SSSA Conference as part of the 14th year of the SSSA
On 23 June 2023, the Faculty of Law of Comenius University hosted the SSSA Conference as part of the 14th year of the SSSA. Students of the faculty presented their scientific works of the Student Scientific and Specialized Activity.
The conference was divided into two sessions (students of Bachelor's degree programmes and students of Master's degree programmes). A total of 13 students presented 14 papers. The conference was held in person, but the public could also join the conference online.
We would like to thank the representatives of cooperating institutions (Ministry of Justice of the Slovak Republic, Office for the Administration of Seized Property), attorneys and a representative of the Police Academy, as well as the faculty teachers, who took part in the committees. We would also like to thank the ELSA Bratislava Student Association for their help in organising the conference.
The participants and members of the committees agreed that the conference was enriching and the level of the presented papers was excellent. The conference was opened by the chairman of the SSSA Council, the vice-dean doc. Mgr. Ján Škrobák, PhD.
The Student Scientific and Specialized Activity Conference presented a unique opportunity where students from different grades came together to present their scientific work. Their papers were enriching and original, focusing on contemporary problems and seeking new solutions and discoveries.
The Student Scientific and Specialized Activity proves that the passion for scientific research and discovery has no boundaries.
The first prize for the Bachelor's degree programme went to Adam Briešt'anský with the paper "Legitimate Restriction of the Right of Assembly in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic" and the first prize for the Master's degree programme went to Bc. Anna Kocúrová with the paper "Criminal Sanctions of Serious Forms of Disinformation".
The successful students will represent our faculty at the Slovak-Czech round of the SSSA, which will take place in Prague in September.
Student Bc. Anna Kocúrová was briefly interviewed about the reasons behind her decision to write the paper and what she would recommend to other students who decide to write a paper.
Why did you decide to write a SSSA paper?
In fact, it was my supervisor, Assoc. JUDr. Andrej Beleš, PhD. with whom I discussed the topic of my diploma thesis who suggested me to take part in the SSSA. It's a great way to learn about the topic and to research issues that have not yet been explored or elaborated.
What skills or knowledge have you gained from taking part in this competition?
Definitely working with sources and researching more effectively. I also feel that I have improved my argumentation skills at least a little bit, as the work in question required relevant substantiation of the arguments presented.
What are the benefits for your personal and professional growth?
As far as professional growth is concerned, I would definitely like to pursue this topic further and therefore I consider participation in the SSSA as a good starting point for future research in this area. In the sphere of personal development, I consider training my perseverance in writing my paper and improving my discipline as beneficial. Reading one page, 15 times in a row and changing the word order because "something doesn't fit" was sometimes a good test of perseverance.
What are your impressions and feelings about the overall process?
It was a great experience. I like to "poke about" topics I am interested in - which in this case is the topic of misinformation. I really like to consult on this or that topic, because sometimes you get stuck in your comfort zone, and it is the discussion that can pull you out of that zone and give you new ideas.
Cooperation with the supervisor doc. JUDr. Andrej Beleš, PhD. also entailed these discussions and during the final discussion of the SSSA conference I had the opportunity to gather new perspectives on the topic through questions raised by the committee.
Of course, there were also stressful moments or situations when I was sitting in front of the PC and I couldn't write a single page of coherent text. But I think that's part of it. However, all in all, I can say that I have positive emotions associated with this experience - both in terms of the knowledge I have gained and the feeling of being able to form my own opinion, which is of course limited by the level of knowledge. I am, therefore, also looking forward to further develop this knowledge in the future.
If you were to give one tip to other students who are about to write a SSSA paper, what would you advise them to do?
That they shouldn't focus on multiple things at once. Many times I found myself in the situation that while writing the SSSA paper I was thinking about the assignments that I needed to do for the next week. As a result, one is much unfocused and feels so "overwhelmed". My advice is therefore to plan one's activities (e.g. from 13:00 - 15:00 I will work on the SSSA and from 16:00 - 18:00 on the school assignment for Tuesday) in order to avoid situations where one is thinking about everything else but writing the paper.