Members of the Executive Board

Regarding the Agency, Robert was the driving force behind the foundation of the Agency from the very beginning, from the adoption of the statutes and internal regulations, through the establishment of organizational structures, to staffing. He oversaw the implementation of quality assurance in accordance with the ESG. He was heavily engaged in educating and introducing the systematic implementation of internal quality assurance in HEIs in Slovakia. It was under his chairmanship that the Agency set up the quality assurance rules for HEIs that came into force in 2020. During his tenure the Agency started processing study programme accreditation applications in 2021. Since then, the Agency has granted accreditation of 200 study programmes. In 2022, all HEIs in Slovakia applied for an initial institutional assessment of internal quality assurance. The Agency processed all 33 applications. So far, the Agency Executive Board has made decisions in 32 proceedings. Under his leadership, SAAHE has undergone an ENQA Agency Review, was enrolled in EQAR in 2023 and became a member of ENQA in early 2024. All Agency decisions in relating to ESG are now registered in the DEQAR database. The Agency is looking into the possibility of cross-border assessments in Slovakia and is currently preparing for accreditation of joint study programmes with a European approach. Robert has actively participated in several events organized by ENQA and EUA, such as ENQA Members Forums, ENQA General Assembly, and EQAF. In the SEQA-ESG project he featured as a representative of a participating agency, while in the SEQA-ESG2 project he was a speaker disseminating practical experience. Within the QA-FIT project he presented reflections from the “new agency” point of view at a webinar and took an active part in a focus group on the ESG update. In his previous job, 2011-2019, Robert served as rector of the Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava, the second largest university in Slovakia. As a rector, he made sure he acknowledged outstanding students, teaching staff and researchers; he contributed to secure funding, and managed major investments to the institutional infrastructure. Prior to that, he held the posts of vice-rector and vice-dean at the same university. His main areas of focus were research management, doctoral studies, tech transfer and IT services. He also founded a university technology business incubator with a start-up programme InQb, etc. In addition to that, Robert was a vice-president of the Slovak Rectors’ Conference, a member of several governmental and non-governmental bodies active in the field of research and innovation, and chair of the Research and Technology Council of the Higher Education Institutions Council. In terms of his academic background, Robert (MSc. 1988 STU, PhD 1993) is a professor of electronics. His research focus was on nanoelectronics, quantum semiconductor heterostructures and ultravacuum technologies. He was awarded Nummum Academiae Memorialem Tribut by the Slovak Academy of Sciences, elected professor honoris causa at Obuda University, Hungary and was nominated for TREND TOP manager of the year. Throughout his career Robert has gained extensive academic and research experience abroad. He was granted a one-year research stay at the Electronics department of the University of York in the UK and benefited from the International Visiting Leadership Program on Current Challenges in Higher Education in the US. He gave training courses on innovation in south-east Asia (Vietnam and Thailand) and served for several years on the Executive Council of the International Union of Vacuum Science, Technology and Application (IUVSTA), a global research community.

Author and co-author of 330 outputs of creative activity, for which 1400 citations and references are registered. Member of the Steering Committee of the IGU Commission on “The Dynamics of Economic Spaces”, editor-in-chief of the international scientific journal Folia Geographica, member of the editorial boards of several international scientific journals. Holder of several awards – in 2018 he was awarded honorary membership of the Polish Geographical Society. Until 2019 he was a professor at the Faculty of Humanities and Natural Sciences of the University of Prešov, where he also held several managerial positions – dean (2015-2019), rector (2007-2015), vice-dean (2000-2007). He has supervised 9 PhD students. He was the principal investigator of 6 domestic and 3 international research grant projects. He worked as an extraordinary and visiting professor at foreign universities in Poland and France – Uniwersytet Rzeszowski (2005-2007, 2008-2018), Université des Sciences et Technologies de Lille (2006). He was Vice-Chairman of the Cultural and Educational Grants Agency KEGA (2016-2019), Vice-Chairman of the KEGA Commission no. 3 for content integration and diversification of higher education studies (2016-2019), Vice President of ACEU – Alliance of Central-Eastern European Universities (2011-2016), President of the Slovak Geographical Society at the Slovak Academy of Sciences (2006-2014), member of the evaluation commission of the programme “Supporting Individuality” of the Intenda Foundation (2009-2014), Member of the Working Group for Physics and Earth Sciences of the Accreditation Commission – Advisory Body of the Slovak Government (2003-2011), Member of the VEGA Commission for Earth and Space Sciences (2005-2008) and Member of the Scientific Councils of Universities and Faculties in Slovakia, Czechia and Poland. He graduated from the Leadership in Higher Education: A Senior Executive Programme at the Oxford Academy for Education and Development (2013). He graduated from the Faculty of Science of Comenius University in Bratislava (1990 – RNDr./MSc.) and Uniwersytet Łódzki, Łódź, Poland (1997- PhD.).

