2024 CONFERENCE
Introducing the speakers...
Zuzana Hijová
Zuzka is a third-year student at Gymnazium Leonarda Stockela Bardejov, where she currently holds the position of Speaker of Parliament.
She was elected this school year by other practicing members of the parliament last year, thanks to her interesting ideas and endeavor to help make the school life of students a little more enjoyable and develop a positive attitude towards the idea of volunteering.
She will discuss the different ways in which a student, like you and me, can help the community, whether it is your school's or your town's local one, and show you that by contributing, you can also learn skills that many universities look for in their applicants. Let's explore what volunteering is all about!
Lívia Potičná
Lívia is a student at Gymnázium Leonarda Stöckela high school in the bilingual section and is currently in her fourth year.
However, last year, she spent time in the US at Lower Dauphin High School in Pennsylvania. It's no wonder that her favorite subject is English, but she also enjoys Biology and Chemistry. In her free time, she loves to play volleyball, travel, or hang out with her friends.
She would love to share her experiences and provide you with a realistic view of America, especially American high schools.
Ivo Varchol
Ivo, a third-year student at Leonard Stöckel Gymnasium from the bilingual section, is an energetic and always positive guy with a passion for films.
In his free time, he enjoys playing sports, the piano, taking photos, and spending time with friends. If there's a school event going on, you can be sure he's standing somewhere in the back taking pictures for the school's social media.
Maths and computer science are something that keep him on his toes at school. Last year, he took a big trip to Los Angeles, USA, where he spent a month honing his filmmaking skills.
He will be presenting on various aspects of filmmaking and answering any questions about films.
Mária Onderková
Mária Onderková is a third-year student of GLS. She was born into a priestly family and currently lives in the town of Bardejov.
She has many hobbies ranging from doing art to fencing, and one of her favorite hobbies is exploring Japanese culture. In the future, she would like to make this hobby her profession and become a Japanologist.
In her presentation, she would like to share with you her love for Japan and look closely at Japanese traditional clothing - kimono.
Johanka Nagyová
Johanka is a vibrant third-grader in the bilingual section of Gymnázium Leonarda Stöckela. Currently, she holds the esteemed position of editor-in-chief for our school magazine called Phase.
She is known for her diligence, but when she isn't studying, you might find her immersed in captivating stories or researching topics related to mental health and disorders. Johanka aspires to pursue this passion further and dreams of becoming a psychologist.
Two years ago, she received the diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), and now she would like to give you some insight into her personal experience with navigating life while being on the spectrum.
Join us as she shares her journey and spreads awareness through her presentation.
Pavol Zamborský
A lecturer at Breisky Language school
The next speaker at Taste The Future 2024 (4/4/2024) is Pavol Zámborský, a lecturer at Breisky Language school and co-founder of Melon Invest.
Pavol is a man with many past experiences. He started his career as a private banker for millionaires in Singapore but later found his calling in sharing knowledge as an English tutor for Inštitút cudzích Jazykov (by Marta Breisky).
Additionally, he also researches companies and investments for the website Melon Invest, where he is a co-founder.
Pavol is an avid traveler who has lived and worked in Boston, Osaka, Melbourne, and Singapore. He credits a quality education at the first bilingual grammar school in Košice for his experiences.
Currently, he dedicates his energy to dancing with his wife at the Kesel Dance School. During the presentation at Taste The Future 2024, Pavol will share valuable advice on how to build not only a successful career but, particularly, a fulfilling life.
Peter Radvák
Influenza, SARS-CoV-2 virus research in perspective of serology & immunology
With over 15 years of laboratory-based research experience, Peter specializes in molecular biology and virology. Peter completed his Ph.D. in molecular biology at the Institute of Virology, Biomedical Research Center, Slovak Academy of Sciences.
Following his Ph.D., Peter was a postdoctoral researcher for five years at the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, Division of Viral Products, U.S. Food and Drug Administration Research Center in Maryland, USA. During his tenure, Peter contributed to biannual human serology studies crucial for the World Health Organization's influenza vaccine strain selection process.
He was also involved in developing the first WHO International Standard and reference panel for anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. Peter's research interests revolve around understanding the pathogenesis of influenza viruses (both seasonal and pandemic strains) and SARS-CoV-2.
