Environmental competition for pupils
Fostering positive attitudes in children towards the environment and the need for its protection is the principal aim of an environmental competition named "Where and how are we going to live?" which has been announced by U. S. Steel Kosice for elementary school pupils in and around the city of Kosice. The pupils have until March 31st this year to prepare and submit a project which should focus on the themes of protection of the atmosphere, water and the countryside, and the sorting and collection of waste. One team of pupils from each school may join in the competition, but the number of pupils in the team is not limited. A jury will be formed to decide on the winners, consisting of representatives of U. S. Steel Kosice and the local education authorities for the City and the Region. The main criteria will be the usefulness of the project and its potential influence on the environment, its financial requirements and its originality. The best projects will be rewarded financially, with the winning proposal possibly gaining up to 50 000 SKK. The competition results will be known on April 30th, and prizes will be presented to the winners during the celebrations of Kosice City Days.
Power Division has EMS certificate
Power Division staff enjoyed a small celebration on Wednesday last week. There was a special reason for the divisional management meeting, which was to receive an EMS certificate confirming that the plant's environmental management system fulfils the criteria in accordance with EN ISO 14001. Certification was carried out by U. S. Steel Kosice's internal certification office for QMS and EMS, and the certificate was presented to Power Division Manager Ivan Males by USSK QMS Manager Anton Dobos. This event was also attended by USSK Vice-president Operations Scott Pape, who thanked the power workers for the success they have achieved and congratulated them on behalf of U. S. Steel Kosice President Christopher Navetta.
IT potential viewed by EU expert
On Wednesday of last week the Technical University in Kosice was visited by the Emissary of the General Director of the European Union's Information Society Directorate Stephan Pascall, as part of his three-day working visit to Slovakia. The two objectives of his visit, as he explained at a press conference held at the Faculty of Economics of the Technical University in Kosice, were firstly to obtain the widest possible range of evidence regarding the extent of development and applications of information technologies in Slovakia just before this country joins the European Union, and secondly to assess the potential for real-time involvement of workplaces in the tasks of the 6th framework program of the EU. In Kosice he met and discussed issues with specialists from academic institutions including the Slovak Academy of Sciences, as well as with representatives of commercial companies participating in the development and application of the most up-to-date IT products.
USSK Winter Olympiad starts with ice-hockey
For the first time in its history the USSK Winter Olympiad now includes ice-hockey. The Olympic tournament began on Monday, February 2nd, and goes on until February 10th. The players of the three most successful teams from the ranks of the Company's employees will be getting Olympic medals. The winning squad will also be presented with a meter-high traveling cup (a la NHL), which they will be able to keep for a year, after which the winners of future Olympiads will have their names engraved in turn on the cup. Facsimiles of this great cup will be given to the winning teams for keeps. The Olympiad will be continuing on February 7th and 14th with the skiing competitions.
