Professional characteristics

Ladislav Vaska graduated from the Faculty of Education at Comenius University in Bratislava in 2001 with a degree in social work at the Department of Social Work. During his studies, Mr. Vaska participated in a short-term internship in Scotland (Edinburgh), which followed on and was related to a training (in 1998 – 1999) completed within the international project ARKS (Second Chance to Learn) aimed at working with marginalized groups. After completing the project in 1999, Mr. Vaska and 13 of his peers launched a pilot project in Slovakia dedicated to people without work, in particular those with low education. The pilot was followed by an accredited course (in 2000) at the Offices of Labor, Social Affairs and Family.

After graduating from the University, Mr. Vaska participated in S.U.R., a long-term Czech and Slovak training in group psychotherapy (depth psychology approach) conducted between 2001 and 2004, followed by a long-term training in supervision (ASSP) between 2006 and 2007. In addition to scientific and educational activities, Mr. Vaska has been an active supervisor in a number of various social and commercial organizations in Slovakia and the Czech Republic.

In 2004, Mr. Vaska passed a rigorous examination procedure at the Faculty of Education, Comenius University in Bratislava. In 2008, he graduated with a doctoral degree from the Faculty of Health Care and Social Work at Trnava University in Trnava and in 2014, he completed, habilitation procedure at the Faculty of Education, Catholic University in Ružomberok, inauguration/pofessor procedure at the Faculty of Arts, University of Prešov. All degrees refer to social work. 13/09/2023 he was appointed by the President of the Slovak Republic Zuzana Čaputová as a university professor in the field of social work.

From 2001 to 2017, Mr. Vaska worked at the Department of Social Work, Faculty of Education, Comenius University in Bratislava, where he also held the position of the head of the department between 2011 and 2015. From 2015 to 2017, Mr. Vaska was the guarantor of the social work undergraduate study program (bachelor) and a co-guarantor in other levels of the social work study program (master and PhD), as well as the habilitation and inauguration procedure. During his time at Comenius University in Bratislava, Mr. Vaska actively represented the Faculty of Education as a member of the Council of Universities of the Slovak Republic (2012 – 2015). In the same period, he was honored with the Dean's Award for his contribution to the development of student research (2006), the Dean's Award for the development of the Faculty in scientific research (2016) and the Rector's Award for the development of scientific research (2014).

Since 2017, Mr. Vaska has been an associate professor and since 2023 professor at the Department of Social Work, Faculty of Education, Matej Bel University in Banská Bystrica. He is also a part-time associate professor (since 2016) at the Department of Social Work, Faculty of Social and Economic Studies, Jan Evangelista Purkyně University in Ústí nad Labem (Czech Republic).

At the Department of Social Work (Faculty of Education, Matej Bel University in Banská Bystrica) Mr. Vaska is a co-guarantor of bachelor's, master's and doctoral studies and gives lectures on Theoretical foundations of social work, Supervision in social work and Supervision (for students of psychology). In the past he lectured Supervision of social and educational work of social educators (2018 - 2021: for students of social pedagogy), Furthermore, Mr. Vaska conducts social and psychological trainings and practical training experience for social work students. In 2023 he was awarded by the Dean of the PF UMB in Banská Bystrica for his contribution to the development of the field of social work in the national and international context.

Professionally Mr. Vaska. focuses mainly on the basics and history of social work, supervision in social work, employment and labor market policy, and in recent years he has also addressed addictions (in socially excluded localities). He provides social skill trainings, conducts socio-psychological trainings and supervises the practical training experience of social work students. Mr. Vaska regularly publishes papers and conducts research activities in the above fields. Mr. Vaska has been a member of various research teams, evaluator of research organizations (e. g. a member of the expert commission of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs of the Czech Republic for evaluation of research organizations established by the Ministry between 2018 and 2019) and vice-chairman of the Accreditation Commission for Education of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs of the Slovak Republic.  Mr. Vaska is also a member of the editorial board of the journal Journal Socioterapie/Journal of Sociotherapy (in the EBSCO Publishing database, Erih Plus database) and Revue sociálnych služieb/Revue of Social Services (since 2021). Between 2018 and 2020 he was a member of the editorial board of the professional journal Adiktologie v preventivní a léčebné praxi (Addictology in preventive and curative practice) and between 2020 and 2021 he was a member of the editorial board of the journal Sociální práce/Sociálna práca - Czech and Slovak Social Work (in the SCOPUS database). He had a long-term cooperation with the Department of Addictology at the First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University in Prague (Czech Republic), and is a member of several expert commissions (the chairman at the Faculty of Education, Matej Bel University in Banská Bystrica, a member at the Faculty of Arts, University of Prešov, and a member at the Faculty of Health Care and Social Work at Trnava University in Trnava), a member of rigorous, doctoral and habilitation procedures in social work. He is currently a member of the Scientific Council of the Faculty of Health Care and Social Work of the University of Trnava in Trnava. 

Mr. Vaska implemented supervision of practical training to social work university study in Slovakia, contributed to the development of education by conceptually anchoring and financing practical training from the state budget (see more: https://socialniprace.cz/online-clanky/financovanie-odbornych-praxi-zo-statneho-rozpoctu-ako-krok-zvysovania-statusu-socialnej-prace/), and participated in the preparation of the Social Work Act. He is a founding and a guest member of the Chamber of Social Workers and Assistants of the Slovak Republic (KSPaASP SR). In 2015, he received a letter of appreciation from the Minister of Labor, Social Affairs and Family of the Slovak Republic for participating in the development of social work (drafting the “Social Work Act”).

Mr. Vaska chaired the Standing Committee of Student Scientific and Professional Activities in social work at the Association of Educators in Social Work until 2018. He also chaired the "Supervision" working group in the development of Social Work Handbook (Glossary) and participated as a member of the working group in the development of a new description of the social work study program.

Today, Mr. Vaska is the chairman of the Slovak Association of Educators in Social Work (http://avspsr.weebly.com/).

Mr. Vaska has written several scientific and professional monographs and chapters in scientific monographs, published research reports and a number of scientific articles and papers mainly in the field of supervision, employment policy and the labor market as well as addictions in the recent years of his professional activity (https://www.pdf.umb.sk/lvaska/publikacie.html).

In the field of project activities, he is currently the principal investigator (for the years 2023-2025) of a VEGA project focusing on the digitalization of supervision in social work, more precisely the project VEGA 1/0639/23 Transformations of supervision in social work in the context of digitalization.

In the past held the position of principal investigator (2018 – 2020) of the VEGA project focused on organizational supervision and was also the deputy principal investigator (2018 – 2020) in the VEGA project focused on the Internet addiction among primary school pupils in Slovakia and in the Czech Republic. At the same time, he was and is a co-investigator for AVSP and a member of the expert group within the National Project "Professional practice for students of social work and psychology" (2021-2023).

In the past, he was the principal investigator in the bilateral Slovak Research and Development Agency's project (APVV) focused on regional aspects of unemployment in the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic (in 2012 – 2013) and co-investigator of several successful VEGA and KEGA projects. Within the ESF project (2011 – 2015), Mr. Vaska was a researcher, professional consultant and foreign expert in Czech scientific and innovative projects implemented at the Institute of Social Work of the University of Hradec Králové.

Scientific and pedagogical characteristics: 

https://umbsk-my.sharepoint.com/:x:/g/personal/lvaska_umb_sk/Ed8SYioeIihAgy5BTQylftYBXDj2avEjBZbrkFVb9iOaWg?e=dzvM4E

Scientific and pedagogical characteristics in AIS system:

Vaska_VUPCH_ENG.pdf