The Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra with its educational and scientific research activities is today an important part of the European and world educational space. It has become a modern, open university, reflecting the needs of the times in the agri-food sector, both locally and globally. Its mission is to prepare competitive professionals for all areas of the agri-food sector, as well as for other areas of the national economy – engineering, finance, government institutions and bodies, etc. In its six faculties, it provides a wide range of opportunities for acquiring knowledge in the field of natural, economic, technical and social sciences in 90 study programmes, of which 12 are in English. Through the international programmes Erasmus+, CEEPUS, the National Scholarship Programme, bilateral cooperation projects and other programmes, SPU students have the opportunity to complete part of their studies at universities abroad.
In 2010, SPU Nitra was the first university in Slovakia to receive the prestigious ECTS Label, awarded by the European Commission for the provision and implementation of the European Credit Transfer System and student mobility, which it defended again in 2013. At the same time, the Diploma Supplement Label was added to it, which confirms that the Diploma Supplement issued by SPU meets the demanding European standards. In 2015, the Accreditation Commission ranked SPU in Nitra among the seven best-ranked universities in Slovakia.
According to the prestigious global SCIMAGO Institutions Rankings for 2020, it is the second best Slovak university, and according to the global UI Green Metric 2020 ranking focused on university sustainability and the state of campuses, it is a leader in sustainability in Slovakia.
The quality of the Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra is confirmed by the results of pedagogical and scientific research activities, successes in international cooperation, but above all by the 90 thousand graduates who have left the gates of their alma mater over the period of its existence.
The Faculty of Horticulture and Landscape Engineering was established in 1995. The priority areas of activity of the Faculty of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture include science and research, which are a prerequisite for the fulfilment of the mission in the field of education.
The Faculty guarantees the educational process in accredited study programmes at all three levels of education, implemented by the ECTS credit system.
It focuses primarily on the education of professionals oriented towards horticultural production, fruit growing, viticulture and winemaking, vegetable growing and floriculture, the design of garden and park landscaping, the horticultural and architectural design of public, reserved and recreational spaces, the restoration and maintenance of green areas, land development, soil, water and air protection, waste management, construction and rural renewal.
The interaction between the various institutes in collaboration with the other participating faculties ensures the conditions for students to acquire specific knowledge and skills that will improve their social and professional position as graduates in a knowledge-based society.
Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava, Faculty of Civil Engineering
The Faculty of Civil Engineering of Slovak Technical University (STU) as a co-investigator of the project has recently focused on the issue of flood protection of the territory, as evidenced by the successfully implemented project of the Centre of Excellence for Integrated Flood Protection of the Territory from the EU Structural Funds, thanks to which the measurement and computing technology, software and hardware equipment of the water management departments of the Faculty of Civil Engineering has been significantly strengthened. The establishment of the Centre initiated a series of joint projects between the Faculty of Science, the Institute of Hydraulic Engineering, the Faculty of Science, the Faculty of Science of the University of Technology and the Institute of Water Management of the University of Bratislava, which led to a comprehensive approach based on the philosophy of organically combining research on the scientific basis for flood protection methods with research for nature conservation and rational support for the preservation of ecosystems in the catchment area. This integrated approach complemented by the necessary supporting research in the field of mathematics, geoinformatics and civil engineering geodesy has been supported in recent years by the solution of 3 VEGA projects, 5 VTP and AV projects, 3 APVV and APVT projects, 3 research projects of cross-border cooperation INTERREG between Slovakia and Hungary, aimed at the revitalization of water bodies in the conditions of climate change by using the existing canal network on the common Slovak-Hungarian territory. In addition, the research team of the Department also participated in hydrological-hydraulic research on the formation of wetland systems by controlled floods in the VSN.
As the project solution is based on the application of modern mathematical methods, modelling of hydrological and hydraulic processes of the water regime, the research team is composed of experts from these fields. Young workers and PhD students are also involved in the solution.
