“Modern Slovakia in Modern Europe” was the main topic debated on February 27, 2019 by Maroš Šefčovič, the Vice-President of the European Commission for Energy Union, Rectors, employees and students of three universities situated in Košice (TUKE, UPJŠ and UVLaF).

The moderator of the debate, prof. Anton Čižmár, the Vice-rector for Innovation and Technology Transfer of TUKE, first reminded the Commissioner of his first contact with TUKE in the form of live video link from Brussels more than ten years ago. “There is no need to introduce Mr. Maroš Šefčovič at our university, because, if I remember correctly, this is the seventh time he is visiting us. Last time, it was a visit a few months ago during which we discussed the topic of startups”, the Vice-rector added in his opening speech.

During the discussion in Aula Maxima the themes of the discussion, apart from the energy security and possibilities of space research, were the development of the Slovak Battery Alliance and support of young researchers, who could develop their talents in new centres of excellence.

As the Commissioner said, “The period of the upcoming European budget for the years 2021-2027 will be crucial for the Slovak Republic. This is because the European Union is expected to allocate 100 billion euros in support of science and research.” He considers this as one of the most important impulses to make Slovak research and innovations more and more engaged and involved in European research and innovation calls.