The academic year began with an awards ceremony honoring outstanding colleagues and students

The ceremony was also attended by representatives of Slovak universities, state administration, and local government, as well as members of the scientific councils, academic senates, and the UCM Board of Trustees. The event took place on Monday, October 5, 2026, in the Jozef Matúš Auditorium.

The Rector took the ceremonial oath and presented the insignia to the vice-rectors:

• Assoc. Prof. Andrej Brník, PhD., Vice Rector for Development and Public Relations,
• Doc. PhDr. Ľudmila Čábyová, PhD., Vice Rector for Education and Quality,
• Prof. RNDr. Miroslav Ondrejovič, PhD., Vice Rector for Science and Research,
• Doc. PhDr. Richard Brix, PhD., Vice Rector for International Relations.

In her first inaugural address, Rector Dirgová Luptáková noted that UCM will celebrate its 30th anniversary next year and that, for the first time in its history, all vice-rectors are graduates of the university. “Tradition gives the university its identity. Youth can give it courage,” she said.

“Our ambition is not to catch up to the age of traditional universities. Fortunately, we cannot catch up to that. Our ambition is to match—and in some areas surpass—their quality,” said the rector.

As the rector noted, the new academic year begins with 6,422 enrolled students in 186 degree programs. Over the past two years, the university has invested more than 14 million euros in infrastructure upgrades, of which approximately 9.9 million euros came from the Consortium project. Among her priorities, the rector listed digitization, interdisciplinary research at the 4D Research Center, cooperation with the city of Trnava and the Trnava Self-Governing Region, new options for completing studies—including a final internship— the UCM Doctoral School, and student safety.

“For me, transparency isn’t just another layer of oversight. It’s the foundation of trust,” she said regarding the budget decision-making process. She promised staff an open-door policy: “But that doesn’t mean an automatic ‘yes.’ It means a willingness to listen, to speak openly with one another, and to explain my decisions.”

She concluded her speech with the hope that graduates would one day be able to say that UCM prepared them for what came next: “To prepare a person not only for a career. To prepare them for life.”

Subsequently, the chair of the Academic Senate, Assoc. Prof. Višňovský, presented a report on the Senate’s activities. Speeches were also given by Marcel Vysocký, Director General of the Section for Higher Education, Internationalization, and Quality in Higher Education, Mgr. Jozef Viskupič, Chairman of the Trnava Self-Governing Region, and PhDr. Eva Nemčovská, PhD., Deputy Mayor of Trnava.

University Honors

The UCM Scientific Council conferred the honorary title of Professor Emeritus on Prof. Ing. Václav Vybíhal, CSc., of the Faculty of Social Sciences.

The Ján Sambucus Award plaque was presented to Prof. PhDr. Josef Dohnal, CSc., for his contribution to the development of the Russian Language and Culture in Professional Communication program, and Mgr. Nora Dostálová for her service as chair of the trade union.

The Rector’s Award was presented to Mgr. Jana Koišová, PhD., for her teaching activities and service as Vice Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences, and to Ing. Beáta Majerníková for her work as Head of the Department of Economic Activities.

The Rector also presented the Rector’s Award to students, handing out the awards together with TTSK Chairman Jozef Viskupič. The following students received awards:

• Renáta Lacenová for her achievements in table tennis at the 2026 Slovak Winter Universiade,
• Juraj Bartok, Jana Škopeková, Petra Benediktiová, and Zuzana Ordzovenská for first place in the Digital/Web category of the Creativity Cabinet in the 2026 Golden Hammer competition,
• RNDr. Dominik Hrinkino for his contribution to the scientific activities of the Faculty of Natural Sciences in the field of cybersecurity,
• Mgr. Yevhenii Vasheka for the Academy for International Students at the Faculty of Social Sciences (FSV) of UCM and the multilingual dictionary of political science terms,
• Daniel Hradský for representing the Institute of Management, the university, and Slovakia in the discipline of pump track.