In scientific research, teaching and publishing activities at home and abroad, he pays attention to the issue of human communication through the lens of general linguistics, comparative, systemic and applied linguistics, sociolinguistics, pragmalinguistics, communication theory, mediology and axiology. The supporting and permanent sphere of interest is formed by interdisciplinary research into understanding in society with a focus on natural language: the area of ​​the spoken (oral) form of the language and colloquial Slovak, communication in interest and professional micro-communities, in the media and political communication sphere and in the electronic environment. It focuses on the language, style and stylistics of the text, on modern rhetoric, language contacts and the culture of expression, on managerial and pedagogical communication, Slovak as a foreign language and on the linguistic-communicative nature and socio-cultural mission of information and communication technologies.
He lectures at Matej Bel University in Banská Bystrica (his home workplace since 1985), at the faculties of universities in Košice, Trnava, Karvina, Olomouc and Prague. It cultivates and maintains professional contacts with several scientific schools and academic institutions and presents its scientific research results in the form of conference papers and publications at domestic and foreign scientific events (Belarus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Croatia, Hungary, Germany, Poland, Austria, Russia, Serbia). During his teaching career, he supervised 130 graduates (of which 5 abroad) and within the professor’s school he supervised 12 successful doctoral students.
Author and/or co-author of 7 book publications, 17 textbooks and exercise books of Slovak for elementary schools, author of 110 scientific studies, 120 professional articles, 28 reviews, 200 expertises and opinions, compiler, or co-author of 38 scientific, professional and artistic publications. Active participant in 96 domestic and international scientific events. Head of the organizational team and co-organizer of 16 international scientific conferences (of which 5 in foreign co-partnership). Responsible researcher and co-researcher of 12 scientific projects. Creator and/or co-author of 8 university study programs. In the database of responses to his scientific research and publication activity, there are 560 identified citation units and responses, of which 170 are abroad.
Memberships in professional societies (selection): international editorial board of the linguistic journal Glottotheory – Akademie Verlag – De Gruyter Berlin, Germany; editorial board of the linguistic periodical Jazykovedný časopis – Jazykovedný ústav Ľ. Štúr SAV in Bratislava (since 1998); Commission for Sociolinguistics accredited to the International Committee of Slavists – Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland (since 2010); Accreditation Commission, advisory body of the Government of the Slovak Republic – Government of the Slovak Republic (2014 – 2019; in the years 2018 – 2019 vice-chairman); Slovak Accreditation Agency for Higher Education – member of the executive SAAVŠ in Bratislava: 2019 – 2021 (1st period), 2021 – 2026 (2nd period).
From publishing activities: author of book publications Interdisciplinary cooperation (Banská Bystrica 2002); Sociolinguistic Aspects of Electronically Determined Communication (Karviná 2009); Rapid reading and thought processing of the text (Banská Bystrica 2011); Theoretical and Applicative Insights into the Dynamics of Spoken Communication / Dynamics of spoken communication in theoretical and application insights (Banská Bystrica 2016); co-author of book publications Language – communication – society (Banská Bystrica 1997); Language in the communication of selected social environments (Banská Bystrica 1999); Language, media, politics (Ed. S. Čmejrková – J. Hoffmannová; Prague 2003); Manipulation-communication and persuasive-communication concepts and others.
Acknowledgments of results and awards (selection): 1985 Prize of the Minister of Education of the Slovak Republic for excellent results in studies at university; 1993 Laureate of Chalupka Brezno ’93 for extraordinary artistic performance; 1996, 2000, 2005, 2009 UMB Rector’s Award in the field of science and research; 2000 Great UMB Gold Medal and others; 2013 nomination for XV. the international congress of Slavists in Minsk (Belarus) and active participation in the event; 2018 nomination for XVI. international congress of Slavists in Belgrade (Serbia) and active participation in the event and others.

She has been a member of the executive board of the Slovak Accreditation Agency for Higher Education in Bratislava since its inception, and at the Clinic of Cardiology and Angiology of the Faculty of Medicine of the Slovak Medical University and the National Institute of Heart and Vascular Diseases in Bratislava as a primary care physician.

Vice dean (1991-1995), head of the department of Chemistry and Chemical Technologies (1997-2010), he was a member of several scientific boards in the Slovak Republic, he is currently a member of the scientific board of the Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences of the Czech University of Life Sciences in Prague, Czech Republic, where he worked as a professor (2016-2020). He has supervised 13 PhD students. He was the principal investigator and investigator of several domestic and international research grant projects (APVV, VEGA, KEGA, EVA 4.0, Centre of excellence, etc.). He was a member of the Grant Agency for Technics – Commission for Petrochemical, Organic and Inorganic Chemistry (1995-1998), the Scientific Grant Agency of the Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sport of the Slovak Republic and the Slovak Academy of Sciences VEGA – Commission for Chemical and Chemical Technological Sciences (2002-2005) and the Slovak Research and Development Agency APVV – Working group 3 – Construction, transport and communications, wood, water management sciences, chemical engineering (2011-2014). He was a member of working groups No. 10 Ecology and Ecology and Environmental Sciences (2010-2019) and No. 23 Security services (2013-2019) of the Accreditation Commission – Advisory Body of the Slovak Government. Author and co-author of 115 publications on the Web of Science Core Collection, for which more than 1400 WoS citations are recorded, H-index = 21. He is member of the editorial boards of several international scientific journals. He graduated from the Faculty of Natural Sciences of the University of Pavol Jozef Šafárik in Košice (1982), inaugurated at the Technical University in Zvolen (2000) and obtained the scientific rank of DrSc. at the Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava (2021).

