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Comenius University adopts measures to save energy

pr@uniba.sk — Mon, 26 Sep 2022 09:10:00 +0200

The buildings of the university have varying maintenance and energy needs due to their different age, and deans were given the discretion to choose which of the recommended savings measures to use. They should consider the usefulness of the measure given the functions of the university as well as the comfort and protection of health of both staff and students. However, it is necessary to reduce energy use by at least 10-15 %. The measures include, among others, installation of motion sensors for lighting, optimization of light sources, installation of energy-saving luminaries, reduction of indoor temperatures, cutting the number of appliances and elimination of high-consumption appliances. The university will also produce an awareness campaign aimed at staff and students. During afternoons in the work week and the weekends buildings will be placed in a power-saving mode and remote work will be used more often. The university is also planning to introduce more technologically demanding solutions, like energy consumption control and regulation systems and intelligent energy metering systems. Plans include the formation of “printer clusters” and installation of water faucet aerators. In the next phase building insulation will be upgraded and technologies which use renewable resources installed. „At the moment, we are awaiting concrete guarantees as a fulfilment of the public promise given by Prime Minister Eduard Heger regarding the impact of the energy crisis on universities. We hope that Slovak universities will not be forced to take the steps announced by the Slovak Rectors' Conference and suspend tuition on 17 November. It also needs to be reiterated that compensation of high energy prices is just one of the three crucial demands of universities which have to be met in order to ensure their basic functioning. In this situation, we cannot even begin discussing any future development. In parallel, we are implementing a whole series of measures to save energy and reduce consumption." said Rector Marek Števček. "Our highest priority is to maintain the Slovak higher education functional, but the task is not entirely in our hands. Without state assistance the question is when, not if, the Slovak higher education collapses,“ he added. All measures (PDF)

A meteorite was found in the village of Pusté Úľany near Galanta

Juraj.Toth@fmph.uniba.sk — Tue, 20 Sep 2022 15:54:00 +0200

On June 25 of this year, a bright meteor appeared over southwestern Slovakia and was perfectly visible in the evening sky. Scientific cameras from European Fireball networks and from Slovak Central Observatory in Hurbanovo recorded the fireball as well and Pavel Spurný with his colleagues from Astronomical Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences calculated the parameters of meteorite fall near Pusté Úlany. For several months the scientists, local people, and tourists were searching fragments of the meteorite, which was thought to have landed in the village of Pusté Úľany. Today, scientists from Comenius University in Bratislava announced that the first fragment has been found! Parameters of the fireball and its predicted meteorties falls near Pusté Úľany was announced at the web page of Astromonical Institute Jasný bolid na podvečerní obloze 25. června 2022 pravděpodobně skončil pádem meteoritů na JZ Slovensku (cas.cz) Then several groups of professional astronomers and geologists from Slovakia (Astromomical Institute SAV, Comenius University and others) were searching the predicted strew field with no success (see for example: Hľadanie meteoritu | Pusté Úľany | Meteorit pád 25. júna 2022 - YouTube). Finally, the meteorite was found by Mateusz Żmija, an astronomy enthusiast from Poland. On August 20 he discovered a small specimen weighing 8.6 grams, which was lying among the straw in a plowed field. He was very lucky, because the chance of finding the specimen after field work was very small. The finder took several photos of the meteorite and documented the place of discovery very precisely. Next, he drove with his finding to Bratislava and handed it over to scientists from the Faculty of Mathematics, Physics and Informatics Comenius University in Bratislava. - When I found it, I could not believe my luck. I discovered a new meteorite for the first time in my life! I am proud that my find will help to learn more about space. It is a small specimen, but a great treasure for Slovak science. Now I cannot wait to see the meteorite again in the museum - said Żmija. The specimen is currently undergoing a detailed analysis. For now, scientists have been able to confirm its authenticity and determine that it landed on the ground very recently. There are many indications that it is one of the stone meteorites called "chondrites", containing small stone spheres and grains of metal. But detail mineralogical analyses will determine the precise type of the meteorite. Scientists are encouraging residents of Pusté Úľany to continue searching and donating their finds for analysis. There are definitely more meteorite fragments lying in the surrounding fields and in the village itself, which have not been found during previous expeditions. It is worth remembering that meteorites found in Slovakia are the property of the state and should be handed over to local authorities or scientists.

