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U.S. lecturers and researchers in the Slovak Republic experience firsthand this rich history. The end of Communist rule in 1989 initiated a number of changes in the economic, political and cultural life of Czechoslovakia that continued in the two independent nations, the Slovak and Czech Republics, created in 1993. One of the major changes has been in higher education, which began in 1465 with the establishment of the first university in the Slovak lands and has been undergoing a profound transformation to the present day. One year after Slovak independence, the J.W. Fulbright Commission for Educational Exchange in the Slovak Republic was created in Bratislava to administer the Fulbright program in the new country in cooperation with the U.S. Department of State. Since that time approximately 180 U.S. scholars, professionals and students have studied or worked in the Slovak Republic and approximately 220 Slovaks have come to the United States under the auspices of the program.

Hlavne nam and Roland Statue

American academics and professionals continue to participate in the ongoing transitions in the Slovak Republic. Lecturers contribute in a variety of ways, such as offering new perspectives in fields such as special education, expanding the breadth of American studies or developing new social science curricula. Artists produce their own creative projects and curators and museum specialists assist in the development of arts administration programs. There are also opportunities for higher education administrators to work directly with their Slovak colleagues on the creation of new B.A., M.A. and Ph.D. degree programs required to integrate the Slovak educational system into the European Union. Researchers explore a number of topics including contemporary Slovak politics.

American participants in the Fulbright program highly value their experiences, both inside and outside the classroom or libraries and learn a great deal from their work in the Slovak Republic. William DeSoto, a Fulbright lecturer in political science at the Slovak Agricultural University in 2004-05, wrote, “All of my time in Slovakia was wonderful and I savored every moment. I wanted to immerse myself in the life of the university, the culture and the country. My willingness to do that made my experience a vastly richer one. I also met several friends I hope to collaborate with in the future. The Fulbright experience was a wonderful privilege I will treasure for the rest of my life.” Dr. DeSoto went on to explain that the knowledge he gained in the Slovak Republic brought new insights into his courses on U.S. politics and American foreign policy.

Old Town and Hrad Bratislava

Myron Levine, a lecturer in American politics at Comenius University that same year presented public lectures about the 2004 U.S. Presidential election. He placed its outcomes in a long-term perspective, briefed Slovak journalists and gave on the spot interviews at the U.S. embassy media room on the night of the election. His experiences in the Slovak Republic (and visits to Hungary, the Czech Republic and Berlin) resulted in a new interdisciplinary course called “The New Europe” at his home institution. Professor Levine wrote, “I am convinced of the growing importance of the European Union and the institution’s evolution and impact are largely missed in the curriculum of most U.S. colleges.”

Kris Bulcroft, affiliated with the Economics University in Bratislava, served as a consultant on higher education administration and worked directly with Slovak administrators. She wrote, “It may sound trite, but the Fulbright experience truly transformed my professional life and personal views. I have developed a keen interest in transnational higher education issues (most especially quality assurance and global marketplace of higher education). I plan to publish in this area, with special interest and attention on central Europe. My professional interests are now firmly aimed at central Europe and the way the new EU is positioning itself in the global markeplace of higher education.

In order to familiarize U.S. scholars both with the country and with its educational establishment, CIES has located a number of useful Web sites. Interested applicants should consult these pages and CIES program personnel.

Embassy of the Slovak Republic
www.slovakembassy-us.org/
Official information about the embassy, consulates, visas, tourism and the Slovak Republic.

US- Embassy in the Slovak Republic
http://bratislava.usembassy.gov
General information about the U.S. Embassy and U.S. government programs in the Slovak Republic.

Library of Congress’s Portals to the World
www.loc.gov/rr/international/portals.html
This site offers links to selective and authoritative electronic resources, arranged by country or geographic regions, with links for each, sorted in a wide range of broad categories. Country resources include a section on education. There are also links to the library's other resources on international affairs. 

Official Slovak Tourist Board
www.sacr.sk/

Slovakia.Org
www.slovakia.org/tourism/regions.htm
Guide to the Slovak Republic with information on each of the eight major regions of the country.

American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies
www.fas.harvard.edu/~aaass/
The AAASS is the preeminent professional association for Slavic Studies in the United States. This site lists Web resources of interest to scholars.

REESWeb
www.ucis.pitt.edu/reesweb/
This site provides a comprehensive index of electronic resources on Central and East Europe and the NIS sponsored by the Center for Russian and East European Studies at the University of Pittsburgh.

School of Slavonic and East European Studies, London
www.ssees.ac.uk/slovak.htm
An excellent list of Internet resources for the Slovak Republic.

Czechoslovak Studies Association
www.czechslovakhistory.org/
Association to further the study of the peoples, culture and history within and without the historic boundaries of Czechoslovakia and its predecessor and successor states.

