Public Higher Education Institutions
Short description
The University of Žilina (UNIZA) is a modern university-level institution with a rich tradition. It currently educates nearly 8,000 students across seven faculties in 169 accredited study programs. Over its 70-year history, it has produced over 93,000 graduates, specializing mainly in transport, engineering, management, marketing, and humanities. UNIZA’s graduates are highly sought after by employers, proving the quality and practical readiness of their education. UNIZA participates in over 200 national and 65 international research projects and hosts around 60 scientific events annually. It boasts modern laboratories and research centres supporting innovation and business incubation. With more than 150 international partnerships, UNIZA excels in student and staff mobility programs, especially within the Erasmus framework. It aims to continue its dynamic growth, offering high-quality education and fostering international cooperation in both science and education.
List of faculties
Faculty of Operation and Economics of Transport and Communications
Faculty of Mechanical Engineering
Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology
Faculty of Security Engineering
Faculty of Management Science and Informatics
Scientific research/artistic projects
The following projects represent the most relevant scientific research activities of the University of Žilina (UNIZA) in recent years:
HUMANITA – CE0100248 – Human-Nature Interactions and Impacts of Tourist Activities on Protected Areas;
H-EUROPE RETIME – 101147113 – Urban Adaptation and Alert Solutions for a TIMEly (re)Action;
H-EUROPE OPTIMAL – 101057029 – Automated Maskless Laser Lithography Platform for First Time Right Mixed Scale Patterning;
H-EUROPE EWALD – 101086250 – Earth Observation for Early Warning of Land Degradation at European Frontier;
H-EUROPE WinWin4WorkLife – 101132580 – Healthy, inclusive, and sustainable remote work
futures as a Win-Win for employees and employers in urban, rural and cross-border areas.
International relations
The University of Žilina (UNIZA) is a member of the prestigious partnership of the Alliance of European Universities – the PIONEER Alliance (https://pioneer-alliance.eu/), which unites 10 universities, more than 130,000 students and 17,000 teachers and staff across Europe. The PIONEER Alliance is created on the basis of shared professional expertise in the field of cities and the joint creation of ecosystems. UNIZA has been implementing the PIONEER+ project since January 2025. This project is focused on networking universities, supporting the development and circulation of talents, supporting the creation and transfer of challenge-based knowledge, and transforming incentives and institutional models. The goal of the PIONEER Alliance is to shape the future of inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable cities and provide students in all forms of study with specialized knowledge and skills in a European environment with an emphasis on Sustainable Development Goal 11 (SDG11: Sustainable Cities and Communities) and thus contribute to the European dimension of education not only at partner universities. Members of the PIONEER alliance will focus on issues of sustainable development and urban planning in the joint PIONEER+ project from 2025 to 2028. PIONEER member institutions are Université Gustave Eiffel (FR), Avans University of Applied Sciences (NL), Iscte – University Institute of Lisbon (PT), Laurea University of Applied Sciences (FI), TH Köln – University of Applied Sciences (DE), Huelva University (ES), IUAV Università di Venezia (IT), UTB – Tomas Bata University in Zlín (CZ), University of Žilina (SK) and Bern University of Applied Sciences (CH) as an associated partner.
University of Žilina
Univerzitná 8215/1, 010 26 Žilina, Slovak Republic
Rector
prof. Ing. Ján Čelko, CSc.
Rector´s office
+421 41 513 51 00
Number of students in 2024/25: 7,361
Number of scientific degree lecturers in 2024/25: 1,412
Established in 1953
Last year we became the 1st university in THE WUR 2025 ranking within Slovakia. For us, it is a great success as well as a commitment. This independent validation of the University of Žilina (UNIZA) quality is very encouraging and motivates us on our path towards excellence. We perceive this as a challenge, which drives us to keep up with our results and maintain the culture of quality we’ve been building at UNIZA for all these long years. Following the analysis of the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission, UNIZA now ranks among the most influential research institutions worldwide. According to this study, UNIZA took 14th place worldwide in standardised citations and simultaneously became the most cited European research institution in this category. This analysis assessed the influence of universities and research centres in terms of new and emerging technologies, where UNIZA defended its strong position in topics like digital twins, artificial intelligence, power engineering and biotechnologies. The University of Žilina reaffirms its important role not only in the Slovak Republic but also in the international research environment.
prof. Ing. Ján Čelko, CSc.
Title
Title
Foreword
Foreword
About the Slovak Rectors‘ Conference
About the Slovak Rectors‘ Conference
Higher education system in the Slovak Republic
Higher education system in the Slovak Republic
Academy of Arts in Banská Bystrica
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Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava
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Alexander Dubček University of Trenčín
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Catholic University in Ružomberok
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Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava
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Technical University in Zvolen
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Technical University of Košice
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Trnava University
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Bratislava University of Economics and Business
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University of Prešov
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University of Ss. Cyril and Methodius in Trnava
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University of Veterinary Medicine and Pharmacy in Košice
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University of Žilina
University of Žilina
Academy of the Police Force in Bratislava
Academy of the Police Force in Bratislava
Armed Forces Academy of General M. R. Štefánik
Armed Forces Academy of General M. R. Štefánik
Slovak Medical University in Bratislava
Slovak Medical University in Bratislava
Bratislava International School of Liberal Arts
Bratislava International School of Liberal Arts
Bratislava University of Economics and Management
Bratislava University of Economics and Management
Danubius University
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DTI University
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Ján Albrecht Music and Art Academy Banská Štiavnica
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Рan-European University
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School of Management
School of Management
University of Security Management in Košice
University of Security Management in Košice
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