SUMMER SEMESTER AT COMENIUS UNIVERSITY STARTS TODAY
Bratislava, 19 February 2024: Today, the summer semester of the 104th academic year starts at Comenius University Bratislava. The history of the oldest Slovak university begins on 27 June 1919, when the National Assembly passed the act establishing the university.
Due to recent events, an independent security audit is ongoing at the University, focusing initially on the buildings of the Rectorate, the Faculty of Law and the Faculty of Arts at Šafárikovo námestie in Bratislava. The audit is carried out by security expert Martin Královič and crisis manager Braňo Tichý. Preliminary consultations resulted in recommendations such as the installation of an early warning audio system or a training for teachers and staff in current emergency procedures in the university’s premises. It was also proposed to create an instructional video on proper crisis response. The audit also indicates that communication with the various elements of the integrated rescue system needs to improve. In the coming days, the management of the university and of the faculties will study the outcomes of the audit and subsequently the university will conduct a similar analysis of its other premises, including dormitories.
"The tragic events in Prague and the recent evacuation of our building at Odbojárov street showed that we need to take security at universities very seriously." said Comenius University Rector Marek Števček. "We want our students and staff to feel safe and at the same time to be prepared to handle crisis situations. We need to improve security procedures, but also to address the root cause of such events and strive to mainstream the topic of mental health among the academic community." added the Rector.
At the beginning of this year, the university expanded the capacity of its Psychological counselling service, which has been available since 1968 and provides free psychological and consultation services to both students and staff. This semester, the service organizes several events, including a series of discussions on mental health at the dormitories in Mlynská dolina under the title (Ne)pokoj/Rest(less), a Buddy programme for new students, a seminar on mental health specifically aimed at students of the Faculty of Medicine, and a support group on the topics of Stress, tension, anxiety and me. Comenius University is studying other ways of increasing awareness of mental health care, e.g. through psychological training for study department staff.