Comenius University with a Discussion Tent and the ECOmenius Project at Pohoda 2025

Pohoda is one of the greenest festivals in Europe—thanks in part to the students of Comenius University in Bratislava. Through the ECOmenius project, they educate festival goers on how to sort waste more effectively. This year, the educational focus expands to include workshops held in a revamped university tent and a series of inspiring talks. These will now be accessible to a larger audience, as they move to a more spacious venue: the Swiss Re Arena next to the Comenius University tent.

08. July 2025

The first speaker will be Associate Professor Zbyněk Kubáček, who has become an unexpected Youtube sensation thanks to his unconventional lectures that have reached millions of views. At Pohoda, he will talk about the connections between music and mathematics. Professor Andrea Madarasová Gecková leads research focused on emerging challenges of Generation Z. She will appear at the festival with a guide on what must be done to make the virtual space a safer environment for adolescents. Dean of the Faculty of Pharmacy at Comenius University, Ján Klimas, will reveal what goes through a pharmacologist’s mind at a music festival. Katarína Rentková from the Faculty of Management will take you on an exploratory journey into unconventional forms of investing.

In addition to lectures on the main stage, the Comenius University booth will also host workshops featuring a range of engaging experiences: from encounters with exotic insects and playful approaches to learning physics, to the integration of virtual reality in psychology, solar observation, and guidance on how to study in Slovakia while simultaneously studying abroad. If you’re at the Trenčín Airport on 11 and 12 July, 2025, we’ll be happy to welcome you at the Comenius University booth.

LECTURES (Swiss Re Arena)

FRIDAY
3:15 PM – 3:45 PM
Katarína Rentková – Unconventional Investing – When Investing Is Also Fun

Investing doesn’t have to be limited to stocks, funds, or cryptocurrencies. Katarína Rentková from the Comenius University Faculty of Management will take you on a fascinating journey through unconventional forms of investing – from collectibles to forgotten treasures hidden in childhood bedrooms or your grandparents’ attic. We’ll discover how a doll, a concert poster, or a vinyl record can become a valuable investment piece. Investing can be playful, personal, and filled with stories. This lecture is intended for anyone who finds the world of finance a little distant but is curious to learn how fun, nostalgia-filled objects can hold serious value.

3:45 PM – 4:15 PM
Zbyněk Kubáček – Tuning with Fractions

We usually expect mathematics to provide the most accurate solutions to given problems. However, there are cases where a perfectly accurate solution turns out to be completely unsuitable (which is not a failure of mathematics, but of the way the problem is posed). This is exactly the case with musical scales and tuning – here, it becomes clear that we need to look for a deliberately imprecise solution. The mathematical tools used won’t be intimidating: we’ll get by just fine with fractions and square roots.

SATURDAY
3:15 PM – 3:45 PM
Andrea Madarasová Gecková – The Vulnerability of Young People in the Online Space

To what extent is problematic internet use present among adolescents, and how can we recognize it? What different forms can such problematic usage take, and which groups of adolescents are at the greatest risk? What do young people themselves think about the benefits and risks of the internet, and when do they feel most vulnerable in the online world? What needs to be done to ensure that digital technologies and virtual spaces serve as safe tools and environments for adolescents? These are the questions we will explore with Professor Andrea Madarasová Gecková, who leads research into the new challenges faced by Generation Z during adolescence.

3:45 PM – 4:15 PM
Ján Klimas – What Goes Through a Pharmacologist’s Mind at a Music Festival?

A music festival is above all about unforgettable experiences and sharing them with those closest to us. Yet in moments of euphoria, some people may push things a bit further. For a pharmacologist attending a music festival, it’s hard not to reflect on the effects of “biologically active substances” and how they interact with everything else that may be acting in our bodies. Even seemingly ordinary medications—like allergy pills or contraception—can, when combined with alcohol, caffeine, and more, mix into a cocktail with undesired side effects. So how can we fully enjoy a festival without missing out on the best moments? What should we be cautious of, and how can we at least reduce potential harm? These are some of the questions the Dean of the Faculty of Pharmacy at Comenius University, Ján Klimas, will address.

WORKSHOPS (Friday and Saturday from 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM)

Stanislav Griguš – Didactics of Physics/THE EXPERIENCE OF PLAY

Yes, learning can occur through play. Thanks to the experience and positive emotions it evokes, knowledge gained through playful activities tends to be more lasting and interconnected. At this workshop, you’ll have the chance to solve various puzzles, walk across a self-supporting bridge inspired by Leonardo da Vinci—designed without a single nail—and perhaps be surprised by the secrets hidden in temperatures far below freezing. If you’re just getting started with physics, you can test your strength in a duel on a wobbly rotating platform. Hold on tight!

Dagmar Szitás – On the Edge of Reality
Instead of a full forest meditation, how about a quick relief through virtual reality? Modern science offers such alternatives, and you can try them out using VR technology under the guidance of Dagmar Szitás from the Faculty of Social and Economic Sciences at Comenius University.

Adrián Purkart – Beautiful Little Monsters or the Magic of Biodiversity?
Take a peek into the world of biodiversity and discover some unusual creatures from different corners of the Earth. Are they real? Or could they be sophisticated machines? Don’t worry, you’ll be safe. First, try observing them carefully, and with the help of Adrián Purkart from the Faculty of Natural Sciences at Comenius University, you’ll even be able to touch them. You’ll come to understand why they look the way they do, and with that, you might uncover even more reasons to protect the environment.

Observing the Sun
Auroras, solar storms, space weather… these are all manifestations of processes occurring on the surface of the Sun. What does the surface of our parent star look like, what exactly is happening on the Sun, and how active is it? We’ll explore all of this through a solar telescope together with astrophysicist Roman Nagy.

Jozef Tancer – UK goes international
Saturday from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM and from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM
Do you want to study abroad while staying connected with Slovakia? Would you like to earn a degree from both a foreign and a Slovak university at the same time? Are you interested in meeting international students studying in Slovakia? These and other questions about the internationalization of Comenius University in Bratislava will be answered by Vice-Rector for International Relations Jozef Tancer.