The Faculty of Metallurgy opens its doors wide
Last week, on Wednesday April 20 2016, the main lecture-room at U. S. Steel Košice was filled with boys and girls from various places in Eastern Slovakia. Secondary-school students and pupils from elementary schools in towns like Košice, Gelnica, Prešov and Michalovce wanted to learn something more about what sort of higher-eduction subjects they could study after finishing secondary school in the future. On the occasion of its Open Day, the Faculty of Metallurgy at the Technical University of Košice prepared an interesting program rich in terms of information and especially with elements of interactivity as well.
The Dean of the Faculty of Metallurgy, Iveta Vašková, welcomed the young people to the university premises, reminding them of the more than 60-year history of the Faculty of Metallurgy as well as the present focus of its activities, and she wished them a day of pleasant experiences. "When joining the excursion tours in our institutions and taking part in various activities, ask many questions. We will be pleased to answer your questions," she advised the students. "The future is before you, you have enough universities on the list to choose from. But when thinking of your future, try not to choose what is the most simple. Please make your choice depending on what response you would like to get from employers after your graduation. Whether you want to join the graduates having no problem with finding suitable jobs and who are awaited by top firms with very good compensation packages, or to be among those who are registered with the employment agencies. Besides classical metallurgy, the Faculty of Metallurgy also covers other fields with future potential like materials, processing and recycling of wastes, heat technology or integrated systems of management," she stressed, and wished all those present a pleasant day which everybody could makes the best use of.
From the Director of the Institute of Metallurgy, Pavol Rachman, the young people learned details about possibilities of study that will introduce them into the mystery of metal- making characterized by modern technologies, progressive materials and energy; Mária Hagarová from the Institute of Materials answered questions regarding the necessity of knowing materials, their structure and properties, and the reason for studying the quality of products and services. Tomáš Vindt from the Institute of Recycling Technologies, which provides a broad range of study programs, explained why the world cannot ever exist without metals, why it is necessary for present-day society to be aware of the fact that waste is also a source of precious secondary raw materials. In turn, future metallurgist Natalia Sučkova narrated the taste of student life and at the same time she disclosed why she had chosen just this field as her future occupation, what she liked at the university, what opportunities are offered to students by the Faculty, and explained that studying does not mean only learning, but also acquiring a great deal of experience and participating in the many interesting events that are prepared by the Faculty.
Many secondary-school students and pupils from elementary schools also profited from excursion tours round all the individual workshops of the departments. How had they enjoyed their visit to the Faculty of Metallurgy?
"I liked the excursion round the waste materials part; I could imagine studying here in the future," said ninth-year pupil Majo, who is going to take part in the secondary school admission tests in several days.
"I wish I had brought with me a bottle of water from our well. I am not going to tell my folks that it was possible to measure the quality of well water here, as they would be probably angry with me," disclosed Martin from Prešov with a smile in one of the laboratories of the Institute of Recycling Technologies, where together with the other youngsters divided into small groups he learned many interesting things about all kinds of analyses and experiments.
"So far I most liked the workshop with microscopes," confided Barbora from Košice briefly, "but we still have somewhere else to go, so I will see ..."
"Whether I would come to study here? Probably yes, I am interested in technology, but I do not like math. I still have enough time to think it over, I will see," said secondary school student Tomáš at the end of the excursion round the practical laboratory of inorganic chemistry at the Institute of Metallurgy.
