History of Faculty

The education of higher-skilled professionals for trade has had a 75-year tradition in Slovakia. Its beginnings are linked to the emergence of the former High business school in Bratislava in 1940, which, in a sense, could be regarded as the predecessor of the current Faculty of Commerce of the University of Economics in Bratislava.

The organization of education and the profile of a tertiary educated economist with a commercial focus has been gradually evolved in line with the development of socio-economic conditions and needs. The current form has been progressively set up in the process of existing developments, which can be divided into several major stages.

At the High business school in Bratislava (school years 1940/1941 to 1949/1950), the education of higher skilled professionals with a commercial focus was provided from the content and organizational perspective by the institutes which were established for that purpose. They were: Institute of Trade and Transport Economics, Institute of Technology and Commodity Science; and the Institute of Enterprise Economy.

In 1949, the High business school in Bratislava was transformed into a College of Economic sciences. Its main task was to develop a general economic theory as well as a sectoral economic theory, including the theory of trade, in addition to the teaching of qualified sectoral industry experts. Accordingly, at the High school of Economic Sciences, which was not affiliated to faculties at that time, a study specialization in trade and the Department of the trade economy were established.

In the formation of the Trade and Department of trade economics leading experts in economic practices have significantly been involved who later went into the pedagogical process. The most significant names were JUDr. Dalibor Hanes, Ing. Viliam Čerňanský and Ing. Filip Hronský who have gradually become the heads of the department. The emergence of the Department of Trade Economics has laid down the foundation on the broader development of trade-scientific disciplines. The basic teaching subjects included in this period: the economics of trade, the economy of transport, the commodity science, the organization and engineering of trade, analyses of economic activity. The first graduates of the study specialization “Business” completed their studies in 1952.

By the Government Decree No. 58/53 Zb. the High School of Economic Sciences was renamed for the University of Economics in 1953, with three faculties including the Faculty of Internal Trade and Finance. The Department of Economics of Trade, Department of Finance and Department of Accounting records have been included in this Faculty. Ing. Filip Hronský was entrusted to establish this Faculty and its first dean became prof. Ing. Jozef Rosa.

With the emergence of the Faculty of Internal Trade and Finance in 1953, the study field Internal Trade Economics was established and the name of the department was the Department of the Internal trade Economics in 1955.

The profiling of the graduate in the internal trade economics was based on the concept of a broader focus of the graduate profile, which preferred that the students of all study fields at the University of Economics gained knowledge from all sectors.

Since its establishment in 1969, the Dean of the Faculty of Commerce has been performing: