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12 Aug 2025

8th Slovenian Geotechnical Conference and 24th Šuklje Day

Geotechnics facing the challenges of climate change

1st – 3rd October 2025 at the Rogaška Congress Centre in Rogaška Slatina

Dear colleagues!
We kindly invite you to the main event of our society – ​​the 8th Conference of Slovenian Geotechnicians and the 24th Šuklje Day, which will take place from 1st to 3rd October 2025 at the Rogaška Congress Centre in Rogaška Slatina.

The central theme of the 8th conference is “Geotechnics facing the challenges of climate change” – climate change is increasingly affecting geotechnical approaches that must be taken into account when planning and constructing infrastructure and other facilities. Geotechnics is facing new challenges and opportunities – from sustainable environmental management and the reuse of materials to reducing the impact of construction on ecosystems. The progress of modern technologies, digitalization and the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning open up new possibilities for more accurate modeling, faster data analysis and project optimization. Current topics will be presented, such as the use of geothermal energy as a sustainable source of heat, the interdisciplinary integration of geotechnics with other fields, the new generation of Eurocodes and standards, and the role of geotechnics in ensuring the safety of transport infrastructure and the seismic resistance of structures. Special attention will also be paid to determining the properties of soils and rocks, challenges in the construction of tunnels and deep excavations, and the sustainable use of geosynthetics.

The first day of the conference will be dedicated to presentations of the conference contributions. The series of presentations will be opened by ISSMGE Vice President for Europe Prof. Lyesse Laloui with an invited lecture entitled: “Revolutionizing Foundations: Advances in Thermo-Active Piling Engineering”, which, given the topic of the conference, is the best possible introduction to the three-day event. Let us also highlight an important foreign guest, Prof. Loretta Batali, who will present the New generation of Eurocodes, technical specifications and standards in geotechnics as part of a round table discussion.

The 24th Šuklje Day, our traditional professional meeting, will take place this time on October 2, 2025 in the afternoon part of the program. The main Šuklje lecture will be given by Prof. Matthew Coop (University College London) entitled “From Continuum to Particulate Mechanics in Coarse Grained Soils”, with an emphasis on the transition from continuum approaches (FEM) to modeling coarse-grained soils using the discrete element method (DEM), with selected examples from practice and a view on the future of laboratory testing in geotechnics.

The invited local lecturers are:

Dr. Rok Varga (UM FGPA): “Optimal design of geothermal piles” and

Dr. Galena Debevec Jordanova (MNVP): “Use of InSAR for monitoring the stability of slopes and structures”

You are kindly invited to attend the event, exchange experiences, and contribute to the development of geotechnical engineering in a time of new challenges and opportunities!

Program

1st OCTOBER 2025
08:00 – 09:00Registration
09:00 – 10:00Opening ceremony of the 8th Slovenian Geotechnical Conference
10:00 – 11:00Invited lecture 
prof. dr. Lyesse LALOUI: Revolutionizing Foundations: Advances in Thermo-Active Piling Engineering
11:00 – 11:30Break (exhibition)
11:30 – 13:00Presentation of papers with discussion
13:00 – 14:30Lunch (exhibition)
14:30 – 16:00Presentation of papers with discussion
16:00 – 16:30Break (exhibition)
16:30 – 18:00Presentation of papers with discussion
19:00Reception
2nd OCTOBER 2025
09:00 – 10:30Presentation of papers with discussion
10:30 – 11:00Break (exhibition)
11:00 – 12:30Round table discussion – prof. Loretta Batali: New generation of Eurocodes, technical specifications and standards in geotechnics
12:30 – 13:00Closing ceremony of the 8th Slovenian Geotechnical Conference
13:00 – 14:30Lunch (exhibition)
24. Šuklje day
14:30 – 14:45Opening ceremony of 24. Šuklje day
14:45 – 15:45Šuklje lectureprof. Matthew Coop: From Continuum to Particulate Mechanics in Coarse Grained Soils
16:00 – 16:30dr. Rok Varga (UM FGPA): Optimization of geothermal piles design
16:30 – 17:00dr. Galena Debevec Jordanova (MNVP): Using InSAR to monitor slope and structure stability
17:00 – 17:30Break (exhibition)
17:30 – 18:30Slovenian geotechnical society members’ meeting – Presentation of the society’s activities 2024/2025 
General report – Suzana Svetličič
ISSMGE report – dr. Janko Logar
ISRM report – dr. Vojkan Jovičić
IAEG report – dr. Timotej Verbovšek
IGS report – dr. Slavko Lenart
18:30 – 18:40Conference conclusion
18:40 – 19:10IGS section members’ meeting
20:00Celebration dinner
3rd OCTOBER 2025
09:30 – 14:00Technical excursion
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Registration and registration fee

Included in registration fee:

  1. Šuklje lecture proceedings
  2. Proceedings of 8th Slovenian geotechnical conference
  3. Refreshments during breaks and lunches
  4. Reception and celebration dinner
  5. Excursion
RegistrationSloGeD membersNonmembers
before 26. 9. 2025300,00 €350,00 €
after 26. 9. 2025350,00 €400,00 €

Accommodation reservation – Grand Hotel SAVA


Application form

Organizing Committee of the Conference:

