
Photo caption: Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia Dr. Miro Cerar, Dr. Naja Ferjan Ramirez, UW President Ana Mari Cauce, and UW Vice-Provost for Global Affairs Jeffrey Riedinger. Photos by Piotr and Marija Horoszowski.
Naja Ferjan Ramirez, an I-LABS research scientist who was born and raised in Slovenia, took part in a recent UW meeting with Slovenian Prime Minister Miro Cerar, UW President Ana Mari Cauce, and other high-ranking officials.
Ferjan Ramirez was among about half a dozen Slovenian UW students and researchers to attend the meeting and share their experiences in Slovenia and at UW.
Addressing the delegation of Slovenian and UW officials, Ferjan Ramirez spoke of growing up in Ljubljana, Slovenia, competing on the Slovenian national track team throughout high school, being recruited to Brown University in Rhode Island for her undergraduate studies, and then earning a doctorate in linguistics and cognitive science at the University of California, San Diego.
Of her work at I-LABS, Ferjan Ramirez told the delegation that she studies how the brains of young babies learn language. She also discussed a project she is leading in foreign language instruction in preschools and suggested that the project might someday be extended to Slovenia.
The Dec. 4, 2015 meeting was meant to foster sustained collaboration between the UW and academic institutions in Slovenia.
Learn more about the visit and see additional photos provided by the UW Office of Global Affairs.