Slovak Water Management Company – administrator of watercourses and river basins in Slovakia. SVP is classified as a strategically important state-owned enterprise with a regulated management method, because it also manages assets which, according to the Constitution of the Slovak Republic (Article 4), are the exclusive property of the state. It takes care of watercourses and the tangible fixed assets built on them, takes care of the quantity and quality of surface and groundwater. Some of the activities of the Slovak Water Management Company are of a public interest nature – in particular flood protection and the creation of navigability conditions.
SVP, š. p..:
– manages the watercourses and water works entrusted to it and manages them responsibly
– carries out the management of border flows and special activities resulting from agreements between the Slovak Republic and a neighbouring country
– ensures the supply of water from watercourses and reservoirs, including its use for the production of electricity
– carries out safety work to protect against the adverse effects of water on watercourses and waterworks, and carries out tasks during flood activity
– carries out construction, assembly and maintenance work, extraction of river materials, extraction and production of aggregates and felling of trees growing outside the forest
– ensuring effective protection of waters, watercourses and waterworks monitoring and evaluating the water quality of watercourses, water abstractions and other water management
– demarcate the waterway
– carrying out surveillance activities in protected water areas
– maintains sufficient water in ecosystems, revitalises the environment to preserve the original habitats in the area (wetlands, revitalisation of dead watercourses, etc. – e.g. NPR Šúr, SPA Senianske rybníky, SPA Medzibodrožie)
– performs other tasks arising from the Water Act as amended and related legislation.
The GMP has a national scope. Through six branch plants: the Danube River Basin, the Lower Váh River Basin, the Upper Váh River Basin, the Hron River Basin, the Hornád River Basin and the Bodrog River Basin, established on the basis of natural river basins (branch plants – i.e. former separate state enterprises Danube River Basin, Váh River Basin, Hron River Basin and Bodrog and Hornád River Basins), it manages watercourses with a length of approximately 53,500 kilometres (from 1 January 2008 to 31 December 2008). The number of watercourses managed by other administrators, mainly the Slovak Forests, has increased to approx. 20,000 km), 46 large water reservoirs and 255 other water reservoirs, including polders, 3,158 km of protective dams and a canal network of 1,605 km.
Stream management and water management activities are carried out by the SVP within natural catchment areas, which allows for greater flexibility in managing rescue and safety work during floods. This model, which has been applied by the Slovak Republic for about 50 years, has been confirmed as optimal and is therefore also recommended by the European Union for the Member States.
Since Slovakia is situated on the watershed of the Black and Baltic Seas and its natural features form the so-called hydrological roof of Europe, along which most of the water from atmospheric precipitation drains from the territory of our country, while being aware of the uneven occurrence of water in time and space, one of the important priorities of the SVP is to retain water in the country, to accumulate it in times of surplus for the period of its scarcity. This priority is reinforced by projections of emerging global climate change.
The Slovak Water Management Company knows and wants to act as a rational, responsible, socially beneficial and necessary manager of Slovakia’s irreplaceable natural water resources in the water management of our country.
Green Heritage Civic Association - Zöld örökség
We, the members of the civic association, have been living in the area of the Dunajské Klátovské rameno since time immemorial. We grew up with legends about how clean and drinkable the river was. Our old friends used to tell us endlessly about how the area was like a fairytale paradise. There were fish, animals, and plants galore, and man had been taught to live in symbiosis with them since time immemorial. It is heartbreaking to see how the Klatovy Arm has changed beyond recognition in the last 10 years or so. The once clear water has turned into a puddle and mud. The abundance of creatures living here has disappeared and instead the forest has been left empty of animals and voiceless, left dead. The once beautiful, skyward jutting trees fell, and instead of beautiful living nature, what was left was drought and death. Our people, for years, have been struggling to manage at least their own natural treasures, and it is as a result of this struggle that our association was born, which has set out not only to preserve the natural wealth of our ancestors for future generations to look after, but has also set itself the goal of retraining the population to respect the nature around them.
The aim is for people to finally realise and not take for granted the fact that they have to carry litter into the countryside, to live with the knowledge that they really must do something for a clean nature and a long-term green future for their descendants. That they must protect what is left of their ancestors in the most beautiful and best condition they can imagine and pass it on as a legacy to the next generation.
The aim is to build a truly green heritage together. That is the message of our association.