  • President: ga. Suzana Svetličič
  • Vicepresident: doc. dr. Borut Macuh
  • Secretary: mag. Sebastjan Kuder
  • Prof. dr. Janko Logar
  • izr. prof. dr. Vojkan Jovičić
  • prof. dr. Timotej Verbovšek
  • doc. dr. Stanislav Lenart
  • Mrs. Vanja Selan
  • Mr. Marko Bebar

11 Nov 2024

The twenty-third Šuklje’s Day, 6 December 2024, Postojna, Slovenia

Artificial Intelligence in Transportation Geotechnics: Current challenges and future opportunities in research and practical engineering

Dear Distinguished Colleagues and Friends

We are pleased to invite you to the traditional 23rd Šuklje’s Day, which will take place on Friday, 6 December 2024, in Postojna at Hotel Jama.

This year, we are privileged to welcome the esteemed Professor António Gomes Correia as our distinguished 23rd Šuklje’s lecturer.

Professor António Gomes Correia is an Emeritus Professor at the University of Minho in Portugal and an Honorary President of the Portuguese Geotechnical Society. He graduated in Civil Engineering from the Technical University of Lisbon (IST) in 1977 and earned his Doctor-Engineer degree from the École Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées in Paris in 1985. Recognized by the Technical University of Lisbon in 1987 and completing his Habilitation in 1998, he has made significant contributions to the field. Awarded the prestigious Manuel Rocha Award from the National Laboratory of Civil Engineering (LNEC) in 1987, he further distinguished himself by delivering the XXXIII Manuel Rocha Lecture in 2016, a high honour granted by SPG & AGAA-UNL, as well as the 2nd Proctor Lecture in 2017, ISSMGE TC202 honour lecture.

In addition to his role as a full professor at the University of Minho from 2003 to 2020, he has held several notable leadership positions. He served as Director of the Civil Engineering Research Centre at the University of Minho from 2003 to 2007 and later led the Research Centre for Territory, Environment, and Construction from 2010 to 2013. From 2013 to 2019, he was Vice-Dean of the School of Engineering, and from 2010 until 2020, he chaired the Doctoral Program in Civil Engineering. His contributions extend beyond the university; he was President of the Portuguese Geotechnical Society (SPG) from 2004 to 2008 and, since 2012, has chaired the SPG’s Portuguese Committee on Transportation Geotechnics (CPGT).

Professor Correia has been actively involved in various international research projects, led several COST projects, and contributed to ISSMGE technical committees, and he continues to contribute to the global academic and professional community. He is a founding member and editor of the prestigious international Elsevier journals Transportation Geotechnics and Transportation Engineering and also serves as an editor for the journalGeotecnia, published in collaboration with geotechnical societies in Portugal (SPG), Brazil (ABMS), and Spain (SEMSIG). He is an elected member of the Board of Directors of the Université Gustave Eiffel (2020-2025) and serves as a core advisory member of the Transport Research Centre at the University of Technology Sydney and as a scientific advisory board member of the Smart Pavements Australia Research Collaboration (SPARC) since 2021. He is also a founding member and Vice President of the International Society for Intelligent Construction (ISIC).

Over his 46-year career, he has made significant contributions to field of geotechnical engineering, particularly in transportation geotechnics. For his achievements, he has deliver numerous international keynote lectures, organized several International Conferences and has published over 600 professional articles, with more than 220 indexed in the SCOPUS database (ORCID).

You are cordially invited to a professional discussion and a pleasant gathering!

Program

Friday, 
6 December 2024
13:00 – 14:00Registration
14:00 – 14:30Opening of the 23rd Šuklje’s Day
14:30 – 15:3023rd Šuklje’s Lecture – ONLINE LECTURE
Professor Emeritus António Gomes Correia
Artificial Intelligence in Transportation Geotechnics: Current Challenges and Future Opportunities in Research and Practical Engineering
15:30 – 16:00Break
16:00 – 16:30Timotej Jurček, UL FGG
Application of the Resonant Column in Measuring the Dynamic Properties of Soils from the Ljubljana Marshes (The lecture will be held in Slovenian)
16:30 – 17:00Peter Jemec, ELEA iC
Tunnel Construction in Highly Karstified Rock with Extensive Cavities (The lecture will be held in Slovenian)
17:00 – 17:15Break
17:15 – 18:00Annual Report of the Society (2023 – 2024)
18:00 – 19:30Break with optional visits to two exhibitions at the hotel:
Expo Cave Karst: An interactive exhibition about the karst landscape and Postojna Cave
Secret Rooms of Hotel Jama: A display revealing the activities of secret services in the hotel until 1991
19:30 –Dinner
Saturday,
7 December 2024
9:00 – 13:00Technical Excursion
Site visits along the construction of the second railway track between Divača and Koper
Guides: Peter Jemec, Elea iC, and Katarina Sirk, Yapı Merkez

Registration Fee

TypeSloGeD membersNon-members
Early bird (befor 02/12/2024)150,00 €180,00 €
Regular (after 02/12/2024)180,00 €210,00 €

The registration fee includes:

  1. Lecture proceedings
  2. Refreshments during breaks
  3. Gala dinner
  4. Access to two exhibitions at the hotel (optional)
  5. Technical excursion

SPONSORS