Uncertainty lingers after the pandemic as new academic year begins at Comenius University

pr@uniba.sk — Wed, 21 Sep 2022 13:09:00 +0200

At a ceremonial assembly of the academic community, the Rector awarded the Gold Medal of Comenius University to Professor Ján Čižmár in recognition of his extensive contribution to the elevation of the national culture and learning, particularly through his publishing and translation activities, which firmly establish Slovakia as a part of the cultured and civilized Europe. Up to this moment, more than 23,000 entrants have enrolled at Comenius University to study in the academic year 2022/2023; 64 % of them are females. Enrolment is still ongoing and so the figures are not yet final. More than 6,100 students will begin their first year of study. Comenius University will also host over 3,500 international students, most of them from Ukraine (606), followed by Germany (520), Austria (335), Norway (270) and Iran (202). Medicine taught in Slovak and in English, followed by Law, and Pharmacy, are still the most popular study programmes. The energy crisis looms as the biggest challenge of this year. The largest Slovak university faces a deficit in its energy bill of some 5.5 million euros this year alone. It only has contracts for the supply of electricity at today’s prices until the end of the year. Next year’s electricity prices will depend on the movements on the market, and even electricity suppliers cannot predict their development. For several months now, the university has been looking at ways of achieving savings by, among other things, carrying out energy audits of its buildings and optimizing energy consumption. Each of these projects, like 'ACCORD', includes specific measures that contribute to energy savings. The Faculty of Mathematics, Physics and Informatics is probably the first Slovak faculty which has built its own photovoltaic power plant. More work is being done under ‘Green Dorms’ projects, and the ongoing renovations of dormitories also already contain energy-saving elements. Throughout the month of September, the university management will continue to discuss further consumption-reducing measures with the faculties. The university estimates it can reduce its consumption of energy through saving measures or reduced heating by 10-15 %, while the increase of prices is in the hundreds of percent. The threat that the university will be unable to keep its buildings operational is very real. In this situation, and on the verge of collapse, Comenius University approached both the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Finance. So far it has received no concrete response or measures amounting to financial assistance. „Universities are islands of culture, learning and reason. Institutions, however, are only as functional as the people they consist of. I believe universities constitute a specific ecosystem and I still harbour hope that we can reverse this trajectory of decline. By seeking refuge in each other, in science, and in learning, we aspire to cheer up and to take the metaphorical vaccine against ignorance, misery and malice which daily accost us. And that is the core of our mission, and of our duty: to resist resignation and to keep rowing against the current, hoping that one day, a pilot rises, perhaps from among us, who will transform the synergy of our efforts into the energy that is needed to change that trajectory,“ said Marek Števček, Rector of Comenius University at the opening of the academic year.

Welcome Week at our Faculty

Fri, 16 Sep 2022 11:18:00 +0200

The September week from 12.09 to 16.09.2022 was a welcome week at FM UK for Incoming Erasmus...

Erasmus Program is also for teachers and staff exchanges

Thu, 05 May 2022 10:00:00 +0200

September 2022 In September, as part of the incoming Erasmus mobilities, we will welcome visitors...

Interruption of education at Faculty of Pharmacy

Wed, 14 Sep 2022 16:58:00 +0200

The Dean of the Faculty of Pharmacy, Comenius University Bratislava, announces an interruption of...

