He has been at the head of the Faculty of Economics and Administration for a year. His agenda and plans have been affected by the difficult time of the pandemic. Nevertheless, the FEA Dean Jiří Špalek remains an optimist. A genuine joy of reunion that permeates the faculty this semester gives him faith in happy tomorrows.
First of all, I am happy we managed to hold the festivities in person, a rare situation these days. Fortune favoured us and the result surpassed my expectations, especially the first part – the conference. The choice of guests who participated as speakers and panellists was excellent. The overall atmosphere was amazing, too.
I saw it as highly inspiring as it addressed our future tasks. What do we wish to give our students as a faculty? How do we envisage their future jobs and careers and how can we help to achieve them?
I am proud to say that the conference was acclaimed not only by the faculty, but also by the guests. They all agreed it was an enjoyable event with interesting contents.
That’s right. This important anniversary was widely commemorated throughout the year at various public occasions and with colleagues from other faculties. We agreed with the event team on two highlights of the celebrations.
One of them was the conference, another one was the special session of the Scientific Board of the FEA MU.
Thirtieth anniversary is a good opportunity for the faculty to thank everyone who deserves acknowledgement. We awarded Masaryk University Bronze Medals to colleagues who had decided to end their careers at the faculty. Scholars who achieved extraordinary publication outcomes obtained the Dean’s Award for Creative Work.
The most emotive experience was when we congratulated Professor Ladislav Blažek on his appointment as a Professor Emeritus of Masaryk University. For me, this is the highest goal you can achieve at the university.
Yes, we do. Of course, students mostly commented on the first part, the conference, which was more attractive for them. They appreciated in particular the possibility to meet interesting people who are the leaders in their disciplines.
Moreover, the overall atmosphere was all the better because the celebrations were held at the beginning of the semester. They perfectly matched the genuine joy of being able to meet at the faculty after such a long time.
(laughter). You’re right. We had to prepare everything in the spring when the university was closed. However, the prevailing view was that such an important anniversary could not go unnoticed.
It is a good moment for reflection. Have we managed to get to the point that we wanted to achieve?
I think the faculty can be proud of itself. Although thirty years is a short time from the academic perspective, the FEA has become an essential part of Masaryk University. It has its image, repute and last but not least a number of excellent graduates.
I am also glad that the event was an opportunity to look ahead, to think about future developments and how to respond to them.
It won’t be any surprise if I say this year has been completely different than I expected. But I would have probably said the same thing regardless of this year’s developments. However, I wouldn’t have thought I would spend a large part of my first year trying to find ways to teach, to provide online classes and to hold examinations.
(laughter) Of course. The experience is great, but I look forward to the day when I can say I am happy it’s over.
You know, the current situation somewhat hindered the implementation of my plans regarding the faculty management. Without giving excuses, I must say we simply could not manage things we wanted to and Covid still continues to restrict us.
I see it as a big paradox, because one of the main points of my programme was to open the faculty to itself. We wanted to meet more, to seek reasons for encounters of academics with non-academics, teachers with students and for interaction of various groups at the faculty. We had to deal with the opposite instead. How to meet in person as little as possible?
That was the only event from the original plan we managed to realize and I am grateful. It was clear how much everyone looked forward to attending the faculty again.
Yes, I do. It was a nice surprise to see that issues in my programme I thought difficult turn out to be feasible. In fact, it seems that many points can be achieved quite quickly and easily. I expected a lot of negotiating, but in the end I found out that the faculty was ready for many of the plans and challenges. It’s really just a matter of starting the process and working out the details.
For instance, we agreed on the common idea of Bachelor’s studies, in particular its full-time mode.
We have to bounce back. I am very grateful to the university for having exerted all efforts to maintain the in-person classes this semester. I was truly important both for the students and for the teachers.
We currently teach secondary school students who did not attend the senior year and their school-leaving examination was almost held online. The deficit is apparent. However, last year was not easy for us, teachers, either.
Yes, we certainly learned a lot of new things. We began to think differently. The “online” will stay here with us. We shall see it as a very efficient addition and maybe it will make our teaching more interesting.
At the same time, we come out of this stronger; the pandemic accentuated differences between universities. It is no exaggeration to say that Masaryk University as a whole, but also our faculty, came out of all this comparison as a winner. We had been prepared with many instruments in place already, let me mention for instance computerized administration or study affairs.
I am not worried at all. The September joy clearly proved we missed and we needed one another. The reason why universities are so important is still here.
On Monday, 18 November 2024, the AS ECON MUNI meeting confirmed the faculty leadership for the next four years. Most of the Vice-Deans continue with their agenda with updated priorities, the team will be newly completed by Oleg Deev as Vice-Dean for Strategy and Development.
In some parts of the city, it can be faster to ride a shared bike than to drive or take public transport. In Brno, these are areas like Nová Zbrojovka or Spielberg Office, where traffic is heavy and public transport accessibility is poor. Dr Ondřej Špetík from ECON MUNI talks about how Brno residents use the bike-sharing system in the following interview.
