Published: 19.06.2026
On April 14, 2026, the Academic Senate elected doc. RNDr. Daniela Ondrejovič Chmelová, PhD. for the dean of the Faculty of Natural Sciences UCM in Trnava. She will serve a four-year term from 2026 to 2030.
How did you receive the news about your election as dean of the Faculty of Natural Sciences of UCM in Trnava?
With mixed feelings. On the one hand, I was pleased with this news, because I consider it a success that my colleagues and students from the faculty chose me as their representative and coordinator for the next period, and at the same time, it is an honor for me to become the dean of such a high-quality faculty as the Faculty of Natural Sciences. On the other hand, from the beginning I was also aware of the responsibility associated with this function. My advantage is that I have gone through almost all levels at the faculty, from a student at individual levels of study, to a scientific research worker, assistant professor and associate professor, to the position of vice dean for quality and later for science and quality, so I dare say that I know the faculty from different perspectives.
With what expectations do you enter the function of dean for the period 2026-2030?
Due to the fact that I was part of the management of the faculty in the previous period, I have a realistic idea of what awaits us in the following period. The faculty has a good foundation, a team of high-quality people working on interesting scientific topics, a developed instrument infrastructure and even a developed transfer of knowledge into practice, but at the same time we have several challenges ahead of us that will need to be solved in the near future.
First of all, my goal is to simplify administrative activities, increase the transparency and practicality of the faculty's operating rules. I assume that colleagues will sigh now, because internal regulations and various guidelines are mainly connected with this plan, but I believe that at the end of this effort, many activities at the faculty will be faster and more effective for all of us.
At the same time, I know that we are not going to have an easy time. After the processes of harmonizing study programs with new standards, there is a new higher education law that changes many customary and functional processes. However, it also brings new challenges that we will have to deal with as a faculty, such as practical teaching, practice instead of defending a final thesis in state exams, short study programs or micro-certificates.
What will be your main priorities in the first months as head of the faculty?
In the first months, it will be especially important to divide the agenda so that it is clear who is responsible for what. Set clear competencies for individual vice-deans as well as heads of institutes.
I will try to communicate everything on time. Subsequently, I would also like to focus on the quality of study programs. As part of the Strategic Technologies Platform for Europe, we submitted projects for new, I think, interesting programs for students as well. I also started discussions about the further direction of doctoral study programs, especially in the field of chemistry. Within this year, together with the persons responsible for the study program, we also prepared the master's study program Applied Informatics in an external form, which is currently in the process of assessment at the RVHK UCM.
Last but not least, I would like to improve the form, as well as the scope of the faculty's promotion to the outside. Set a schedule, select key events to make our faculty visible, in order to show that we are also doing interesting research applicable not only on a national but also an international scale in Trnava.
What do you see as the strongest points of the UCM Faculty of Natural Sciences and what would you like to build on?
The faculty's strongest point is that we are the Faculty of Natural Sciences. I do not know a more fascinating world than the world of natural sciences. We have a unique background, because here students can really try everything with their own hands. In addition to theoretical knowledge, they will also acquire practical skills, which is not quite common nowadays, even abroad. In addition, they can verify the acquired knowledge and skills when preparing final theses, in which they can also make mistakes in a safe environment within scientific teams, thereby gaining experience in solving entrusted professional and scientific problems. I consider this a competitive advantage of our graduates, that they get this experimental experience already at the faculty during their studies and can draw on it in practice or when continuing in the academic field.
At the same time, I think it is an advantage that we are not a large faculty. For us, a student is not a number, but for us he is a person with a name, with whom we work throughout the course of his studies, and we are in contact with many of them even after they have finished their studies. I often see this in student questionnaires as a great benefit of studying at our faculty for them.
Last but not least, they are educators, quality educators. We have experts here from various fields, such as biology, biotechnology, environmental and ecological sciences, chemistry or computer science. Some are more humane, more benevolent, others are stricter, more demanding and require more time and energy from students. However, it is precisely this diversity that moves students forward, helps them develop during their studies, and its contribution is often fully appreciated only after entering working life.
Which areas would you like to develop the most in the coming period?
