The Bratislava University of Economics and Business (EUBA) achieved the highest increase in research quality of any institution assessed in the VER 2026 periodic evaluation. Compared with the previous evaluation in 2022, the quality of its research activity rose by 353 percent — the largest improvement in Slovakia.
The results of the periodic assessment of research, development, artistic and other creative activities, VER 2026 (Verification of Excellence in Research), were published by the Ministry of Education, Research, Development and Youth of the Slovak Republic on 15 June 2026. The assessment evaluates the quality of research and creative activity at Slovakia's public universities and research institutions over the period 2020–2024, and for a large share of the country's universities it serves as the most important independent measure of the standard of their research.
The greatest progress of any institution
Among all the public universities and research institutions that took part in the assessment, the Bratislava University of Economics and Business recorded the most pronounced upward shift. Its 353 percent rise in quality compared with VER 2022 is the highest result in the entire country, and it confirms that the systematic efforts of the university and its faculties to raise the quality of their research and broaden its international reach are delivering tangible results.
This achievement is all the more significant because VER 2026 was more rigorous and more comprehensive than any previous evaluation. For the first time in Slovakia's history, the assessment examined not only research outputs but also the societal impact of research and the quality of each institution's creative environment.
"Achieving the highest rise in quality of any Slovak institution confirms for us that our emphasis on the quality and international reach of our research is the right path. Above all, it is the result of the work of our researchers, who have consistently raised the bar. At the same time, we see it as a commitment — we intend to continue along the path we have taken and to further strengthen the university's standing in the international academic arena," said the Rector of the Bratislava University of Economics and Business, Prof. Ferdinand Daňo.
A rigorous international assessment
The quality of Slovak research was assessed by 169 international experts from 23 countries, based at 88 universities and research institutes, including such institutions as Princeton University, ETH Zurich, the Technical University of Munich and Sapienza University of Rome. The assessment was conducted through peer review — independent expert evaluation — and applications were submitted and assessed in English.
The field of economics and business, which encompasses the activity of the Bratislava University of Economics and Business, was assessed by a nine-member international panel composed of experts from leading European universities, including the University of York, Sapienza University of Rome, Central European University, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the University of Liverpool and the Technische Universität Dresden. It is precisely the independence and international composition of these panels that gives the result its particular weight.
Three areas of assessment
Each application was assessed in three areas. The first was creative outputs — scientific publications, monographs and other results of creative activity. The second was societal impact, where case studies document the contribution of research to practice, public policy and society at large. The third was the quality of the creative environment — the conditions, infrastructure and overall institutional setting that enable high-quality research.
These three areas produced three partial quality profiles and one overall quality profile for each institution. In the social sciences, to which economic research belongs, the overall profile is determined by weighting outputs at 60 percent, societal impact at 20 percent and the creative environment at 20 percent.
A result with a direct bearing on funding
VER 2026 is not merely a prestigious distinction. According to the Ministry of Education, its results will determine roughly half of the funding for research and the arts at public universities. The outstanding result of the Bratislava University of Economics and Business therefore also carries direct practical significance for the further development of its research capacity.
The progress achieved is the outcome of the sustained efforts of the university's academic community, its emphasis on the quality and international visibility of its scholarly output, and the strengthening of links between research and economic practice. The Bratislava University of Economics and Business intends to continue in this direction in the period ahead.
The full results of the VER 2026 periodic assessment are available at ver.cvtisr.sk/vysledky.
