The Open Day is a special annual event held at the Jožef Stefan Institute for the general public, where visitors can choose between fourteen different programmes with organised visits to different laboratories and research departments, where everyone can learn more about specific science topics and research areas, see how research activities take place and to take a bit of insight into the life of a researcher. Besides different programmes, visitors can partake in several additional activities and research presentations.
The Open Day 2026 was held on 28 March 2026 as part of the 34th Days of the Jožef Stefan, which are held to commemorate Slovenian physicist Jožef Stefan and to popularise science in society.
From initial steps …
The Open Day presents an excellent opportunity to share information about relevant scientific findings and to share knowledge with a wider audience, which led the IFIGENEIA team at the Jožef Stefan Institute to start preparations already in late Autumn 2025. Several different options were discussed on how to present the IFIGENEIA project to a public with different interests in order to combine the project’s main objectives with interesting and engaging content for visitors.
… to the presentation at the Open Day 2026 …
Every visitor had the option to learn more about the IFIGENEIA project, its goals and activities, no matter which Institute’s main location they had visited, since presentations were held both in Ljubljana and in Dol pri Ljubljana. Presentations were combined with information for raising awareness about the cancer and available options to address this challenge in the scope of the IFIGENEIA project.
To make things even more interesting for children and everyone interested in the ways to solve the cancer challenge, visitors were guided to a crossword puzzle on the IFIGENEIA website. Those who solved it during their visit immediately received a prize for their effort, while others had the option to send a solution via e-mail and receive a symbolic reward.
Between both locations, visitors could use the option of a bus transport, and to pass the time while on the road, the seats were equipped with leaflets with (1) a question, closely connected with their destination at the Reactor centre and the IFIGENEIA project, and (2) a QR code to the IFIGENEIA website and the crossword puzzle.
… and increased interest in the IFIGENEIA project
All IFIGENEIA-related activities on the Open Day 2026 at the Jožef Stefan Institute led not only to immediate interest from the visitors at both institutes’ locations, but also to the greatest ever measured number of visits on the IFIGENEIA website since it launched in 2025.
This success encourages the whole IFIGENEIA team to continue with preparing new interesting content for our website, which will often include information beyond the scope of the IFIGENEIA project. Just a small teaser – a new thematic series of articles will start very soon. Stay tuned and keep following our website and LinkedIn for more information!
