Dear academic community of Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice, esteemed guests, ladies and gentlemen,
the opening of the academic year is an event that concerns all employees and students of the university. We have gathered here to show that this university has a clear and correct direction.
The first university in the world was founded in Bologna around year 1088. Interestingly, it was not established by a monarch or the Pope, but by the students themselves. Students who wanted to gain knowledge and therefore chose and hired teachers. Today, this may seem amusing to us, but it also is inspiring. During the socialist era, students lost virtually all their rights except the right to study and receive an education. Today, we can say that students play a significant role in academic life, and we hope that this will continue to be the case. For the teacher-student relationship to be not only sincere and professional, but also friendly.
Universities were once established because it was necessary to spread knowledge. Since then, times have changed dramatically. Today, anyone who has a basic understanding of artificial intelligence can access a huge amount of knowledge very quickly. It might seem that the value of universities and higher education will decline over time. On the contrary, education is not just about gathering knowledge or memorizing facts. The mission of a university is first and foremost to educate and guide students toward logical and constructive thinking. We must teach you how to work with knowledge. How to construct arguments from facts, how to apply theory in practice – whether in treating a sick person, resolving a legal dispute, or conducting scientific analysis. Formulating a hypothesis, methodology, data collection, statistical processing, and drawing conclusions – all of this can be easily learned. Knowing how to apply the acquired knowledge correctly in practice is not so easy. University should not be about memorization, but about training the mind and applying it in reality. This is the biggest challenge for universities if they want their graduates to succeed in their working lives.
Our teaching methods will have to change, whether we like it or not. New methods are emerging—artificial intelligence, simulators, virtual reality. And this is not just the responsibility of university management. It is the responsibility of every teacher and every student. I firmly believe that we can successfully implement these innovations into teaching. Although we could be satisfied, because last academic year brought successful accreditation of all our study programs. Our university is also similarly successful in obtaining rights for habilitation and inauguration proceedings. One might think that we have a few peaceful years ahead of us. In reality, however, in order to maintain our success, we need to start innovating as soon as possible. We need it, and our students need it too.
Allow me to add a short story. In May, I was in San Diego at a global university fair. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Ministry of Education for investing in these fairs and thus contributing to the spread of the good name of Slovak universities abroad. Professor Martin Marsala, a leading neuroscientist, lives in the USA. He studied with me at UPJŠ during the socialist era. He left for America, I stayed here. And you know what? We are both happy. He fulfilled his dream in the United States, and I fulfilled mine here, among you, in Slovakia. What I mean is that this university will prepare you for life anywhere. I have classmates who are now leaders in top institutions in the US, London, and Prague. Of course, we would be glad if as many of you as possible stayed here, at home. On the other hand, let’s not prevent some talented scientists from leaving for workplaces that pride themselves on being the best in the world. So that the good name of Pavol Jozef Šafárik University spreads further, beyond the borders of Slovakia.
Dear students and future graduates of UPJŠ,
allow me to express one message in conclusion. It is not important what you remember during your studies. What is important is what you can create.
There is power in knowledge, but it is constructive thinking that makes a person a leader.
Thank you, and I wish us all a successful academic year 2025/2026.
Košice September 12, 2025