Education and qualifications
• University of Economics in Bratislava, major: finance, engineering studies, completed in 1978
• Slovak Agricultural University in Nitra, department: sectoral and cross-sectional economies, doctoral studies, completed in 2004
• MBA (Master of Business Administration) study since 2014 at LIGS University, field: strategic management, completed in 2015
ADDITIONAL EDUCATION:
• 1992 – tax advisor exams, certificate number 59/92
• 1993 – expert in the field of Economics and Management, branch: Accounting and taxation
• 1994 – audit exams, SKAU license number 395
• 2002 – certified expert accountant
• 2005 – exam in international financial reporting IAS/IFRS

MEMBERSHIP IN PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
• Slovak Chamber of Tax Advisors – since 1992
• Slovak Chamber of Auditors – since 1994
• Slovak Chamber of Certified Accountants – since 2002
• Slovak Chamber of Experts – since 2003

ADDITIONAL MEMBERSHIP:
• Vice President for Economics of the Slovak Chamber of Auditors in Bratislava from 2000 to 2008
• Vice-Chairman of the Board of the Office for Supervision of Audit Performance in Bratislava from 2008 to 2012
• member of the Accreditation Commission of the Slovak Republic since 2014
• member of the executive board of the Slovak Accreditation Agency for Higher Education since 2019

Work experience

• EKOPRAKTIK, spol. s r.o., Trnava – manager, partner, since 1994 – present
provision of audit and expert services, economic consulting and bookkeeping, management of the auditors’ team, company management, responsible for the complex management of the audit company, including project management of the teams performing the audit
• TAX – AUDIT Slovensko, spol. s r.o., Trnava – partner, senior manager, since 1997 – present
provision of audit services, economic and tax consultancy, responsible for complex management of the audit company, including management of audit teams for public and private sector clients

Author and co-author of 232 outputs of creative activity, for which 504 citations and responses are recorded. Member of the National Selection Committee of the CEEPUS program in the field of social sciences (Central European Exchange Program for University Studies) since July 2015. Member of the Board of the Agency for Research and Development Support for Social Sciences since 2015. He was a member of the Accreditation Commission, an advisory body of the Slovak government (2016 – 2019). ). Head of the Department of Criminal Law and Criminology of the Faculty of Law of the University of Trnava (2000-2019), vice-dean for faculty development and foreign relations (2000-2007), vice-rector for scientific research and artistic activity and the University of Trnava in Trnava (2007-2011). Until 2019, a member of several scientific councils of universities and faculties in Slovakia. He participated in 34 habilitation proceedings or inaugural proceedings and two proceedings for the award of the scientific rank of DrSc. He educated 30 doctoral students. He was the lead investigator and co-investigator of nineteen research projects (VEGA and APVV). Member of the editorial board of the journal Forum iuris europeum (FIE), member of the editorial board of the international internet scientific journal Societas et iuriprudentia (SEI). He graduated from the Law Faculty of the Comenius University in Bratislava (1983 -JUDr.) and the Higher School od National Security Corps in Prague (1987- CSc.)

In 2019, under his leadership, ŠRVŠ received the Erasmus + KA2 “QA Student experts” project, within which he participated both professionally and managerially in the training of student experts on the quality of higher education institutions in Slovakia. He gained experience in the field of quality assurance as an active participant in international conferences, in 2019-2020 he completed trainer´s training in Brussels with experts from ENQA, EQAR, NVAO, ECA, and ESU and short-term stays in agencies and quality departments of universities in Romania, Ireland, and Great Britain. He himself was the organizer of international student trainings between 2018-2022 and the first quality assurance summer school in Slovakia in 2019. He was a member of the working group of the Minister of Education for the National Program for the Development of Education and Training (2016-2017) and a member of the working group for the creation of the law on quality assurance of higher education. Former member of the Council for Education and Training at Higher education council, member of the interdepartmental working group for youth, and the working group for EU youth dialogue. He was a student representative in temporary working groups of the Accreditation Commission, an advisory body of the Slovak government (2015-2018). He was a member of the university’s and faculty’s academic senate and a member of the university’s disciplinary committee. He briefly worked in the communications department of the Ministry of the Environment. He completed an internship at the European Parliament in Brussels. He is still actively engaged in teaching.
He is the recipient of the Harmónia award, the plaque of the “Honorable Civic Order in Slovakia”, laureate of Talents of New Europe of the CEF Foundation, he was included in the list of young artistic talents EMCY Prize winners. Holder of the plaque St. Gorazda, awards of the Minister of Education of the Slovak Republic.
He studied performing arts and theater management and received a Master of Arts degree from the Faculty of Music and Dance of the University of Performing Arts in Bratislava.