CTRL + ALT + UCM: International Staff Week Will Provide a Platform to Revitalize University Ideas

“We see Staff Week as an opportunity not only to introduce UCM to international partners, but above all to create a space where people from different universities can inspire one another. This year, we want to put participants more at the center of the action. Everyone comes with their own experience, problem, or idea, and it is precisely by sharing them together that we can find solutions that would have taken us much longer to discover on our own,” explains Nikoleta Vanková, head of the Department of International Relations at UCM.

CTRL + ALT + UCM. Time for a Restart.

This year’s Staff Week theme refers to the well-known keyboard shortcut and uses it as a metaphor for today’s universities. The world of higher education is changing—students, staff, technology, communication methods, and opportunities for international collaboration are all evolving. That’s why it’s sometimes necessary to pause and ask ourselves what still works, what no longer does, and what we could be doing completely differently.

“We don’t want to talk only about examples of best practices. Equally important are the lessons learned from what didn’t work, what needed to be changed, or what we’ve learned along the way. Even failure can be a very valuable experience if we’re able to share it openly,” adds Nikoleta Vanková.

Artificial intelligence will be one of the program’s topics, but Staff Week will not be a conference on AI. The focus will be on the broader picture of the modern university and on connecting people, communication, internationalization, technology, and new ideas.

Five Days = Five Perspectives on the University

The Staff Week program is divided into five thematic days, which symbolically correspond to the individual parts of the title CTRL + ALT + DEL + ENTER and culminate in a collective RESTART.

Monday – CTRL: Take back control
The first day will focus on people—students, staff, well-being, and university culture. It will raise the question of what we want to bring back “under control” at our universities.

Tuesday – ALT: Find Alternatives
Participants will explore alternative approaches to international collaboration, mobility, communication, and partnership-building.

Wednesday – DEL: What should universities stop doing?
What no longer works? What do we do simply because we’ve always done it that way? Wednesday’s program will create a space for open discussion about what could simply be eliminated, simplified, or reevaluated in university life.

Thursday – ENTER: Bring something new in
. New technologies, artificial intelligence, digitization, media, communication, and innovation. On this day, the expertise of UCM and the Faculty of Mass Media Communication will also be put to greater use.

Friday – RESTART: What comes next?
The final day will be dedicated to ideas, collaboration, and what can actually be changed upon returning to one’s own university.

Fewer presentations, more collaborative work

One of the main goals of UCM International Staff Week 2026 is to introduce participatory formats that allow participants to actively engage with the program.

For example, the week will feature “The Failure Room,” where participants will share projects or ideas that didn’t go as planned, along with the lessons they learned from them.

The “Steal My Idea” format will provide a space for a brief presentation of a specific solution or activity that other universities can easily adopt and adapt to their own circumstances. Unboxed Talks, on the other hand, will be based on the principle of presenting a single idea, experience, or problem in seven minutes.

International teams will also come together in The University Hack Room, where they will collaboratively seek solutions to real-world university challenges. The program will be complemented by discussions, brainstorming sessions, a World Café, and other collaborative formats.

“We want Staff Week participants to take away not only new contacts and notes from the presentations, but also a specific idea they can try out when they return home. And we also want UCM to take something away—the experiences and perspectives of our international colleagues,” says Nikoleta Vanková.

A Space for New Partnerships and New Ideas

UCM International Staff Week will thus not only be a professional program but also an opportunity to build international relationships and partnerships. Bringing together university staff from different countries will create a space for sharing experiences, networking, and exploring opportunities for further collaboration.

CTRL + ALT + UCM | Time for a Restart will take place November 9–13, 2026, in Trnava.