Arriving Erasmus Students Welcomed

pr@uniba.sk — Wed, 14 Sep 2022 13:10:00 +0200

The students participated in an oath ceremony and listened to presentations about Slovakia, Bratislava and the University. They were informed about courses of Slovak offered by Studia Academica Slovaca. The Erasmus Student Network (ESN) at Comenius University which organizes extracurricular activities for Erasmus+ students also held a presentation. In the 2022/2023 winter semester our university will host almost 400 Erasmus+ students and other international students. Most of them arrive from Spain, Italy, Portugal, France and Germany. However, several students also came from Taiwan, the U.S., Canada and Japan.

Opening Ceremony of the academic year 2022/2023

Tue, 13 Sep 2022 14:45:00 +0200

At the Jessenius Faculty of Medicine CU in Martin, which will be held on September 20, 2022...

NutriAging - NUTRITION AND HEALTHY AGING

Mon, 12 Sep 2022 14:51:00 +0200

We would like to invite you to the events organized as part of the NUTRITION AND HEALTHY AGING (NutriAging) project, realized under the Interreg V-A Cross-border Cooperation Program of the Slovak Republic - Austria, Priority Axis 1: Contributing to the Intelligent Cross-Border Region The Interreg Program supports the cooperation of major research institutes from Slovakia (Bratislava) and Austria (Vienna), the task of which is the mutual exchange of experience and knowledge and their subsequent dissemination to the general public. The events will take place online in the MS Teams environment and at the same time in person in the Ladziansky Auditorium at Faculty of Medicine, Comenius University: September 20, 2022 - 2nd NUTRIAGING SUMMER SCHOOL 2022: “NUTRIAGING – What to be learned from the European NutriAging project for students and young scientists” - MS Teams link

	NUTRIAGING Summer School No.2 – Final program September 20, 2022, Ladziansky Auditorium, Faculty of Medicine, Comenius University, Bratislava and Online (MS Teams)
10.00 – 11.30	Arrival of participants in Bratislava and short lunch
12.30 – 13.00	Welcome, and introduction to the program of the Summer School Karl-Heinz Wagner and Jana Muchová
13.00 – 13.30	Plenary lecture: Small dense LDL and dyslipidemia Stanislav Oravec
13.30 – 14.45	Paduchová Zuzana: Pitfalls and advantages of determination of lipoprotein subfractions by the Lipoprint system Sumbalová Zuzana: Impact of omega-3 fatty acids and their combination with physical activity on mitochondrial functions Koňariková Katarína: Effects of vitamin D on cell senescence Janubová Mária: γ- and δ-Tocotrienols interfere with senescence leading to decreased viability of cells Gajdošová Lívia: Behavioural testing of rats - Impact of omega-3 fatty acids and their combination with physical activity on locomotor activity, exploratory activity and anxiety
14.45 – 15.15	*Coffee Break*
15.15 - 16.30	Draxler Agnes: Insights into methods to determine chromosomal damage in humans Unterberger Sandra: Association between body composition and physical performance in older adults Stelzer Tamara: Insights into vitamin D and physical activity on gene expression in older age Bragagna Laura: Spectrophotometric methods to determine oxidative damage Zöhrer Patrick: Microbiome and its importance in older age
16.30 - 17.00	Final remarks and closing of NutriAging Summer School II

September 21, 2022 - NUTRIAGING FINAL CONFERENCE (on-site and online) - MS Teams link

