COMENIUS UNIVERSITY OPENS ITS 106TH ACADEMIC YEAR
Bratislava, 23 September 2024: The oldest university in Slovakia begins its 106th academic year. On this occasion, the rector awarded Comenius University medals to three notable personalities of the university.
At the opening ceremony of the academic year which took place in the Auditorium of Comenius University, the rector of the University Marek Števček awarded medals to personalities who made an extraordinary contribution to the development of both Comenius University and the society in Slovakia as a whole. Gold Medals were awarded to Professor Ján Danko for promoting the principle of self-government in the management of public affairs and for his unceasing support of the Jessenius Faculty of Medicine in Martin, and to Associate Professor Daniel Böhmer for his long-term leadership of supreme bodies of self-government at the Faculty of Medicine of CU, as well as for his personal contribution to the fight for academic rights and freedoms. Ing. Róbert Šimončič was awarded a silver medal for his years of active membership on the General Board of Comenius University and for raising public awareness of the university.
In his speech, the rector drew a parallel with the recent floods and with the solidarity and selfless help shown by people of various social backgrounds, of different world-views and political preferences, who quickly formed a solid community. He also emphasized the need to build metaphorical bridges between different opinion groups. "Such a formative experience brings to the surface the most beautiful of humanity. It is something we absolutely need today! Here I see a parallel with us, with the academic community. We don't need apocalyptic experiences to know what unites us. Collegiality, cohesion, friendship... In my opinion, communities need to prove that the diseases of the society are treatable. The role of communities like ours is to provide positive examples of communication bridges. Decency, truthfulness, respect for the dignity of someone with a different opinion, preferring arguments over dehumanisation in a discourse, those are our tasks. Cultured social discourse can be a formative experience because there is a dire lack of it. Let our community prove that we can do it." The solemnity of the occasion was enhanced towards the end by the musical performance of Vocalatté, a vocal-instrumental group.
So far, 21,500 people have registered to study at Comenius University in 2024/2025, over 3,500 of whom are from abroad. Enrolment is still ongoing and the figures are not yet final. Final figures will be published at the end of October. In the 2024/2025 winter semester nearly 467 Erasmus+ students and other international students from 34 countries will study at our university. Most of them will be from Spain, France Italy, Portugal, and Germany.
Comenius University Bratislava is the oldest and largest university in Slovakia and offers education at all levels of study (bachelor, master, doctoral and PhD studies) in 750 study programmes at thirteen faculties, located in three cities (Bratislava, Martin, Nitra).