CU LAUNCHES SLOVAKIA’S FIRST MICRO-CREDENTIAL THROUGH THE PROGRAMME “HUMOUR AS A COMMUNICATION TOOL IN HEALTHCARE”
Bratislava, 22 April 2026: Comenius University Bratislava (CU) is launching the first accredited micro-credentials in Slovakia through the innovative programme “Humour as a Communication Tool in Healthcare”. This unique course was developed in collaboration with five universities from the ENLIGHT alliance and three external partners, including RED NOSES Clowndoctors.
The programme was created in response to the need to approach humour systematically as an important element of communication in healthcare. It is coordinated and academically overseen by the Faculty of Medicine of Comenius University Bratislava (FMED CU). Its aim is to foster trust, empathy and quality of care through research-based knowledge and the practical experience of healthcare clowns.
The programme is pioneering not only in Slovakia, but also in the wider European context. The micro-credential will be issued digitally in the form of an EduBadge, in line with standards recommended by the European Commission, and will be internationally transferable and verifiable. The course is taught in English, open free of charge to anyone aged 18 or over regardless of nationality or professional background, thanks to the support of the ENLIGHT alliance.
The programme was developed and will be delivered by experts from Comenius University Bratislava, Uppsala University in Sweden, the University of Groningen in the Netherlands, the University of Göttingen in Germany, and the University of Galway in Ireland, together with external partners who will bring in the practical experience: RED NOSES Clowndoctors, Clowns on Call/Clownjouren Uppsala, and the Teddy Bear Hospital project.
The course received the top rating in the ENLIGHT Incubator Grant call and will be presented at the prestigious 2026 European Association for International Education (EAIE) conference in Glasgow as an example of best practise in the field of lifelong learning.
“This initiative advances Comenius University’s strategic goals in lifelong learning, internationalisation, innovation and social responsibility. At the same time, it represents a unique link between academic excellence and humanity and empathy,” Rector Marek Števček said.
“We are seeing the growing importance of communication skills not only among healthcare professionals, but also among everyone involved in caring for patients and their family members. Humour has been shown to improve communication, build trust, ease tension and strengthen mutual understanding. Healthcare clowns were there at the birth of this project, and they have an established place in hospitals. Our faculty brought teachers and researchers into the initiative and places strong emphasis on educational quality,” explained Juraj Payer, Dean of the CU Faculty of Medicine.
“What makes this programme exceptional is that it introduces a scientific approach to a topic that is often seen as intuitive. Humour has a healing effect in healthcare settings: it reinforces humanity in difficult situations. I am proud that Comenius University is the first university in Slovakia to open the way for this kind of education,” said Associate Professor Michaela Kostičová, the programme’s academic lead from the CU Faculty of Medicine in Bratislava.
"The programme is hybrid in nature, combining online instruction with an experiential workshop in Bratislava. Participants can earn 2 ECTS credits for the online portion and 1 ECTS credit for the in-person workshop, with these components available to be completed either independently or as a whole. They will also receive a digital EduBadge certificate, which is internationally verifiable according to European Commission standards," explained CU Vice-Rector Eva Viglašová.
“As professional healthcare clowns from RED NOSES, we have been bringing clowning and humour to healthcare facilities in Slovakia for more than 20 years, with the aim of supporting patients’ mental well-being and the treatment process itself. We are pleased that, thanks to the ENLIGHT alliance, we have the opportunity to pass on our experience of healthcare clowning to participants in this programme and, in this way, also contribute to making healthcare more humane,” said Milan Chalmovský, healthcare clown and lecturer at RED NOSES Clowndoctors civic association.