Ladies and Gentlemen,
we stand at the threshold of a new academic year (2009-2010), in accordance with tradition I would like you to be acquainted with some important facts regarding higher education in Slovakia, the university, our faculty and also with some of my considerations in relation to other faculty development objectives relating to the management of the MTF STU.
Slovakia, our alma mater together with our Faculty the Accreditation Commission published the results of the Slovak universities. This lengthy and difficult process certainly and ultimately set dividing lines between different universities. Apart from the present moment still being an unclear situation regarding further handling procedures relating to the results of a comprehensive accreditation which is played on the legality of retroactive mechanisms involved in the evaluation process. I consider that it was indeed high time to make Regulations for the classification of the various university bodies in order to further a more rapid advancement for the best of them in order to at least give our universities a solid European average. In this sense, the accreditation commission and the ministry really had a worthwhile job. It is however necessary to avoid all the problems in the complex accreditation and acceptance of its results, if conducted a comprehensive foreign a creditor from a reputable institution is worth considering and would eliminated any problems, however in Slovakia everybody knows everybody. This could certainly cast doubt and various views on the categorization of facts and also between members themselves as working groups in the assessment of the scientific research outputs from different fields. I would like to say that the Ministry established strict, fair and adequate criteria not only in this area.
This should be rigorously applied only to a single procedure but for all invaluable subjects. I want to avoid any controversy well in advance before any legislative evaluation rules are published. The same rules were applied to all the Universities so if any want to protest then all should do so together, but this will not reflect reality.
As a result of the comprehensive accreditation procedures the management of the faculty will provide the process of transformation from the existing study programs into the new accredited form without much delay under the directive of the Ministry of Education.
Again I repeat that we have not done a simple re-accreditation at a 1:1 ratio between existing and new study programs, but the new study programs that were offered for accreditation, we defined the new rules by the establishment's demands which should reduce the amount of education at our faculty.
The reduction of education at the faculty should help accelerate our scientific research activities. We live in a period when, despite the financial and economic crisis and the demands of financial restructuring of higher education research and development activities, this is secured via the European Structural Funds so nothing prevents us to continue this trend. I again express gratitude and admiration to the teams, which despite the summer holiday period whilst led by the Vice Dean and CTTEE managed to fill nearly a dozen new projects. The approved projects submitted by the faculty in this period amounts close to the value of 30 million euro (about one billion skk), so that gradually we will allude to the capacity limits of the faculty and staff. And yet we are not even half way through the period of 2007-2013, when the Slovak Republic may draw funds from European funds for us at an unusual amount. We will continue to monitor the various challenges and agencies working on the preparation of new project proposals. What if we would have one or two more centres of excellence at our faculty? I am sure that challenges will come and we will be able to build new buildings at the campus of the MTF STU on Bottova Street. Construction documents are being prepared.
It changes the overall philosophy of the faculty's partnership. We are increasing our involvement in international scientific research projects and we are becoming a partner with the ability to decide whom and under what conditions in the future we may cooperate. I have once mentioned that we won the domestic league, we start to play with the rest of Europe.
The faculty received new professors and associate professors who will have their scientific and research activities adorned at the faculty. I welcome amongst us Professor Košturiak who works at the Institute of Industrial Engineering, management and quality, Professor Urban from the Institute of Materials and master lecturer Associate Professor Šugár from the Institute of Manufacturing Technologies. I wish these academics a lot of success, satisfaction and solid nerves in their work at our faculty.
I have several times on similar occasions mentioned the poor identification of our employees within our faculty. The Corporation Identity in connection with the assignment to the university faculty received an additional dimension i.e.: the work of our teachers relating to other establishments. The current legislative does not have any limits for industrial relations of university teachers, my opinion is that at our faculty we should apply an unwritten ethical clause for employees at the MTF STU which should establish sum rules for teachers´ activities such as 30% of teachers´ time being spent at other schools and I would recommend that teaching mainly remains in the universities and mainly in the cases of shared projects or teaching special shared subjects that are mainly in the second or third degree studies. .
During the last academic year we were able to employ some high level experts from renowned domestic and foreign institutions on a basis of 10 to 25% full time employment:
Professors Joehnk and Kolitsch of FZ Dresden-Rossendorf, Professor Husar from TU Ilmenau, Associate Professor Gömöry, Professors Dusza and Bleha and Ing. Lapin DrSc. of SAV , Professor Kupca from VUJE Trnava and Professor Richter of FH Anhalt Koethen. These experts will focus on leadership, doctoral lectures and block lectures for third degree studies in the relevant fields of study. One cannot overlook their role as ambassadors spreading the name of the faculty in Slovakia and abroad.
Yet another word to our first year students. We accepted more than a thousand new students for bachelor degrees. For the first time after many years we have seen a lower percentage of failed students from the first four semesters, which can be mainly attributed to more stringent selection criteria in the admission procedure and a lower amount of accepted students for the first year bachelor degree. Also a stronger preference for science subjects by candidates and perhaps a greater scope for individual access to students due to a lower normative in teaching for teachers. I wish all our first year students many successes and I want them to take on this new trend and I wish they pass this first, perhaps the most difficult year of study at our faculty.
One more positive issue: in the first year of doctoral study we accepted 95 candidates until the 01.09.2009, we have registered the highest number ever for doctoral studies at this faculty -185 - to this date. To this must be added a further 129 graduates in the external form, and approximately 40 post-doctoral students who have cast their dissertations and are waiting for their defence. I wish the upcoming generation of new scientists every success in discovering new knowledge and events under the supervision of experienced trainers.
In conclusion, let me, ladies and gentleman wish all students, teachers and researchers and our professional and technical administrators a good dose of luck for the start of the academic year together with a good atmosphere in their workplace and the necessary dose of good luck in fulfilling their tasks.
In Trnava 31.8.2009
Prof. Dr.Ing.Oliver Moravcik, Dean
