The UNIVNET association is a joint effort of five Slovak research universities and the Automotive Industry Association of the Slovak Republic, offer their research & innovation expertise and seek for collaboration in project consortia.
The main goal is to create a national platform for recycling technologies in the automotive industry.
Slovakia faces many challenges associated with greener waste management and better efficiency in waste management. UNIVNET aspires to contribute to higher efficiency and reduced environmental burden not only in Slovakia.
The potential of the UNIVNET platform to collaborate and intensify research towards a more efficient and more environmentally oriented circular economy in the automotive sector is based on the results to date, which include studies and scientific articles by UNIVNET members and teams in various areas of waste management published in several UNIVNET publications.
The UNIVNET is a continuation of the 2016-2017 initiative or project results – "Integrated research platform for the evaluation of individual waste flows, in particular in the automotive industry". http://www.odpady-az.sk/ The need for such a platform arose in line with the EC's intentions to review the recycling and other waste-related targets set out in the key directives governing waste management. The creation of the platform reflected the intention of the EU to move towards a circular economy and through "A zero waste programme for Europe" encourages recycling, reduce consumption of primary raw resources, ensuring access to critical raw materials through waste recovery and thus creating room for sustainable economic growth.
The founding members of UNIVNET are:
- Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava
- University of Economics in Bratislava
- Technical University in Košice
- University of Žilina in Žilina
- Technical University in Zvolen
- Association of the Automotive Industry of the Slovak Republic