English
SlovenčinaThe independent Faculty of Ecology was founded on the basis of the decision of the Academic Senate of the then University of Forestry and Wood Technology of 14 June 1991, with effect from 1 October of the same year. Its foundation was a logical consequence of the efforts of ecological, landscape, and environmental experts to create a new, third in order, faculty of the University. However, it also resulted from the global trend towards ecologization of the population´s awareness and the corresponding need to build and develop a specialized ecological education. The Faculty of Ecology has become the first and so far the only integrated university institution in Slovakia that began to provide a complete university education to students dealing with the composition, structure, arrangement, and interrelations within different ecosystems and the corresponding protection of the natural environment, taking care of ecosystems, landscaping as well as technical, political, legislative, social, and philosophical aspects of the environment conservation.
The first students were initially admitted to a three-year bachelor study which, after a successful accreditation of general ecology including the acknowledgement of the right to habilitations and professor appointments, transformed into five-year engineering studies with specializations in landscape ecology, nature conservation, and the environment protection. The newly established Faculty was managed by the then Vice-rector Assoc. prof. Ing. Vladimir Konrad, CSc., who was subsequently appointed as its first dean.
The middle of the 1990's represents a very important milestone in the development of the Faculty. Then, at first it was renamed the Faculty of Ecology and Environmental Sciences by order of the Academic Senate of the Technical University in Zvolen of 25 May 1994, with effect from 1 January 1995. Subsequently, following the relevant decision of the Accreditation Commission, the initial one-branch study became a two-branch study. The study branch of applied ecology with specializations of landscape ecology and nature conservation or landscape engineering and landscaping, and the study branch of environmental sciences with specializations environmental sciences or the environment management started to be studied.
A relatively straighforward period in the history of the Faculty ends in 1997 passing the resolution of the Academic Senate of the Technical University in Zvolen, by which it was decided to change the seat of the Faculty of Ecology and Environmental Sciences and the project of its movement from Zvolen to Banská Štiavnica was approved. The proposal to change the seat of the Faculty met with the favourable response of then governmental authorities supporting the revitalization of Banská Štiavnica and the come back of university student traditions to this historic town. The first students started studying in Banská Štiavnica at the beginning of the academic year 1998/1999. The complete resettling of the Faculty of Ecology and Environmental Science in 2000 solved its premises problems, however, on the other hand, the geographical separation from the university seat and the high expenses for renting the premises resulted in an unbearable increase in fixed operating costs and also in a weakening of the relationship between the Faculty Ecology and Environmental Studies and other parts of the Technical University in Zvolen. In particular, in order to reduce the amount of funds spent on operation and also to strengthen the integrity of the Technical Universityin Zvolen, the rector made a decision to change the seat of the Faculty of Ecology and Environmental Sciences from Banská Štiavnica back to Zvolen with effect from 1 September of the same year following the resolution of the University Academic Senate of 16 March 2006.
After the completion of the three-level higher education system, the number of study programmes offered by the Faculty of Ecology and Environmental Sciences within the bachelor´s and master´s studies was gradually stabilized to four, namely ecology and biodiversity conservation, landscape conservation and exploitation (ecology and land use – until November 2015), environmental engineering and environmental management. This can be studied not only full-time but also part-time. The third, PhD level of the higher education is currently being implemented in the study programmes of ecology and biodiversity conservation and environmental engineering, both full-time as well as part-time. The right to conduct habilitation procedures and appointment of professors are currently accepted by our Faculty in the study branche Ecological and Environmental Sciences.
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