History before 1989
The Beginnings of Development of Communication Technologies
In 1951, a separate Faculty of Electrical Engineering was created, and individual departments are starting to emerge gradually. Thus, in 1952, the Department of Low Current and High Frequency Electrical Engineering was established under the leadership of Aleš Blaha. In 1958, Ján Chmúrny became the head of the department. Gradually, there was a more pronounced profiling of the department in the field of high-frequency technology and communication technology, which in 1964 led to the division of the department. The Department of Signaling Electrical Engineering and the Department of High Frequency Electrical Engineering were established. Teodor Petrík becomes the head of the Department of Signaling Electrical Engineering.
In the mentioned period, in the theoretical area of the department, attention was paid primarily to the analysis and synthesis of electrical systems, namely in the section of the theory of signaling electrical engineering. Sections of connection technology and transmission technology were focused on connection systems, multi-channel transmission systems, network design and data transmission. The department also oriented its pedagogical activities to this area, within the field of study Communication technology along lines, later, Telecommunications
In scientific research, the department cooperated with the Institute of Radio Technology and Electronics of the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences in Prague to solve basic research tasks in the field of analysis and synthesis of microelectronic circuits and systems. The staff of the department also participated in the solution of applied research tasks oriented primarily in the field of telecommunications.
Cooperation with practice has also expanded. A number of professional problems were solved for various companies and institutions, such as Tesla Orava, Tesla Piešťany, Tesla Elektroakustika, Tesla Liptovský Hrádok, Tesla Vráble, Tesla Stropkov, as well as for individual workplaces of Slovak Telecommunications. The department used its rich experience from pedagogical and scientific research activities in organizing various professional courses and seminars for the business sector, but also in organizing regular nationwide professional seminars.
In 1980, the workplace changed its name to the Department of Telecommunications. At that time, the head of the department (since 1979) was Florian Makáň. The modernization of telecommunications technologies and the expansion of the range of services provided was also reflected in the pedagogical and research work of the department. In the study field of Telecommunications, during the mentioned period, students profiled themselves within three professional areas.
Professional areas:
- telecommunication systems
- optoelectronics
- remote data processing
Pedagogical and research cooperation with the telecommunications department expanded and deepened. A joint “Joint Scientific – Pedagogical Workplace” was created, the head of which was Karol Černík.
A “Cooperation Agreement” was created between the Department of Telecommunications and the Faculty, implemented by the Department of Telecommunications. As part of this agreement, the Department of Telecommunications organized professional courses, seminars and postgraduate education for individual workplaces of the Department of Telecommunications. At that time, the employees of the department participated in the development of equipment for diagnostics and control of the operation of telecommunication systems, in the development of modems, in research in the field of the use of a unified telecommunications network for long-distance data transmission, as well as in the design of local computer networks.
Individual workplaces of the Department of Telecommunications generously financially and technically supported the construction of pedagogical and research laboratories of the Department of Telecommunications. The employees of Slovak Telecommunications acted as external teachers of the department and were also dedicated to guiding students in diploma theses. The pedagogical process included special exercises carried out directly at the workplaces and in the laboratories of Slovak Telecommunications.
In 1988, the research team managed to solve the problem of decoding the additional codes of the CD ROM system. This made it possible to produce the first functional prototypes of such systems at Tesla VRUSE. It meant the first place in the mentioned technology for the then Czechoslovakia among all the countries of Central and Eastern Europe.
Department of Telecommunications after 1989
Development in a World of Wider Possibilities
The beginning of the 1990s was characterized by a process of organizational changes in the forms of study at the faculty. The number of study fields at the faculty has decreased. The Department of Telecommunications, the Department of Informatics and Computing Technology together with the Department of Mathematics created the study field of Informatics. Within the field of study, education of graduates is ensured in the Selection block of Telecommunications, both for bachelor’s and engineering degrees.
Since 1990, Pavol Podhradský has been the head of the department. Subsequently, from 1994, Ján Čuchran was the head of the department. From 1998 to 2015, Ivan Baronák was the head of the Department of Telecommunications. On May 2, 2011, the Department of Telecommunications was transformed into the Institute of Telecommunications.
In May 2015, Gregor Rozinaj became the director of the institute.
Expansion of Areas of Interest
In November 2016, the Institute of Telecommunications was renamed the Institute of Multimedia Information and Communication Technologies. It thus reacted to a gradual change in the perception of the telecommunications industry in the world, where telecommunications networks and services began to approach computer networks and services in character to the extent that both branches began to merge into one hybrid communications network of a new generation. In this direction, the institute responded not only to voice processing and transmission technologies, but has expanded its scope to include the processing and transmission of multimedia signals, human-machine communication and their practical applications, for example, the use of augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR).
From May 1, 2023, Radoslav Vargic became the director of the institute.