The Balkan Link student team, which represented Academia and Slovenia at the global final of the Map the System 2026 programme, won the Excellence Award in the Inclusion of Underrepresented Voices category at the University of Oxford – an award for excellence in including the voices of underrepresented groups.
The award is given to projects that actively place the perspectives of marginalised groups and their real-life experiences at the centre of systems analysis. The team received the award for their research into the systemic vulnerability of migrant workers from Western Balkan countries in the Slovenian construction sector.
The global final, held between 9 and 12 July 2026 at the Saïd Business School of the University of Oxford, brought together 48 student teams from 19 countries worldwide and more than 250 students, mentors and lecturers.
Workers' Voices at the Centre of Systems Analysis
The Balkan Link team consists of Academia students Vojdan Lokvenec, Danica Biševac, Nemanja Božić and Riad Imširović, and their applied research work was mentored by lecturer Uršula Butkovič.
The students analysed how work permits, subcontracting chains, lowest-price pressure, working conditions, access to information and the effectiveness of institutional oversight interconnect within the Slovenian construction sector.
The particular value of their research lay in the fact that they did not treat migrant workers merely as a statistical or administrative category. They placed their life experiences, obstacles, dependency relationships and limited possibilities for action in cases of violations at the forefront.
They demonstrated that workers' vulnerability is often not merely the consequence of individual violations or irresponsible employers, but of a broader system of rules, economic incentives, subcontracting relationships and power dynamics. Such a system can create conditions for non-payment of wages, excessively long working hours, dangerous working conditions, inadequate accommodation and fear of reporting irregularities or changing employers.
It was precisely the team's ability to include the voices of people who directly experience the consequences of the system in their demanding systems analysis that was recognised at the global final with the Excellence Award for Inclusion of Underrepresented Voices.
From Understanding the Problem to Levers for Change
The Balkan Link team also identified key points at which the system could be gradually changed. These include:
- greater mobility of migrant workers between employers,
- accessible, safe and multilingual channels for reporting violations,
- greater responsibility of main contractors and clients for conditions throughout the entire subcontracting chain,
- more effective cooperation between supervisory institutions,
- inclusion of quality of working conditions and respect for workers' rights in public procurement procedures.
In doing so, the students were not looking for a single quick solution, but rather showed the connections between individual parts of the system and pointed out that lasting changes require coordinated action by the state, clients, contractors, trade unions, support organisations and workers.
What Is Map the System?
Map the System is an international educational programme and global student competition run by the Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship at the Saïd Business School of the University of Oxford.
The programme encourages students not to focus immediately on developing a solution when addressing complex social and environmental challenges. They must first conduct in-depth research into the system, its stakeholders, historical development, power relationships, behavioural patterns, economic incentives and root causes of the problem.
Map the System is therefore primarily a process of research and understanding. Students prepare a written systems analysis, literature review, visual system map and public presentation of their findings. Since 2016, the programme has connected more than 140 partner institutions and trained more than 15,000 students in systems thinking approaches.
Academia Has Been Part of the Programme Since 2021
Academia has participated in the Map the System programme since 2021, when civil engineering student Lucija Pretner became the first Academia representative to reach the global final with her research into negative attitudes towards renewable energy sources in Slovenia.
Since then, the programme has become an important part of developing interdisciplinary research, analytical and presentation competences of Academia students. In the 2026 local final, seven student teams at Academia participated, researching various complex social and environmental challenges. The winning Balkan Link team secured their place at Oxford through their success at the local final.
For the first time this year, students who successfully completed their participation in the programme also received a micro-credential worth five ECTS credit points, which formally recognises their competences in systems thinking, research, stakeholder analysis, creating system maps and public presentation of findings.
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International Recognition for Academia Students and Slovenian Higher Vocational Education
The award received represents significant international recognition for the students, mentor and Academia. At the same time, it demonstrates that students at institutes of technology can successfully compete in demanding international academic environments through high-quality applied research work, understanding of real social challenges and use of contemporary analytical approaches.
The Balkan Link team showed in Oxford that systems thinking is not merely an academic method, but a way to better understand people, their experiences and the circumstances that shape their lives.
Balkan Link, congratulations on your outstanding achievement and excellent representation of Academia and Slovenia at the University of Oxford!
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Source: Academia (13. 7. 2026). Fotografije: arhiv Academie.
This English summary was produced automatically from the Slovenian article and is pending editorial review. Slovenska različica
