For the Institute of Geography of the Slovak Academy of Sciences, 2025 was a year of stable scientific performance, strong project activity, and significant investments in research infrastructure. The institute confirmed its position as an active research centre with international reach and growing social influence.
Publication activity
In 2025, scientific staff and doctoral students published in renowned domestic and foreign journals and monographs, thereby fulfilling the performance contract indicators:
- 1 scientific monograph / book
- 1 chapter in scientific monographs published by foreign publishers
- 12 scientific papers registered in Current Contents Connect
- 21 scientific papers registered in Web of Science Core Collection or Scopus
Project activity
Project activity was also a key source of stability and development in 2025:
- 7 VEGA projects
- 7 APVV projects
- 2 COST projects
- 2 MVTS projects
- 1 project in the Horizon Europe scheme (Biodiversa Partnership)
- 1 Biodiversa+ project
- 1 DoktoGrant SAV
- 3 Postdoc Granty SAV
- 4 projects of the Slovak Republic’s Recovery and Resilience Plan
- 1 ESFRI-type research infrastructure (EHRI-SK)
In 2025, 26 project proposals were submitted, confirming the long-term trend of growing project activity. The implementation of projects contributed to a stable financial situation and created conditions for further development of international cooperation.
International conferences and professional events
Geografický ústav SAV bol v roku 2025 organizátorom viacerých významných vedeckých podujatí:
- 6 scientific events organised in Slovakia and abroad
- more than 250 participants from the domestic and international scientific community
Topics included geomorphology, suburbanization, environmental policy, and urban greenery.
Modern infrastructure for research
The year 2025 brought significant investments in the institute’s technical equipment:
- expansion of computing capacity and completely new data servers
- state-of-the-art GNSS devices and drones for field research
- modern mapping and 3D technologies
These investments improve research conditions and strengthen the institute’s technological readiness. We are also preparing a separate subpage about our new infrastructure.
Geographical Journal: modernisation and continuity
- First year under the leadership of a new editor-in-chief
- Four issues were published on time
- New A4 format
- Online editorial system
The Geographical Journal thus continues to modernise and increase its visibility. We are preparing an overview of the 77th volume.
People, popularisation, and the public
In 2025, the Institute of Geography of the Slovak Academy of Sciences actively participated in the popularisation of science:
- participation in major events Zaži vedu so SAV and My sme SAV
- coordinating the international competition, Children’s Map of the World
- 180 maps
- 34 countries around the world
In 2025, the change of scientific staff continued. New employees joined the institute, while some staff members left. In doctoral studies, successful completions were recorded, and admissions of new doctoral students continued.
What lies ahead
In the coming period, but especially in 2026, the institute will focus primarily on:
- Further strengthening the research infrastructure and its social impact,
- VER 2026 evaluation,
- acquiring new international projects,
- maintaining the high quality of publications,
Source: Daniel Michniak | Prepared by: Tomáš Goga | Illustration: generated by artificial intelligence (DALL·E, OpenAI)
