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ECOTOPIA Summer School


The ECOTOPIA Summer School - CIRCULAR ECONOMY focuses on presenting an alternative approach to building a successful yet sustainable economy via the circular or regenerative approach.

Based on projects, we can offer covering themes such as:

  • extended knowledge of the challenges of sustainable development by dimension (environmental, social, economic),
  • the role of consumers as agents of change,
  • the role of companies in the implementation of alternative business models (e.g. circular approach),
  • the role of innovation (green innovation),
  • the accompanying changes in the labour market and the importance of green jobs,
  • the role of the state with public finances and programs to support sustainable development,
  • regulatory change and others.

The program will offer a pragmatic approach and overview of how circular economy solutions are implemented on the ground, including case studies, study visits, and participatory workshops to enable constructive and didactic discussion with the participants.

The educational process is designed to be interactive; students will be asked to cooperate in discussions, participate in field (company) visits and study the presented example. They will be asked to research the business model of the visited companies and relate those to problems of sustainable development/circular economy to crucially evaluate the potential of a model to contribute to circular change. Students will be asked to submit reports, present, and primarily discuss their observations as part of their learning process.

Connected Community Activities
Upcoming Activities

Coming soon

Past activities

How to get involved?

Contacts 
Lead: Dr. Jan Porenta (jan.porenta@ef.uni-lj.si) 
Local Facilitator: Mateja Melink (mateja.melink@uni-lj.si) 

Connected Community Members


Click on names below to see picture and short biography
Lead: Jan Porenta (UL); Email: jan.porenta@ef.uni-lj.si

Jan Porenta earned a bachelor’s degree in Business Economics (2016) and a master’s in Economics (2018) from the University of Ljubljana. Since 2019, he has been a teaching assistant at the School of Economics and Business (SEB LU), where he teaches courses in public and international finance, taxation, EU economic policies, and microeconomics. In 2024, he completed a PhD in Money and Finance with a dissertation focused on development banks. He co-authored a textbook, contributed to scientific monographs, and published original research papers in leading finance journals. His current research explores the role of development banking in economic stability. He is actively involved in interdisciplinary and policy-oriented projects, including collaboration with the Slovenian Ministry of Finance on developing models for EU budget contributions linked to green transition mechanisms. He also contributes to the Personalized Medicine for Healthy Ageing project, which promotes genome-based healthcare strategies with an emphasis on fiscal sustainability.
Partner: Enrica Croda (UNIVE); Email: enrica.croda@unive.it

Coming soon

Partner: Valentina Fava (UNIVE); Email: valentina.fava@unive.it

Coming soon

Partner: Ramon Xifré (UPF); Email: ramon.xifre@esci.upf.edu

Coming soon

Partner: Mathieu Martin (CYU); Email: mathieu.martin@cyu.fr

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Partner: Cristian Litan (UBB); Email: cristian.litan@ubbcluj.ro

Coming soon