Dr. Franci Demšar is a distinguished Slovenian physicist, higher education quality assurance leader, diplomat, and former government minister currently serving as Director of the Slovenian Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (NAKVIS). He is widely recognized as one of Slovenia’s leading experts in research policy, quality assurance, higher education governance, and science administration.
Since April 2018, Dr. Demšar has led NAKVIS, Slovenia’s national quality assurance agency responsible for accreditation, evaluation, and quality enhancement in higher education. Under his leadership, the Agency has strengthened its international engagement and promoted quality culture, sustainability, and continuous improvement across the Slovenian higher education system. In 2023, he was reappointed for a second five-year term as Director.
Dr. Demšar has also played a significant role in the European quality assurance community. He served as President of the Central and Eastern European Network of Quality Assurance Agencies in Higher Education (CEENQA) from 2020 to 2024, leading a network of more than 40 quality assurance agencies. During his presidency, CEENQA published important studies on the independence of quality assurance agencies and staff development, while expanding professional dialogue through regular international meetings and cooperation initiatives.
Prior to joining NAKVIS, Dr. Demšar served as Director of the Slovenian Research Agency from 2004 to 2014. During this period, Slovenia achieved one of the fastest improvements in scientific performance indicators within the European Union, including significant growth in citation impact and highly cited publications. He also served as Vice-President of the European Science Foundation between 2012 and 2014.
His diplomatic career includes service as Ambassador of the Republic of Slovenia to the Russian Federation from 2001 to 2004, with concurrent accreditation to Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.
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