His Excellency Nigel Baker, Chargé d'Affaires a.i. at the British Embassy in Ljubljana, today, 12 June 2026, at the residence of the British Embassy in Ljubljana, received the winning team Balkan Link, which will represent Academia Institute of Technology and Slovenia at the beginning of July at the global final of the international Map the System competition at the University of Oxford.
The reception was attended by members of the Balkan Link team – Vojdan Lokvenec, Danica Biševac, Nemanja Božić – together with lecturer and mentor Uršula Butkovič and Academia director Žan Dapčevič.
Nigel Baker congratulated the students on their victory at the local final and wished them a successful presentation of their research work at the global competition in Oxford. The meeting was dedicated to the presentation of their project, discussion of preparations for the final, and the importance of international cooperation, systems thinking, and the involvement of young people in finding answers to complex social challenges.
Balkan Link will represent Slovenia in Oxford
The Balkan Link team won the local final of the Academia x Oxford: Map the System programme in May 2026, in which seven teams of Academia students participated. With this victory, they secured their place at the global final, which will take place from 8 to 12 July 2026 at the University of Oxford.
The students will thus represent Academia and Slovenia on the international stage and present their research work to students, mentors, and experts from universities around the world.
The team investigated the systemic vulnerability of migrant workers from Western Balkan countries in the Slovenian construction sector. They analysed the interconnection of work permits, subcontracting chains, lowest-price pressure, working conditions, and institutional supervision.
In doing so, they demonstrated that workers' exposure does not stem solely from individual violations, but from a broader system of rules, economic incentives, power relations, and practices that can lead to unpaid wages, excessively long working hours, dangerous working conditions, and inadequate accommodation.
Among the key levers for change, the students highlighted greater worker mobility between employers, safe and multilingual channels for reporting violations, greater responsibility of main contractors for conditions in subcontracting chains, and the integration of working conditions quality into public procurement procedures.
Recognition of knowledge, research work, and social responsibility
The reception at the residence of the British Embassy represents important recognition for the students, their mentor, and Academia, as well as additional encouragement ahead of their appearance at the global final.
"The qualification of the Balkan Link team for the global final is proof that students of short-cycle degree programmes can, through in-depth research work, systems thinking, and understanding of real challenges, successfully compete in the international academic environment. We are grateful to His Excellency Chargé d'Affaires Nigel Baker and the British Embassy for the reception, support, and words of encouragement to our students ahead of their departure to Oxford," emphasised Academia director Žan Dapčevič at the meeting.
The Map the System programme, developed by the Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship at the Saïd Business School of the University of Oxford, encourages students to first understand the broader system, its stakeholders, causes, patterns of behaviour, and power relations, rather than seeking quick and simplified solutions.
Academia 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 the field of systems thinking, research, stakeholder analysis, systems mapping, and public presentation of findings.
The Balkan Link team will continue intensive preparations for the global final in the coming weeks, where they will present their findings to the international professional community.
Balkan Link, Academia, and Slovenia – Oxford, here we come!
Studies are delivered in Slovenian – ask us how to apply.
B1 Slovenian is required; we offer a free preparatory course. The admissions team replies within one working day.
Source: Academia (12. 6. 2026).
This English summary was produced automatically from the Slovenian article and is pending editorial review. Slovenska različica
