Comenius University News

Five teachers receive awards for innovative teaching courses

The nominees included 22 courses in Supplementary Pedagogical Studies and Extended Study taught at Comenius University. Five courses were short-listed for being examples of excellent practice and applying the principles of innovative pedagogy. The CU Teachers' Academy Awards were presented to: Klára Velmovská from the Faculty of Mathematics, Physics and Informatics for her courses ‘School Experiments in Physics 1 and 2’; Monika Šajánková from the Faculty of Arts for her course ‘Teaching of the German language’; Zuzana Puchovská from the...

COMENIUS UNIVERSITY WILL HOST TWO DAYS OF LECTURES FOR SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS

During secondary school graduation week, schools have to keep junior students busy while seniors are taking their final exams. This is the perfect opportunity for Comenius University to show junior students how interesting further study can be and to let them try it themselves. On the first day of the event, lectures in physics, medicine, pharmacy, chemistry and ethics are offered. Junior students can choose lectures in two locations depending on their interests. They can learn what microwaves and X-rays have in common; how important regular physical activity is; or how conflicts between...

CU belongs to the best 3,3 % of universities in the world

Comenius University Bratislava ranked 661st which makes it the best-ranked Slovak university. The only other Slovak institutions in the ranking are Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice (1435th), the Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava (1637th) and the Technical University of Košice (1933rd). Among the V4 countries, the Top 1000 contain one Slovak university, four Czech institutions, five universities from Hungary and ten Polish universities. The Czech universities ranked better than Comenius University were Charles University in Prague (238th), Masaryk University in Brno...

Slovak invention helping patients in Kenya

Q-VENT mini helps patients in Kenya who need oxygen therapy. It can also be used during the transport of patients from more distant areas to district or central hospitals. The emergency ventilator already exists in its third, improved version since its initial introduction in September 2021. „When installing the machine it is necessary to travel to the field and get to know the actual circumstances and needs of the local community, to whose needs our assistance needs to be tailored," says Samuel Furka from Comenius University. "We do science to make the world a better place. In a...

We reject corruption, we are a fair university

In April 2023, investigators of the Slovak National Criminal Agency (NAKA) detained an employee of one of our faculties who was accepting a bribe. Our response was quick and decisive: we immediately said goodbye to our former colleague. The University will continue to promote a zero tolerance approach to corruption. Corruption is not just an attempt to alter the decision of a person with authority using an envelope stuffed with banknotes. Corruption also means any abuse of power, violation of one's duties or the use of one’s authority in exchange for an undue advantage. It can be material...

Two faculties get new deans

For the first time, the elections were held according to the recent amendment of the Higher Education Act, which mandates that the candidate for dean is elected by the electoral assembly. The assembly consists of representatives of the academic community and one quarter of its members are appointed by the Rector. The electoral assembly of FPES elected Professor Viktor Bielik as candidate for dean by 13 votes out of 17. The runner-up was Professor Marián Vanderka who served as the dean until 31 January 2023. Since that date, Viktor Bielik was appointed as acting dean in the interim period...

Opinion: Dean of the Faculty of Pharmacy on Vaccination by Certified Pharmacists

Every year, influenza leads to 4-50 million symptomatic cases in the EU/EEA, and 15,000 - 70,000 European citizens die from influenza-related causes each year. In addition to the medical implications, this data suggests growing social and economic costs for the world and emphasises the importance of influenza prevention ahead of seasonal epidemics. Annual flu vaccination is the most effective way of preventing the disease. In recent years, many European countries have introduced legislative changes to expand the role of public pharmacies, realising that vaccinations in pharmacies can help...

Faculty of Education Launches Innovation Centre for Social Work

The Innovation Centre interconnects academic and field-based social work, education, research, and working practice. "The centre will enhance the capabilities of social workers, professionals and experts, and will continuously support their educational and research activities. Its role is to generate new ideas, innovative methods, and creative solutions aimed at the needs of disadvantaged and vulnerable groups," Pavol Kopinec from the Department of Social Work of FEDU presents the centre's objectives. The inflow of refugees caused by the conflict in Ukraine shows how important...

COMENIUS UNIVERSITY HAS THE FIRST ERC GRANT. MICHAL MÁJEK RESEARCHES GREEN CHEMISTRY

A long wait for success For a very long time, research in Slovakia had little success in attracting ERC grants. While in the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland, the number of ERC grant holders at universities and research facilities numbered in the dozens, the chemist Ján Tkáč from the SAS (Slovak Academy of Sciences) was the only successful applicant in Slovakia for over ten years, since 2012. Between 2014 and 2020 the „success rate“ of ERC Starting Grant applications from Slovakia making it to the second round of evaluation was zero, even worse than those of Bulgarian...

University Ends Cooperation with Associate Professor Trizna

On Wednesday, 19 April, 2023, Milan Trizna was detained and accused of accepting a bribe of 20,000 euros. The Rector of the university, Marek Števček, provided maximum cooperation to the investigation of the case from the very beginning. "Even though the whole case makes me extremely sad - all the more so because a former Dean of our faculty is involved - I am pleased that anti-corruption mechanisms are working and the case ended very quickly with a confession. I hereby call on all our employees, suppliers and students to act immediately in case of any suspected cases of corruption by...