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Institute for Demographic Future launches the IDP Academy
The IDP Academy is a new long-term development platform of the Institute for Demographic Future, designed to support the next generation of researchers, analysts, project contributors and professionals working at the intersection of demography, social development and European projects.
Ljubljana, July 2026 · Launch of a development platform
A new development platform for people who want to help shape the future.
The Institute for Demographic Future is launching the IDP Academy as a long-term development initiative for young people interested in demography, research, public dialogue, European projects, data analysis, youth work and social development.
The Academy’s first programme is the Young Professionals Development Programme: a structured pathway from personal initiative to guided learning, project-based training, possible traineeship opportunities and — where project needs, performance assessment and secured funding allow — employment within the projects of the Institute for Demographic Future.
We do not build careers. We develop people who will help shape Slovenia’s future.
Demographic futures require a new generation of professionals.
Slovenia is facing long-term demographic changes that require more than occasional discussion and isolated analysis. They require people capable of connecting data, social trends, psychology, economics, local development, artificial intelligence and European policy.
The IDP Academy is built on a simple institutional insight: organisations are not developed only through projects, but through people. If the Institute is to develop research, programmes, partnerships and public dialogue over the long term, it must also develop the people who will one day be able to carry that work forward.
The Academy is therefore not a conventional internship scheme or a call for volunteers. It is a development environment in which young people gradually become familiar with the work of the Institute, build competences, contribute to concrete tasks and learn what responsible institutional work means in practice.
The Young Professionals Development Programme is the first pillar of the IDP Academy.
The programme enables young people to become involved in research work, analytical writing, public communication, workshops, project development, European initiatives and engagement with different stakeholders.
Mentoring is at the centre of the programme. The role of a mentor is not to supervise, but to guide, listen, provide feedback and support the gradual development of a personal and professional pathway. The programme seeks to recognise curiosity, reliability, responsibility, the ability to collaborate and a genuine willingness to learn.
Participation in the programme is not a direct promise of employment. It is, however, a clearly structured development pathway that may, where the quality of work, project needs and secured funding allow, lead to a traineeship, project contract, student engagement or employment.
The Academy connects research, projects and public dialogue.
The programme is deliberately broad, because demographic futures are not shaped by one discipline alone. They require researchers, analysts, communicators, organisers, mentors, project contributors and people able to understand the wider social picture.
The founding generation will set the foundations of the future Academy.
The IDP Academy is beginning gradually. Its first objective is not scale, but quality. The Institute wishes to attract young people interested in long-term learning, responsible work and contribution to themes of public importance.
At the same time, the Academy opens space for cooperation with faculties, municipalities, public institutions, companies, funders and other partners who wish to support the development of young professionals in the field of demographic futures.
Visit the IDP Academy
The full presentation of the programme, development pathway, mentoring system, areas of cooperation and application process is available on the new IDP Academy page.
The future of an institution begins with the people it is able to develop.
The IDP Academy is a long-term decision by the Institute for Demographic Future: to develop people who may one day help shape research, projects and public dialogue on Slovenia’s future.
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