Science for Practice: New Partnership Between the Critical Infrastructure Association of the Slovak Republic and the University of Žilina

16. októbra 2025

 On October 15, 2025, at the 28th International Scientific Conference on Crisis Management in Specific Environments, a memorandum of cooperation was signed between the Critical Infrastructure Association of the Slovak Republic (AKI SR) and the Faculty of Security Engineering of the University of Žilina. The document was signed by AKI SR President Tibor Straka and Faculty Dean Eva Sventeková.

The partnership creates space for connecting the application and academic spheres with the aim of bringing solutions usable in practice. Joint projects, research activities, and professional dialogue are to contribute to strengthening the security and resilience of critical infrastructure.

Expert Voice of AKI SR at the Conference

AKI SR confirmed its expert position also in the discussion part of the conference. In a panel dedicated to regulations in the area of safety & security, AKI SR Secretary Jaroslav Sivák presented. He focused on changes arising from the Critical Infrastructure Act and the Cybersecurity Act and explained their impacts on practice. He pointed out the need to harmonize legislative requirements with the real functioning of critical entities and the importance of professional partnership in implementing new measures.

Strategic Connection with the Academic Community

AKI SR is effectively developing cooperation with state administration bodies, research institutions, and universities. Connecting experts across sectors expands capacities for addressing complex issues in the area of critical infrastructure. The involvement of academic capacities enables bringing innovations, preparing risk analyses, and creating solutions corresponding to current challenges. The memorandum of cooperation with the University of Žilina is another step toward strengthening professional partnership between practice and the academic environment.

Heatwaves Are No Longer a Weather Issue. They Are Becoming a Security Test for Critical Infrastructure

12. augusta 2026
Commentary by the Critical Infrastructure Association of the Slovak Republic  Europe is experiencing another wave of extreme heat, which is shifting from an exceptional phenomenon into a new standard. Record temperatures, prolonged drought, and the overheating or decline of watercourses can no longer be viewed solely as an environmental problem. They are increasingly affecting the functioning of the state and threatening the continuity of its basic services.

Horúčavy už nie sú otázkou počasia. Stávajú sa bezpečnostnou skúškou kritickej infraštruktúry

12. augusta 2026
Komentár Asociácie kritickej infraštruktúry Slovenskej republiky  Európa zažíva ďalšiu vlnu extrémnych horúčav, ktoré sa z výnimočného javu menia na nový štandard. Rekordné teploty, dlhotrvajúce sucho a prehrievanie či pokles vodných tokov už nemožno vnímať výlučne ako enviromentálny problém. Čoraz výraznejšie zasahujú do fungovania štátu a ohrozujú kontinuitu jeho základných služieb.

Electricity Aggregation: A Key Service for a Stable and Resilient Energy System

7. augusta 2026
Series: Essential Services of Critical Infrastructure For decades, the electricity system was built on the principle of a few large power plants supplying millions of consumers. Today, however, the energy sector is changing faster than ever before. Thousands of photovoltaic power plants, wind sources, battery storage systems, heat pumps, smart buildings, and charging stations for electric vehicles are entering the grid. Electricity no longer flows in only one direction – from producer to consumer. The modern electricity system is becoming a dynamic ecosystem in which both producers and consumers are active market participants.

Agregácia elektriny: kľúčová služba pre stabilnú a odolnú energetiku

7. augusta 2026
Seriál: Základné služby kritickej infraštruktúry Elektrizačná sústava bola desaťročia budovaná na princípe niekoľkých veľkých elektrární zásobujúcich milióny odberateľov. Dnes sa však energetika mení rýchlejšie ako kedykoľvek predtým. Do siete vstupujú tisíce fotovoltických elektrární, veterných zdrojov, batériových úložísk, tepelných čerpadiel, inteligentných budov či nabíjacích staníc pre elektromobily. Elektrina už neprúdi iba jedným smerom – od výrobcu ku spotrebiteľovi. Moderná elektrizačná sústava sa stáva dynamickým ekosystémom, v ktorom sú výrobcovia aj odberatelia zároveň aktívnymi účastníkmi trhu.

Industry as a Critical Sector: The Final Article in AKI SR’s Series on Critical Sectors

3. augusta 2026
Industry is one of the sectors where the importance of critical infrastructure becomes very tangible. Not in abstract definitions, but in the state’s ability to maintain the availability of medicines, the continuity of metallurgical production, supplies of key chemical substances, functioning supply chains, and technological self-sufficiency at times when standard market mechanisms may not be enough. 

Priemysel ako kritický sektor: posledný článok zo série AKI SR o kritických sektoroch

3. augusta 2026
Priemysel patrí medzi sektory, pri ktorých sa význam kritickej infraštruktúry ukazuje veľmi konkrétne. Nie v abstraktných definíciách, ale v schopnosti štátu udržať dostupnosť liekov, kontinuitu hutníckej výroby, dodávky kľúčových chemických látok, funkčné dodávateľské reťazce a technologickú sebestačnosť v časoch, keď štandardné trhové mechanizmy nemusia stačiť. 

We Talk a Lot About Technology in Critical Infrastructure. We Talk Too Little About People.

31. júla 2026
A commentary by the President of the Critical Infrastructure Association of the Slovak Republic 

O technológiách v kritickej infraštruktúre hovoríme veľa. O ľuďoch málo.

31. júla 2026
Komentár prezidenta Asociácie kritickej infraštruktúry Slovenskej republiky

10th Critical Infrastructure Sector: Production, Processing and Distribution of Food

28. júla 2026
In the morning, we open the refrigerator. In a shop, we reach for bread, milk, meat, pasta or fruit. In a cafeteria, a child receives lunch; a hospital patient receives a special diet; and a senior in a social services facility receives a warm meal. Most of us do not think about it. Food simply “is”.

10. sektor kritickej infraštruktúry: Výroba, spracovanie a distribúcia potravín

28. júla 2026
Ráno otvoríme chladničku. V obchode siahneme po pečive, mlieku, mäse, cestovinách alebo ovocí. V jedálni dostane obed dieťa, pacient v nemocnici diétnu stravu a senior v zariadení sociálnych služieb teplé jedlo. Väčšina z nás nad tým nepremýšľa. Potraviny jednoducho „sú“.