There are more of those areas, for example, the offer of study programs, their better connection with regard to the profile of the faculty, scientific teams, student life and its quality at the faculty, and others. Only four years is not much. A large part of my program as a candidate for dean was the points that we already worked on in the period of 2023-2026.
In addition, I would like to focus on a greater connection of our faculty with practice, because I still see not fully used potential in some of the areas we study. We try to show this, for example, by cooperating with the city of Trnava in SmartLab, where we implement workshops, summer schools, hackathons and show how our university knowledge can be used in real practice.
At the same time, I want the faculty to communicate better externally. I think we're doing a lot of interesting things, they're just often less talked about. It's a shame, because many people then have no idea what is happening at the Faculty of Natural Sciences of the UCM in Trnava and what interesting projects are being created here.
How do you want to support students, PhD students and young scientists?
We prepare new study programs or modify the ones we currently offer, especially for students. For the past four years, I have also dealt with student and graduate questionnaires and the topics they presented to us. Their comments helped to improve the study programs in the field of biotechnology and informatics in particular, as there I saw active work with the results of questionnaires and the formation of study programs in the sense of relevant requirements.
I say relevant on purpose, because I do understand work-life balance, but more Fortnite or sports activities instead of lectures is not quite feasible at the Faculty of Natural Sciences. We would also like to expand the possibilities of relaxation zones for students. We are preparing a new student room in the building on Hajdóczyho, which is currently undergoing renovation, as well as creating more space for relaxation in the building in Špačinci, where laboratory activities are mainly carried out. I consider it important to create space for doctoral students and young scientists for their professional growth. I think we have great scientists who can also effectively lead future generations of scientists. However, it is always beneficial to gain new knowledge and inspiration from other workplaces, either in Slovakia or abroad. Therefore, I try to support the participation of our students and young scientists in mobilities. The opportunity to visit different universities from different areas, to gain knowledge, but also to get to know a different work system of other workplaces, is most easily feasible during their student life.
In the case of young scientists, or workers within 5 years of completing their PhD, as I announced in the program, I will support the effort to submit their own projects, especially in international challenges, where I see great opportunities for us. In this context, I am also actively working with the project department of the faculty to provide more support in this area as well.
In your opinion, how important will research, laboratories and cooperation with practice be in the further development of the faculty?
Absolutely essential. Although this obligation is also imposed by the new Higher Education Act, in the framework of cooperation with practice, we do not build on a green field. This connection actually already exists in several scientific areas at the faculty. We carry out our business activities, we connect the university environment with practice through projects, and we do various expertise in the field of natural sciences. These collaborations with practice are also a way to show that research at the faculty has real application significance and that our knowledge can be used in people's everyday lives.
What kind of faculty would you like students, staff and the public to see in four years?
In four years, I would like them to see a faculty that is stable, professionally respected, open, well organized and especially visible among young people. I would like to see a clear scientific profile of the faculty with quality study programs and satisfied students. I would like to see the faculty more connected with practice and abroad. I would also like to see a faculty where we not only work together, but also discuss problems and solve them together. I think we are gradually moving towards it, but everything takes time and patience.
What would you say to study applicants who are considering studying at FPV UCM?
Science is fascinating and there is nothing more interesting than discovering and exploring. Join us and experience university life. Here with us you will not be just a number, we will accompany you throughout your studies, we will pass on our knowledge to you, we will teach you to work in the fields of informatics, biology, biotechnology, environmental protection and restoration, or chemistry.
You will get to practical things that can be used in Slovakia or in the world. You can join various faculty or university structures and help build the UCM brand. If I had to praise us, the numbers speak for us.
Up to 95.8% of our graduates are employed, namely in industrial production, professional, scientific or technical fields, or in healthcare (see institutsocialnejpolitiky.gov.sk). The high level of student satisfaction during their studies is also shown in the Hodnot.to survey conducted by the Ministry of Education, Research, Development and Youth of the Slovak Republic.
What personally motivates you the most in working for the faculty?
There are more motivations, but since I have already said quite a lot, I will mention only one. When I see our graduate who is successful and who proudly applies to study at the Faculty of Natural Sciences of the University of St. Cyril and Methodius in Trnava, it's a very good feeling. And I don't mean only the graduates of biotechnology, where I work, but the graduates of the faculty as a whole. Then one sees that the work we do has meaning and brings concrete, visible results.
