Lucija Čok

Lucija Čok
Lucija Čok
Born	7 April 1941; Lokavec
Nationality	Slovenian
Honours	Légion d'honneur, Cavaliere della repubblica

Lucija Čok (born in 1941, Slovenia) is a Slovene linguist, senior researcher in the field of multilingualism and a professor of multilingualism and intercultural communication. Throughout her career, she has held several important positions, including that of the Minister of Education, Science and Sport (2000-2002) of the Government of the Republic of Slovenia. In her role as the Minister, she contributed to the establishment of higher education institutions in the Slovene region of Primorska and in 2003 she was elected as the first rector of the newly established university. She participated in European Commission high expert panels that have shaped linguistic policies and strategies of higher education and research. She has facilitated the preparation of the formal basis for Slovenia’s integration into the European Research Area. She was an expert of the Institutional evaluation program board (IEP EUA) and member of the Council of the Slovenian Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education. Her research work and publications focus on the formation of models of bilingual education in areas of linguistic and cultural contact, sociolinguistic and didactics of intercultural communication. In 2013, the University of Primorska named her professor emeritus. The same year, she received a lifetime achievement award for her work in the field of Higher Education by the Ministry of Education, Science and Sport.

Education and career

Following her graduation in the French and Italian languages and literature, she earned a Master's Degree in pedagogy of the Italian language and a PhD in Educational Sciences at the Faculty of Arts in Ljubljana. She taught at the Faculty of Education and at the Faculty of Arts at the University of Ljubljana. From 1995 to 2000 she was the director of the Scientific Research Centre in Koper.

She has cooperated for a decade in the project group for the establishment of the University in Primorska, in the framework of which she heads expert groups, laying the groundwork for what became the Faculty of Humanities in 2000. In the period 2000 – 2002, she was a member of the Slovenian government. In January 2003, she was appointed as acting director of the newly established University of Primorska and in 2003, she was elected as the first rector of the university. During her mandate, she channelled her efforts into the reform process of university activities and quality assurance, the integration of research and educational work at the university, students’ active participation in higher education reform and into the formation of an open, top-notch and innovative Slovene university that cooperates with the economic sector (Board of Trustees, Consortium of Technical Education in Primorska). In 2013, the University of Primorska named her professor emeritus. She is a scientific advisor at the Science and Research Centre (SRC Koper).

Research work

Her research is focused on phenomena related to languages and cultures in contact, language learning and teaching, sociolinguistics and promotion of linguistic diversity, as well as to education that encourages the peaceful coexistence of various cultures and ethnic groups. Her research findings have been published in several foreign languages and she has lectured at many foreign universities. She has headed and co-ordinated national and international projects in the fields of didactics of foreign languages, early multilingualism and intercultural communication. Her work focuses on the formation of models of bilingual education in areas of linguistic and cultural contact and of didactics of intercultural communication.

Achievements and honours

1999, Knight of the Order of Academic Palms for the promotion of French language and culture (Chevalier des Palmes Accademiques), Ministry of Culture, Republic of France;
2005, Commander of the Order of the Star of Italian Solidarity, awarded by the President of the Republic of Italy;
2006, Knight of the Legion of Honour (Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur), awarded by the President of the Republic of France.
2013, Lifetime Achievement in Higher Education Award, conferred by the Ministry of Education, Science and Sport of the Republic of Slovenia