	September 21, 2022, Ladziansky Auditorium, Faculty of Medicine, Comenius University, Bratislava and Online (MS Teams)
9.00 – 9.30	Registration
9.30 – 9.40	Welcome of participants Dean, Representative of the Faculty
9.40 – 9.50	Welcome and Introduction of the Interreg Program Andrej Batyás, Director of the Interreg SR-AT Program, Ministry of MIRRI
9.50 – 10.00	Introduction to the NutriAging Project Karl-Heinz Wagner and Jana Muchová, Project coordinators of NutriAging
10.00 – 10.25	NutriAging outputs from the Slovak partner Jana Muchová, Comenius University Bratislava
10.25 – 10.50	NutriAging outputs from the Slovak partner Ingrid Žitňanová, Comenius University Bratislava
10.50 – 11.15	Coffee break
11.15 – 11.40	Influence of a high protein diet and strength training on the plasma proteome in older adults Bernhard Franzke, University of Vienna
11.40 – 12.05	NutriAging outputs from the Austrian partner Barbara Wessner, University of Vienna
12.05 – 12.20	Views from the Slovak strategic partner 1 Ján Cvečka, Centre of Active Aging, Bratislava
12.20 – 12.35	Views from the Slovak strategic partner 2 Božena Bušová, Association of Social Service Providers in Slovakia, Bratislava
12.35 – 12.50	Views from the Austrian strategic partner Hofer Alexandra, Austrian Nutrition Society, Vienna
12.50 – 13.05	Achievements of the NutriAging project – facts and figures All participants
12.35 – 12.50	Conclusions of the final meeting Karl-Heinz Wagner, Jana Muchová, Teams from Bratislava and Vienna
13.30	Lunch

FACULTY OF LAW, COMENIUS UNIVERSITY IN BRATISLAVA CELEBRATES 100th ANNIVERSARY

Tue, 13 Sep 2022 12:57:00 +0200

The Faculty of Law of Comenius University in Bratislava (hereinafter referred to as ,,Praf UK“), the oldest law faculty in Slovakia, has officially started the celebration of its 100th anniversary. The celebrations of the 100th anniversary started on 6.9.2022 in the lobby of the Faculty of Law of Comenius University with an exhibition, which provides an insight into the study of law in Slovakia before and after the establishment of the Faculty of Law of Comenius University. The exhibition also introduces the historical and current seats of the Faculty of Law of Comenius University, as well as major aspects of study at the faculty and its individual departments, chairs and institutes. The exhibition was officially presented by the curator of the exhibition, Mária Grófová, Head of the CU Archives, who received a commemorative medal from the hands of the Dean of the Faculty of Law, Assoc. Prof. Eduard Burda. The exhibition will last until 31.12.2022. The exhibition was followed by a meeting of the Ceremonial Scientific Council of the Faculty of Law, CU. After the ceremonial speeches of the Dean of Facuty of Law CU Assoc. Prof. Eduard Burda, the Rector of Comenius University Prof. Števček and other distinguished guests from the academic sector as well as from the legal profession, commemorative medals were ceremoniously awarded. The commemorative medals were conferred not only for support and cooperation, but also for the protection of academic rights and freedoms. The meeting was accompanied by a vocal and piano performance by Miriam Gallová, a student of the Faculty of Law CU. The opening of the 100th anniversary celebrations was finished with a gala evening hosted by Karin Majtánová. The cultural part of the gala evening was performed by the Orchestra Dominanta conducted by Jozef Schwarzbacher and a student of the Faculty of Law CU, a dancer performer. The highlight of the programme was the launching of the three-volume History of the Faculty of Law of Comenius University in Bratislava presented by Professor Vojáček. The 100th anniversary celebrations have only just begun. The rich programme throughout September includes many professional, scientific, as well as entertainment and sporting events. Already on 12 and 13 September, the international scientific conference Bratislava Law Forum will take place, with more than 200 participants in 16 sessions. The central theme of the plenary session of the conference is „Rule of Law and Academia in the Turbulences of 100 years“.

Many sports and amusement events as well professional lectures are organized for students and employees of PraF UK. The celebrations of the 100th anniversary will finish with a concert of the musical band Gypsy Devils together with their guests Martina Schindlerová, Dávid Virág and Miriam Gallová. The complete programme of the 100th anniversary celebrations is available at https://www.flaw.uniba.sk/o-fakulte/100-rokov-praf-uk/. Photo gallery available at: https://www.flaw.uniba.sk/o-fakulte/aktivity-a-media/obrazova-galeria/ .