He has successfully presented his research findings at prestigious conferences and meetings. Over the last two years, Peter has been engaged in analyzing sequencing data of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. His work is part of a program aimed at surveilling circulating virus variants in Slovakia. Through his efforts, he has helped identify newly emerging mutations and monitor the evolution of SARS-CoV-2 variants on a global scale.
Martin Gaňo
Martin, a graduate of Brno University of Technology, transformed his bachelor's thesis into a winning conference paper on defense methods in machine learning, earning accolades at the Excel@FIT 2022 conference.
Continuing at the same university for his master's degree, Martin specialized in computational radiology, notably accelerating the solutions of the Helmholtz equation using machine learning in collaboration with leading experts and UCL researchers in London.
His career spans diverse fields within computer science, including information systems, distributed systems, microchips, cloud computing, big data, machine learning, and high-performance storage. In addition to his academic and professional pursuits, Martin has maintained his lifelong passion for long-distance running, representing Slovakia in this sport during his high school years.
Martin will unravel the magic behind neural networks, the same technology that powers everything from ChatGPT to the smart fingerprint detection on your phone, and even the brains behind self-driving cars.
Lenka Matlasová
Global Learning Deployment Resource & Planning Lead
Lenka is a former student at GLS in Bardejov. She graduated from Faculty of Economics at Matej Bel University in Banská Bystrica, with a Master degree (Ing.) and postgraduate degree (PhD.).
She started her career at a position of Market Research and Marketing Analyst at Slovenské magnezitové závody, a.s. Jelšava, Slovakia.
After 3 years she moved to Prague, Czech Republic and joined Ernst & Young (EY), Global professional consulting services organization, which she is still working for until now. Lenka's professional career at EY has evolved from Marketing Associate, through Central Europe Area Learning & Development Coordinator, EMEIA Learning & Development Manager, EMEIA Learning & Development Operations Lead, by Global Learning Deployment Resource & Planning Lead.
Lenka has a multiyear experience of leading multicultural teams in diverse geographical locations across Asia-Pacific, Europe & Middle East and Americas. She is a holder of multiple international professional certifications such as Meyers-Briggs Type Indicator, TRACOM Social Styles or The Table Group Highest Performing Teams.
She likes drawing, singing, dancing, skiing, travelling and meeting new people. Lenka's presentation will be about her career journey and current role of Global Learning Deployment Planning & Resource Lead at prestigious Global professional services firm Ernst & Young.
Dominika Zákutná
Assistant Professor/MultiFuN group leader
Dominika, is a former student of GLS who earned her bachelor's and master's degrees in chemistry and inorganic chemistry at Charles University in Prague. In July 2019, she was awarded a Ph.D. in physical chemistry at the University of Cologne in Germany.
During her Ph.D. studies, she worked at the Institute Laue-Langevin in Grenoble, France, the world's leading neutron large-scale facility. She has extensive experience in neutron and X-ray scattering techniques and is a well-designated researcher in the neutron scattering community at various world facilities, such as in the UK, Australia, USA, France, Germany, Argentina, and Sweden.
She actively contributes to developing advanced experimental measurement techniques and sample environments and is a frequent, experienced user. Since September 2019, she has worked as an assistant professor at Charles University's Department of Inorganic Chemistry in Prague, Czech Republic. She established a group called MultiFuN, which focuses on multifunctional nanoparticles and nanomaterials. She collaborates extensively with different scientific groups worldwide on various topics, such as magnetic and multifunctional nanoparticles and their potential applications in biomedicine, spintronics, sensors, ecology, cultural heritage, and more.
Apart from her research activities and teaching duties, Dominika is also a very enthusiastic and active individual who enjoys participating in a variety of sports such as football, climbing, cross-country and downhill skiing, cycling, running, swimming, squash, tennis, yoga, inline skating, hiking, archery, and more. She has several hobbies, including oil painting, gaming, drawing, and gardening.
In her presentation, Dominika will introduce nanoscience and will discuss the importance of material chemistry and physics, particularly for biomedical, environmental, and technological applications. She will also provide insights into student life in the MultiFuN group and what experiments at the synchrotron and neutron reactors look like.