Prof. Janez Bešter is the Head of the Chair of Information and Communication Technologies and the Deputy Head of the Laboratory for Multimedia at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, University of Ljubljana. His research and development work encompasses the design, implementation, and optimization of convergent communication systems, with a particular focus on the introduction of interactive multimedia services in the fields of healthcare, energy, and education. Mechanistically rooted in science, his activities span the fields of ICT, multimedia, e-learning, and talent recognition and development, striving for solutions that enhance added value in the economy and improve the quality of life.
He actively participated in the founding of the Slovenian Technological Network ICT, the ICT Center of Excellence, and the establishment of OpenLab. As the long-standing head of the Laboratory for Telecommunications and later the Laboratory for Multimedia, he led a team of more than fifty colleagues and participated in numerous, often pioneering projects with Raziskovalni partners. He was also one of the key initiators for the establishment of the interdisciplinary Multimedia study program at the University of Ljubljana.
As part of his pedagogical work, he has mentored more than 280 diploma, master’s, and doctoral students, as well as eight young researchers. Between 1997 and 2020, he managed more than fifty projects and participated in numerous Industrijski initiatives both nationally and internationally. His bibliography comprises more than seven hundred units, and he is a co-inventor of one European, five American, and twelve Slovenian patents. His professional activities are further complemented by cooperation in international technological networks and projects that connect education, science, and the economy while fostering the development of a talent ecosystem.