University of Trnava
It is one of the oldest universities in Slovakia. It was founded in 1635 by Cardinal Peter Pázmaň and had four faculties: theology, arts, law, and medicine. The university became renowned for its university library, gardens, theater, and also for its observatory. It existed for 142 years. In 1777, the university moved to Buda. In 1992, the university was re-established by the Slovak National Council. The University of Trnava subscribes to the principles of the Magna Charta of European Universities, which defend universities' full independence from political and economic power and their freedom to conduct research and to teach. The University of Trnava upholds Christian principles, seeks to protect moral and spiritual values, to educate in the spirit of ecumenism, and to cooperate with universities and educational and scientific institutions in the Slovak Republic and abroad. Today, it is home to five faculties: the Faculty of Philosophy, the Faculty of Education, the Faculty of Theology, the Faculty of Law, and the Faculty of Health Care and Social Work.
Starting situation and description of the problem
In addition to teaching, which is a matter of course for the university, the University of Trnava engages in scientific studies. Extensive publication activity is produced at the university in the fields of biology, mathematics, computer science, and chemistry, the basis of which is data analysis. For these activities, the university in the past used traditional tools such as MS Excel. Given the ever-increasing demands on the quality of publication activity, a need also arises to procure more suitable software.
The University of Trnava's requirements
The university is therefore looking for a more advanced tool that above all makes it possible to carry out scientific work at a higher level. At the same time, the software must fulfil the role of a suitable tool for methodological pedagogical research and a standard tool for study. Important factors in selecting the software were an appropriately simple and pleasant user environment and, of course, its purchase price. The university's representatives clearly chose software from StatSoft: STATISTICA Standard Cz.
Implementation process
The software installation went entirely smoothly, in the course of a single day, carried out in-house.
Cooperation with the supplier
The cooperation with the company was, in all phases — the initial commercial phase, the consulting phase, and the subsequent implementation phase — that of a de facto exemplary partner. Likewise today, when it is occasionally necessary to obtain further information regarding the use of the license, the communication and support from the supplier are flawless.
Ing. Viera Peterková, PhD., Vice-Dean for Study Affairs, Faculty of Education, University of Trnava
Final situation
The STATISTICA Standard Cz software is currently used at the university's Faculty of Education on two levels. It serves as support for scientific work of two kinds – internal, that is, research based on an original idea conceived at the university, and research commissioned by a client/partner, such as the state. Using the deployed software, a study was produced, for example, for the client Bratislava Water Company on the quality of tap water, as well as several projects, e.g. the project „Curricular Transformation of Education at Eight-Year Grammar Schools“, „Diagnosing the State of Pupils' Knowledge and Skills in the Czech-Slovak Border Region with a Focus on Their Development“, „Do You Know What You Know?“ and others. It is used above all in producing high-impact articles, where its use is indispensable. The other level is teaching itself. Here the software is so far used rather marginally, but the department's goal is to deploy the tool fully in teaching. Statistical software helps students learn to do scientific work better, which raises the very level of their scientific work. A great benefit for students is also the fact that it helps them argue more easily and more convincingly, which results in a much better defense of their dissertation or any other scientific work. Overall, the STATISTICA Standard Cz software can thus contribute to excellent employment prospects for the University of Trnava's graduates, both within their field and beyond.