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Sep 2. 2025
Meet Michal Kompan
The Gamechangers series presents the stories of the people who stood at the very beginning of the Kempelen Institute of Intelligent Technologies. Through their vision and determination, they transformed a bold idea into reality – creating a new place for excellent science connected with innovation and talent development in Slovakia. In the interviews, you will learn about the challenges they had to overcome, the values that unite them, and what motivates them to keep pushing the boundaries of research and innovation.
Today, we introduce Michal Kompan, co-founder of the Kempelen Institute, where he now holds the position of lead researcher. Michal focuses on personalised recommendation systems, user modelling, machine learning, and improving user experience. He leads several research projects, mentors numerous students, and actively contributes to international conference committees.
What immediately drew you to the idea of founding KInIT? What about this vision appealed to you?
The idea of a research institute supported not by the state but by the private sector was something new. A new concept that hadn’t existed in Slovakia before – or at least not in the context of artificial intelligence.
That was one aspect. The other was the people who decided to take it on, people I had known for many years. I thought – and I still believe – that they are top experts in their field and excellent at what they do. So from that perspective, the decision was clear for me.
How did the process of preparing projects develop at KInIT?
From the very beginning, it was clear that, in terms of the institute’s operations, it was necessary to diversify funding sources. It is standard in Europe that top-level research is funded by European funds or through special schemes designed for this purpose, which are quite competitive. On the one hand, it is important – especially from a researcher’s perspective – to receive recognition that their ideas are interesting and relevant. On the other hand, there is the issue of financing research. So, engaging in European projects was clear from the start, and we essentially didn’t even need to discuss it.
Right after KInIT was founded, we jumped into various schemes, and we began preparing our first dedicated research project just two months after its establishment, over Christmas 2020. At that time, we were entering new waters, since historically we didn’t have much experience with European projects. But once again, it was about the people involved, who were capable and skilled. When preparing the project, we were invited to join a consortium, and we really put in the work. As a result, the partners saw that we could contribute and roll up our sleeves. And afterwards, it was only natural that they invited us into other consortia.
How would you define a good researcher?
It should be someone curious. Ideally, also somewhat structured – though that doesn’t always have to be the case. Quite often, someone may be very creative, but at the same time less structured.
But it doesn’t all depend on one person. It’s similar to surgery, where an experienced surgeon performs one part and then someone else neatly stitches it up. Research works the same way. One researcher doesn’t have to handle every step from beginning to end. The more creative people come up with ideas, then someone more systematic focuses on methodology and the precision of verification and outputs as such. And then there may be someone else who enjoys presenting the research results.
So, it’s not possible to define one exact personality type or profile of a researcher, because different kinds of people can contribute at different stages of the process. And often, it’s precisely this diversity in a team – and this holds generally – that leads to better results.
Still, a researcher must be someone who enjoys challenges and change, because this is not monotonous work. We come up with something, test it, verify it, and bring new knowledge – but then we start again from the beginning. We can build on what we’ve done and push it further, but most of the time it means starting a new topic or area from scratch.
What do you consider the biggest challenge you faced when shaping KInIT?
As I have already mentioned, the challenge was to convince partners and donors to join us in a fairly risky venture, since nothing like this had existed here before. But, as I said earlier, I knew the people involved, and that’s why I didn’t see it as a dramatic risk. Now, however, the risks may seem more present—for example, because we are growing significantly. So, in my view, our growth and the integration of new colleagues are the real challenge.
Was there a key moment when you felt, “Wow, we did it”?
Probably not, since I feel it’s a continuous process. But of course, every day that KInIT operates means that we’ve succeeded. From my perspective, though, the train is still moving and has no final station. It will keep running on those tracks indefinitely.
Posledná otázka. Ako ty vidíš budúcnosť KInITu?
Thanks to the lorAI project that we’re currently working on, the outlook is positive. We’re one of the very few in Slovakia – specifically, only the third – to have managed to secure this project. Through it, the European Union aims to support top research centres across Europe. For us, it’s a clear signal that we are demonstrating quality.
So everything is on the right track for us to contribute and tackle global challenges through our research activities. These activities are no longer important just for researchers themselves. It’s always rewarding to see them receive recognition for their work – for example, when other researchers consider their ideas valuable, cite them, or build on them. But on the other hand, it also has an impact on society, which shows up in products and everyday activities.
