On September 23, 2021, the inaugural meeting of the General Assembly of the Cassovia New Industry Cluster (CNIC) took place in the historical hall of the UPJŠ Rectorate in Košice. The meeting was attended by founding members of the CNIC from the public sector, which are three universities in Košice – Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice, Technical University in Košice (TUKE), University of Veterinary Medicine and Pharmacy in Košice (UVLF), Košice, Košice Self-governing region (KSK ) and Cassovia Discovery Park for the private sector. In addition to local governments and the academic sector, the general meeting was also attended by the acceding members – the Slovak Academy of Sciences (SAS) and the Louis Pasteur University Hospital (UNLP).
Authorized Chairman of the Board of Directors, prof. RNDr. Pavol Miškovský, DrSc. opened the inaugural assembly and welcomed representatives of the founding and acceding members of the CNIC and guests. The main items on the agenda were the election of the Chairman of the General Assembly, the secretary, the verifiers of the meeting minutes, the approval of the agenda of the meeting, the approval of the membership of the acceding members, the election of the members of the Board of Directors and the election of members. Prof. Miškovský informed all the participants about the legal acts prior to the establishment of the CNIC.
Rector of TUKE, Dr. h. c. prof. h. c. prof. Ing. Stanislav Kmeť, DrSc. was elected as a Chairman of the General Meeting. At the same time, the members agreed on the term of office of the Chairman of the General Meeting, so that, given its importance, especially in relation to the public, the term of office of the Chairman lasts until the next General Meeting, at which a new Chairman will be elected. The members also agreed on a rotating system of the chairman of the general meeting between the individual members of the CNIC, voting by an absolute majority of all members.
Doc. JUDr. Renáta Bačárová, PhD., LL.M. was elected as the Secretary of the general meeting and prof. MUDr. Pavol Jarcuška, PhD., for UPJŠ in Košice and Ing. Dominik Hakulin, for Cassovia Discovery park, s.r.o. were elected as meeting verifiers. The members of the Board of Directors were elected for five years and prof. Pavol Miškovský was elected as a Chairman of the Board of Directors. Prof. Miškovský thanked all the members for their trust and stated: “Cassovia New Industry Cluster represents a modern and groundbreaking solution to the current unflattering economic and social situation in eastern Slovakia, extending to the whole of Slovakia. The CNIC has the ambition to raise the economic and social level of eastern Slovakia to the European average. Social sciences will also play an important role in CNIC’s activities, emphasizing CNIC’s ambition to develop technologies with a positive impact on the quality of life in particular.” Another item on the agenda was the election of members of the Board of Supervisors. The members of the Board of Supervisors elected JUDr. Ing. Peter Huba, PhD., as a Chairman of the Supervisory Board and JUDr. Marián Prievozník, PhD. was elected as a Deputy Chairman of the Board of Supervisors.
“CNIC already has a real foundation, which was formed in the UPJŠ Technology and Innovation Park, where up to 40 people currently work. It is also a huge opportunity for Košice universities to make the environment more attractive for students and thus support the emergence of innovations and the creation of start-ups and connect them with the private sector “, said the Rector of UPJŠ in Košice, prof. RNDr. Pavol Sovák, CSc.
In conclusion, the Chairman of the General Meeting, prof. Kmeť wished the elected members much success in their work, thanked all the members for their participation and closed the meeting.
