follow (L)

Day 3 – 26 August

Modelling crop water requirements (L)

Prof. Dr Ružica Stričević • University of Belgrade

Modelling crop water requirements (W)

Assist. Prof. Dr Aleksa Lipovac • University of Belgrade

Drought in South-Eastern Europe and drought-monitoring tools (L)

Dr Andreja Sušnik • Slovenian Environment Agency

Remote sensing and working with LSA SAF and H SAF data (W)

Boštjan Muri, Ahac Pazlar and Mateja Iršič Žibert • Slovenian Environment Agency

Student presentations will follow (L)

Days 4 and 5 – 27 and 28 August – will be dedicated to fieldwork (F)

Seminar participants will visit sites in the Savinja Valley and on the Slovenian coast, where they will test various approaches to soil water monitoring under real agricultural production conditions and learn how observations can support irrigation decision-making. The programme will include visits to the Slovenian Institute of Hop Research and Brewing and the Science and Research Centre Koper’s Institute for Oliveculture.

All lectures (L) are open to the public, subject to the capacity of lecture hall A2. Workshops (W) are closed sessions and will take place in computer room A3. Field visits (F) are also closed to the public.

Find out more about the seminar