The winter semester has arrived. What’s new for students and instructors?
After last year’s transitional period, the full upgrade of student information system (SIS) now includes e-doktorand module and is operational for all levels of students (Bachelor to PhD). For all doctoral students—not just first-year doctoral candidates—this means that all individual study plan materials and annual assessment guidelines are now in SIS in addition to the courses in which they are enrolled.
Last week the first-ever Survival Conference for first-year students, to introduce them to UCT Prague culture and increase chances of first semester success, took place. The A1 auditorium was full and the conference was broadcast online. I firmly hope that, thanks to the conference, mathematics will cease to be a mythical scarecrow. There was also a new introductory seminar for first-year doctoral candidates, run by their doctoral student peers and Research and Technology Transfer Department staff (including PhD Support staff). PhD candidates can now also sign up for a new eLearning course on ethics, and a course focused on academic culture will come soon.
After Academic Senate Education Committee debates and UCT Prague Board internal evaluation meetings, I expect that course formats will continue to evolve beyond traditional face-to-face lectures and seminars. I can feel an increase of good will for more in-class discussions, for students’ tighter engagement in educational practices while fostering their independence in studying.
What would you recommend to students starting their UCT Prague studies this week?
A positive mindset in terms of success is essential. It’s difficult for us to help those who doubt themselves from the start, those who fall into despair, and those who are not willing to face obstacles. It is clear from our surveys that internal motivation and the desire to master coursework play key roles in student success. So hold your heads high and be brave. You shall succeed!
If you run into difficulties, don’t hesitate to ask for help in time. We have a Counselling and Career Centre (including psychological counselling) and tutors. Your older peers will also be happy to help you. Feel free to ask or email your instructor or trainer for advice, and they certainly won’t leave you behind.
Social life at UCT Prague has quickly returned to normal after the pandemic. What major events are planned for the rest of the year?
The first opportunity to meet each other will be on September 26, at KampusFest, which after last year’s festive celebration, will take place in front of Building B. In addition to bands and a parade of student associations, we can look forward to a number of microbrew offerings and an interesting event program. In October, European Researchers Night will be held at UCT Prague; in November, we have the Chemists' Ball; and in December, there will be a pre-holiday concert in Bethlehem Chapel.
I would also like to stop by Vektor Technická; a really diverse program took place there all spring and summer. I was pleased to observe students and instructors informally connecting during workshops or just having a beer under the cherry trees. Our campus has sprung to life thanks to Vektor. Keeping Vektor events going on after seasonal winter hibernation will be high on our priority list.
Due to university budget austerity measures these past two years, didn’t you consider cancelling or limiting cultural events?
I don’t think cultural events put too much of a dent in our budget. We want to provide space for spontaneous UCT Prague community initiatives. Moreover, our financial situation is fine. We were able to increase basic salaries this year, albeit moderately. We have increased scholarship amounts for doctoral students. We are a relatively small university, which gives us the chance to function as a community, even in the classroom. The different kinds of cultural events clearly contribute to a vibrant UCT Prague environment, which we can say is really a family environment.
What does the UCT Prague administration plan to achieve during the winter semester?
We will monitor and evaluate the real impacts of everything I’ve already talked about here. We’ll also deal with the admissions process, analysing current data and using it to decide whether we modify anything (e.g. introducing an entrance exam) or whether we’ll keep the existing model. We will also address the topic of micro-certificates, the recognition of short-term courses across universities, and the related issue of transferring credits, especially between members of the Czech Association of Research Universities (AVO). We are exploring offering of a number of courses in English for Czech students and now have our first international professors appointed. I hope we can progress from the current pilot phase to a growth phase by next year.
Regarding R&D, we will (taking also into account recent developments of contributions to our budget from the national government) try to create an environment that makes it easier to participate in international grant funding calls such as Horizon Europe and keep striving towards success in submitting cutting-edge grant proposals for funding initiatives that support excellent research. The Project Centre stands ready to give a helping hand to researchers throughout the entire grant-seeking process.
