About the Landscape Governance College in a nutshell

The Landscape Governance College is an independent institution of higher education that implements a first-cycle higher professional education study program in Landscape Management. This program spans diverse fields, such as agriculture, tourism, nature protection, economy, and logistics.

The higher professional education study program in Landscape Management is officially registered and accredited by the Slovenian Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (NAKVIS). Our institution holds full membership status within the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA) and is listed in the European Quality Assurance Register for Higher Education (EQAR). The duration of the 1st cycle program is six semesters (3 full years). The language of instruction is Slovenian.

Apart from working on domestic and local farms, the graduates of the College can apply for the positions in:

– administrative units, municipalities and other public institutions,

– the tourism sector,

– the economic sector,

– in landscape parks,

– logistics,

– development agencies,

– energy companies, and more.

Throughout their studies, students acquire a set of diverse skills as well as a sufficient knowledge base that enables them to pursue entrepreneurial ventures. The thesis themes can be chosen from various fields, such as landscape, tourism, logistics, economy, and energy.

Novo mesto is the economic and cultural center of Dolenjska, positioned in the southeast region of Slovenia. Recognized as a regional center of national significance, Novo mesto offers as well as demands good opportunities for the rapid advancement of higher education and research domains. Novo mesto organizes various social and project based events, providing the students with excellent opportunities to meet new colleagues and cultivate closer ties with their peers from other faculties.

The College focuses on life sciences, logistics, organic farming, forestry, environmental protection, and tourism. Through the education of competent experts and the stimulation of research activities and practical partnerships with local stakeholders, we share the responsibility for the development of tourism and rural activities in our local environment. Our College’s vision is embodied in the motto: With a tradition for the advanced countryside.

We provide various study subjects, such as Logistics, Challenges in Agriculture, Landscape Management, Alternative Energy, New Challenges in Animal Husbandry, and Nature Conservation. Important subjects integrate tourism as well. Sustainable tourism enables students to acquire knowledge and skills in the following spheres of activity: Sustainable Development with a Focus on Natural Resources, Entrepreneurship and Marketing, Integrated Rural Development, Rural Tourism, Renewable Energy, Ecoremediation, Adventure in Tourism, and Tourism Planning.

Internationally, as the recipients of the Erasmus+ charter, we actively participate in the Erasmus+ projects and other forms of international partnerships, which enables our students to apply for internships in foreign enterprises and educational institutions. We provide students and lecturers with state-of-the-art laboratories and other teaching facilities, as well as a variety of hands-on experiences at the Inter-Entrepreneurial Training Center and the Institute for Landscape Management.

The aforementioned educational contents contribute to the development of circular economy in tourism which provides many entrepreneurial opportunities, especially for women in rural areas. The acquisition of the knowledge that is interdisciplinary oriented, based on research and easily applicable in practice is of utmost importance for the development of the Slovenian countryside in the third millennium.

Brief History of the College

The story of the Landscape Governance College, an institution of higher education established by Grm Novo mesto ― the Centre of Biotechnics and Tourism on one hand and the Municipality of Novo mesto on the other, has quite a few memorable chapters. Since 2004, the desire to establish a university has been clearly expressed by the Municipality of Novo mesto. Simultaneously, Grm Novo mesto also considered the possibility of setting up its own higher education institution with clearly expressed academic ambitions, which would serve as an upgrade of other educational institutions within the complex of Grm Novo mesto. Consequently, both the Municipality and Grm Novo mesto joined forces to establish the Landscape Governance College Grm Novo mesto. Therefore, in 2006, a project team set up specifically for this very purpose took the first steps leading both to the establishment of a new educational institution and the accreditation of its higher professional education study program in Landscape Management. In 2008, in collaboration with the University Research Center Novo mesto, an application for the accreditation of the College was compiled and the establishment process formally began.

Major historic turning points

2012 Accreditation of the institution

2012 Establishment and entry in the court register

2013 Accreditation of the study program

2014 Entry into the record

2014 Beginning of the 1st cycle study program

2014 Acquisition of the Erasmus Charter for Tertiary Education 2014-2020 (ECHE)

2016 The first defence of the thesis

2016 The first hosting of students abroad

2016 The first hosting of lecturers abroad

2016 The first edition of the Journal of Landscape Governance

2018 The first ceremonial diploma award

2019 Reaccreditation of the study program

2021 Ordinance on the establishment of our independent higher education institution

2023 The second ceremonial diploma award

2024 Reaccreditation of the study program

We are proud of the journey we have made so far, and we are confident that in the future we will continue to write further relevant chapters in the history of the College. Some contours of the future are already showing on the horizon in the shape of various applicative projects.

To give a further boost to the intellectual and research activities at the College, we are also working on a master’s program in Landscape Management subdivided into six thematic sections, namely, Communication culture, Innovative rural tourism adventure, Contemporary cooperatives, Environmental systems, Viticulture and winemaking, and Social protection services in the countryside. With the implementation of the new program, we want to respond to the current challenges in the countryside in a more efficient way, being aware of the fact that the future of Slovenia and its people vitally depends on the preservation of the Slovenian countryside and cultural landscape, the ability of the Slovenians to grow high-quality crops and agricultural produce, and the Slovenian orientation towards sustainable and socially responsible development. It is up to us to empower and enable young people to work in jobs where they will implement their plans and enrich their professional, theoretical, and practical knowledge. Many young generations are not indifferent to what kind of environment we live in today and how we will live in it tomorrow. Let’s give them a chance.

Mission

To train excellent staff in such a way as to ensure the sustainable use of rural areas, and foster research activities which respond to needs of the rural environment.

Vision

To become a point of contact between various public and private institutions from Slovenia and the EU in order to improve rural planning and foster sustainable use of natural resources, which will enable the employees and students at the College to become competent guardians of the local rural environment, rural population and nature.

Values

• Credibility, ethics, and transparency: we develop fair and sound interpersonal relationships with students, and value the environment in which we live and work;

• Work: we regard work, both physical and intellectual, as a value and this notion is communicated to our students in anticipation that they will internalize it;

• Social responsibility for sustainable development: collaborators and students develop a responsible attitude towards our institution, towards the field of their work, and towards Slovenian rural areas to ensure the well-being of students, employees, and society as a whole;

• Creativity: we promote the development of new knowledge and encourage intellectual (self)reflection, we also encourage the search for innovative solutions in our common work environment;  

• Affiliation: we encourage the affiliation of employees and students to the institution, our common goals, and our work environment;

• Accessibility: we encourage co-workers and students to communicate with each other, overcome the status barriers between us, and develop innovative communication;

• Academic freedom: we are a politically, religiously, racially, and nationally independent institution that promotes tolerance in society and pursues, above all, professional goals;

• Academic excellence: we develop academic excellence in the pursuit of higher education, and business excellence in the performance of business functions;

• Employability of graduates: we care for the development of our graduates’ competencies, which enable them to get quality jobs and develop personal careers;

• Humanism, open society, human rights, and equal opportunities: we promote the values of tolerance, personal and political freedom, and responsibility for the weaker in human society.

Strategic guidelines

The excellence of educational work

The excellence of applied research work

Employee satisfaction

Satisfaction of students

Satisfaction of clients with our services

Consolidation and visibility in the environment

Development of new professions in response to the changing needs of our social environment

The slogan of the College: With a tradition for the advanced countryside!