The ceremonial opening of the 2018/2019 academic year at the Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice took place in the Assembly Hall of the Faculty of Medicine in September 17, 2018. The ceremony was attended by the management of the university, by the members of the academic community, staff, students, and other distinguished guests. “The main priority of the university is to provide high-level education so that the students’ study is based on the high-quality scientific research of the professionally-educated teachers, who transfer the knowledge gained from their own scientific research into the teaching process. The employees of the university and its departments do their best to ensure that students meet state-of-the-art experimental instruments and equipment, the latest information and communication technologies, as well as innovative training methods that can be used in practice during their educational process,” said the rector of the Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice, prof. RNDr. Pavol Sovák, CSc.
The Rector also welcomed the first-year students and wished them success in their studies at one of the best universities in Slovakia, which offers not only high-quality education but also opportunities for meaningful leisure activities in the field of culture, sports and art. Additionally, he wished all members of the university community solid health and many ideas in their studies, scientific work and teaching activities.
An important event of the university in the new 2018/2019 academic year was the opening ceremony of the building of the Institute of Chemistry at the Faculty of Science, which was badly damaged by a fire in 2016. 647 days after the devastating event, the student life has returned to the reconstructed premises, and on Monday, September 17, 2018 the teaching process has also been started in the new laboratories and lecture rooms. With the participation of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of the Slovak Republic Peter Kažimír, of the Deputy Prime Minister for Investments and Informatization of the Slovak Republic Richard Raši, and of the Minister of Economy of the Slovak Republic Peter Žiga a ceremony of ribbon cutting was held by which the building became open for everyone. “It’s a great day for us. Thanks to the enormous efforts of our employees and the employees of the Faculty of Science, of the financial support of the government, ministries, the Faculty of Medicine, anonymous and non-anonymous donations, and thanks to the contractors of the reconstruction works, our promise from December 2016 became a reality, the building is available again for teaching, and the scientific infrastructure is being gradually put into operation as well,” said the Rector.
Additionally, the Rector of the university stressed that the total cost of the reconstruction works and of the equipment is about 4 million euros. The adjoining building with the gymnasium and the lecture rooms of the Institute of Chemistry have also been reconstructed with a cost of two-hundred thousand euros, which was financed by university funds.