We are also awaiting the preparation of cross-sector proposals within the European Union’s Johannes Amos Comenious Programme framework. It’s one of the last opportunities to obtain funding from the framework’s subprogram for universities’ development support, specifically in the field of applied research. I would like us to set the stage for an international job posting for an expert who will be able to build a small, excellent team and bring with them a new, cutting-edge research topic with the potential to win an European Research Council (ERC) grant and for improving UCT Prague’s academic culture.
The world needs environmental engineers
The Faculty of Environmental Technology (FET) is currently celebrating its 70th birthday. When I interviewed FET’s Dean Pavel Jeníček for the September issue of UCT Prague’s internal magazine, SPIN, he noted that FET is sometimes perceived within UCT Prague as being a “younger sister” who always tags along the other faculties. You often talk about FET, though, as being the “Faculty of the Future”…
FET teaches and conducts research into emergent topics that are challenging our world, be that sustainability and the circular economy, limiting the effects of climate change and energy and fuel production, or developing water-related technologies. FET’s future is bright, and we have a number of internationally recognized scientists and researchers there. However, the number of students enrolled in FET is stagnant, so we need to better promote FET’s promise to future generations. Quality environmental engineers and other FET graduates are needed not only here in the Czech Republic, but also around the world.
At the end of the last academic year, UCT Prague launched a project to foster and ensure a positive social environment. How’s it going so far?
It’s good that we finally launched the project after preparations that, in my opinion, dragged on a bit. I can’t say how the project is progressing because it operates completely outside my authority, which was the intention in the first place. I can say, though, that so far proceedings from a single employment- or disciplinary-related issue haven’t been forwarded to the Rector Office’s attention. That said, I don’t have any illusions because such issues pop up at any university, and UCT Prague will not be an exception, although I hope that our family environment functions as a preventive measure, to a certain extent.
With colleagues from the Association of Research Universities (AVO), we are now working on another important milestone: joint educational materials for prospective and current students and employees at AVO member institutions on social security topics.
The multi-round international architectural competition for completing the 4th quadrant of Vítězné náměstí, which also includes a new UCT Prauge building, is over. How do you feel about the winning proposal and what are the next steps?
For the competition shortlist, we identified several proposals that were acceptable in terms of UCT Prague’s aesthetic, functional space, and operational use requirements. The winning proposal was one of these, so we are satisfied. The key thing to keep in mind is that the new building will significantly help UCT Prague overcome its current lack of space, a long-term issue that has limited UCT Prague’s potential for educational and R&D development. Students will finally have adequate facilities, new lecture halls, and classrooms. We will be able to reconstruct laboratories and improve working conditions for employees.
We are now negotiating with Prague 6, the City of Prague, and a private investor in order to prepare for zoning proceedings. So far, the City of Prague’s attitude has been very constructive, so we hope there will not be unnecessary delays. We also need to strengthen our internal expertise with experts who have experience in completing similar large-scale construction projects and we’ve been working on this for several months.
A strategy focused on people rather than just on topics
UCT Prague recently became a founding member of the new Prague.bio Cluster, which brings together scientists, investors, and commercial sector representatives in medicine and the life sciences. What do you expect from Prague.bio?
When I ran for the position of Rector four years ago, I talked about the fact that we are basically a chemistry university and that without expanding our educational and research horizons it would be difficult for us to survive as an independent institution. Pharmaceutical and medical biotechnologies are extremely important for the ongoing evolution of the Czech Republic’s economy, and these (expensive) areas of research investment hold terrific promise for growth. Of course, this process will go faster if we cooperate with leading partners in the Czech research and business environment. I see the support of the City of Prague and of the Czech Minister for Science and Research, Helena Langšádlová—who wish to develop this biotechnology-based, high added-value sector—as being essential to Prague.bio’s future success.
You visited Israel over the summer for the 9th Prague–Weizmann School on Drug Discovery. UCT Prague co-organizes the event with the renowned Weizmann Institute of Science and the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences (CAS). Did this inspire you?
I was impressed by the incredible creative freedom the leading research groups have. The research groups decide independently what they will investigate, although they naturally must fund their own work. The way new people from outside Weizmann are accepted into the Institute was also inspiring. Scientists (except for those just starting out) do not join existing research teams; they are clearly expected to bring new avenues of research investigation to the Institute. Its institutional strategy is thus focused not just on topics, but rather on people: independent, creative, and moral researchers.