AmCham Slovakia

 

Business Service Center Forum

Members of the BSCF community have once again put together a great line up of topics, speakers and training units as part of the AmCham flagship development program for teachers, career counselors and directors – Train the Trainer. We opened-up already the 13th season of the program for 25 registered lectures and life-long learning specialists from Bratislava and Trnava region on 31 January thanks to our member companies IBM, KPMG, Deutsche Telekom IT Solutions and the company Nidec. More information to be found on AmCham webpage.

Digital Committee

On 10 January 10, the Digital Committee meeting took place, where we agreed on future key topics and priorities, stressing the continuous importance of EU regulation in the areas of Artificial Intelligence, Digital Services Act, or the Data Act. We further agreed on the priority of digital skills and education as cornerstones for the future success and competitiveness of the Slovak economy.

AmCham Slovakia in partnership with Sapie and League for Digital Boost is organizing Business Breakfast on the topic of Opportunities for the Digital Transformation of SMEs. To keep competitiveness in the local and global markets, SMEs need a clear understanding of their current digital capabilities and their needs to successfully navigate the journey of the digital transition. At this event, we will highlight and introduce best practices of customized mentoring and advisory programs aimed at integrating digital technologies for SMEs and answer how we could collectively support SMEs in Europe with their digitalization journey. We will cover the different digital technologies and tools which can kickstart SME digitalization, and the importance of developing employee digital skills. 

Health Care Commitee

In January, AmCham organized two online sessions with the representatives of the Ministry of Health of the Slovak Republic.  

On 24 January, the Members of the Healthcare committee had an opportunity to discuss the priorities in healthcare with the State Secretary Róbert Babela and the areas of common interest with the AmCham agenda. The importance on the continuity of the ongoing and newly established initiatives has been mentioned including further steps in health data reform and the need to create further legislation in order to put new innovative treatment effectively in force.  

Furthermore, on 25 January, there was an online session with Mr. Lukáš Palaj, newly appointed Secretary General of the Ministry of Health of the SR about the priorities of the Ministry of Health of the SR in digitalization of the Slovak Health System for the near and mid-term future. The need to further work on the Health Innovation Hub to be established under the Ministry of Health of the Slovak Republic has been stressed and the progress of the projects under the Resilient and Recovery Fund has been mentioned. The Members of the Amcham Digital Committee have been also invited to the discussion and provide their views. During the discussions, AmCham representatives thanked both representatives of the Ministry of Health of the SR for their openness, transparency, participative approach and most of all their will to improve the Health system in the respective areas. AmCham confirmed its consistent interest and commitment to be a part of the change that is need in order to achieve sustainable, innovative and resilient Health System for Slovakia.

Regional Development

January in the region was marked by New Year meetings and planning activities with our Eastern Slovakia members and partners. 

We have attended the reception of the Austrian Ambassador, visited Siemens Healthineers, which newly opened their ultrasounds production plant, its first in Europe; or celebrated the opening of the Dolphin Central Europe branch office in Košice.   

We were very pleased to hear that many of our valued members are doing very well despite the challenging times and are even planning to continue to expand their portfolio of activities in Eastern Slovakia. We are always excited to meet our members and partners from the public and third sector and look forward to starting the new year with enjoyable conversations about cooperation with a great community of local stakeholders.

Rule of Law Initiative

On 9 January, there was a public hearing of two candidates for the Council of the Public Procurement Office. The Selection Committee recommended to the Slovak Government two candidates for a member of the Council of the Public Procurement Office, namely Tomáš Giba and Martin Daniš.  

The Government Office has again invited experts from the non-governmental sector, including the Rule of Law Initiative representative, to the selection committee. We thank Matej Stuška for representing the Rule of Law Initiative on the selection committee. You can check find the candidates' CVs, the recording of the public hearing, and the minutes on the Government webpage.

We appreciate your feedback!
Please get back to us with any suggestion for any possible improvement in our policy activities. We want to serve you even better.