Prof. MUDr. Daniel Pella, PhD., Rector of UPJŠ, and Doc. RNDr. Roman Soták, PhD., Dean of the Faculty of Science at UPJŠ signed a Framework Collaboration Agreement on Joint Research between Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice and the European X-Ray Free-Electron Laser Facility GmbH (XFEL) in Hamburg on Thursday, August 28, 2025. Signing on behalf of European XFEL were Prof. Dr. Thomas Feurer, Chair of Management Board, and Prof. Dr. Serguei Molodtsov, Scientific Director. Not only has this important step broadened the University’s international contacts, but also opened the door for many research groups at UPJŠ to conduct cutting-edge scientific research.
European XFEL is a European project involving a 3.4 km long X-ray laser built in Hamburg, which is a source of X-ray radiation of exceptional quality surpassing all current global photon sources, to such an extent that we can talk about the creation of a completely new way of understanding the structure of living and non-living matter at the atomic level. It enables groundbreaking research in a wide range of scientific fields, such as biology, medicine, physics, and chemistry. The facility was built as a non-profit limited liability company under German law (GmbH) with the participation of shareholders from 11 countries. Slovakia owns a 1.16% share.
The framework collaboration agreement has placed UPJŠ among elite European universities with which European XFEL cooperates and plans to develop cooperation in the form of doctoral studies and exchange visits for researchers through joint scientific projects. The agreement is also the result of activities by the XFEL National Contact Point established at the Faculty of Science at UPJŠ in the past year. The conclusion of further amendments to the agreement will provide opportunities to support student mobilities, allowing students to familiarize themselves with research opportunities in the laboratories of this unique scientific infrastructure.