Slovak Studies Association
http://www.as.uky.edu/ssa/directory.htm
Association founded to  promote interdisciplinary scholarly research, publication, and teaching related to the Slovak experience the world over, to promote the exchange of information among scholars interested in Slovak studies, to sponsor panels and sessions on Slovak themes at scholarly conferences, and to act as a clearinghouse for information concerning Slovak studies.

http://svu2000.org/
Most scholars of the Central European region recognize the acronym SVU which in Czech and Slovak languages stands for the Czechoslovak Society of Arts and Sciences. Since its inception in 1958, the SVU has grown into a respected international organization with chapters in major cities around the world. The SVU is a nonprofit, nonpolitical, cultural organization, dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge, the free dissemination of ideas and the fostering of contacts among people.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Slovak Republic
www.foreign.gov.sk

Guide to Politics in East Central Europe and Eurasia
http://web.ku.edu/~herron/europe/slovakia.php/
This is an annotated compilation of links covering government structure, NGOs, various other agencies and news sources. Erik Herron, Director of the Center for Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies and Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Kansas manages the site.

Central and East European Law Initiative (CEELI)
www.abanet.org/ceeli/home.html
A public service project of the American Bar Association, this site is designed to advance the rule of law in the world by supporting the legal reform process underway in Central and Eastern Europe, the Baltics, and Eurasia. Although the Slovak Republic is no longer a major country of focus in the program, it does participate in certain initiatives that are listed under Special Projects on the CEELI Website.
 
News Agency of the Slovak Republic
www.tasr.sk/indeng.php

The Slovak Spectator
www.slovakspectator.sk/

English language weekly newspaper.

Jurist - Slovakia
http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/world/slovakia.htm
Jurist is a Web-based legal news and real-time legal research service powered by a mostly volunteer team of over 30 part-time law student reporters, editors and Web developers led by law professor Bernard Hibbitts at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. It contains information about Slovak law, legal issues and law schools.

The World Bank activities in Slovakia
www.worldbank.sk/
Provides general information about the Slovak economy; also describes World Bank projects in the country.

Slovak Ministry of Education
www.education.gov.sk
English section is under construction. A list of Slovak universities can be found at: www.minedu.sk/ODK/vysokes.htm

Library of Congress’s Portals to the World
Information on the Slovak Republic’s educational system is found at:
www.loc.gov/rr/international/european/slovakia/resources/sk-education.html

Central and East European Education Directory
www.ceebd.co.uk/ceeed/educatio.htm
The goal of this site is to provide comprehensive information on undergraduate and post-graduate programs offered by over 1300 academic establishments in Central and Eastern Europe and Eurasia. It provides an overview of the structure of education, primary through graduate, in various countries and has a special section on MBA, engineering and other fields.

Curriculum Resource Center
www.ceu.hu/crc/reguni1.html
This site at the Central European University in Budapest provides links to university Web sites in Central/Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union.

Directorate-General for Education and Culture
http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/education_culture/index_en.html
This site contains information on EU programs and policies in higher education and a
section on EU-US cooperation.

Eurydice
www.eurydice.org/portal/page/portal/Eurydice
This site is an excellent resource covering the education systems and policies of EU member states. Indexed by country. 

The Bologna Process
www.coe.int/t/dg4/highereducation/EHEA2010/BolognaPedestrians_en.asp
The Bologna Process is a European reform process aimed at establishing a European Higher Education Area by 2010. The Slovak Republic participates in this process.

Slovak Academy of Sciences
www.sav.sk
Provides information about individual Academy of Sciences’ research institutes and contact information.

Slovak Rectors Conference
www.srk.sk
This is a non-governmental association and one of the three representative bodies of institutions of higher education in the Slovak Republic. Conference supports cooperation of rectors on issues affecting higher education.

Study in Slovakia
www.studyin.sk
Resource for information about education and universities in the Slovak Republic, as well as towns in which universities are located.

J. William Fulbright Commission for Educational Exchange in Bratislava
www.fulbright.sk
The Commission is a binational organization established by an agreement between the governments of the United States and the Slovak Republic to administer the educational exchange program between the two countries. Excellent resource with sections for US grantees.

The list below contains links to individual institutions with English-language Web sites that have hosted Fulbright scholars in the past or are possible host institutions. This list is by no means exhaustive. Other affiliations may be possible. The list of specializations of past grantees does not exclude grantees in other fields being placed at these institutions.

Comenius University
www.uniba.sk/
Has hosted grantees in public health, special education, American Studies, sociology, political science, law and other fields.

Matej Bel University
www.umb.sk
Previous grantees to Matej Bel University have worked in fields such as chemistry, TEFL and business.

Presov University
www.unipo.sk
Has hosted grantees in TEFL and literature.

University of Constantine the Philosopher
www.ukf.sk
Has hosted grantees in Linguistics and American studies.

University of Economics Bratislava
www.euba.sk
Has hosted grantees in economics, sociology and higher education administration.

Technical University of Kosice
www.tuke.sk/
Has hosted grantees in engineering and public administration.

J.P. Safarik University of Kosice
www.upjs.sk
Has hosted grantees in American studies and TEFL.

University of Trnava
www.truni.sk
Has hosted grantees in sociology and journalism.

University of Cyril and Methodius
www.ucm.sk
Has hosted grantees in political science, communications and journalism.

Technical University in Zvolen
www.tuzvo.sk

Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra
www.uniag.sk
Has hosted grantees in political science, education, economics and higher education administration.

University of Zilina
www.utc.sk

Academy of Fine Arts in Bratislava
www.aku.sk
Has hosted grantees in art and art management.

Enjoy Slovakia.com
www.enjoyslovakia.com/

Slovakia Document Store
http://slovakia.eunet.sk/
Has information about country travel, flight information, online news sources and additional links for information on the Slovak Republic.