President Petr Pavel appointed 78 new professors on the proposal of the scientific and artistic councils of universities. The ceremony of handing over the appointment decrees took place in the Grand Hall of the Karolinum in the presence of the Minister of Education Mikuláš Bek. Petr Vančura, Secretary of the Ministry of Defence, also presented a decree to a professor appointed on the proposal of the University of Defence. The decrees from the Head of State were given to 18 women and 60 men who were nominated for the highest academic degree by the scientific or artistic boards of their respective universities. The proposals were earlier approved by the government and the appointments were signed by the president.
Speech at the presentation of the appointment decrees
Dear Minister, Honourable Rectors, Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is becoming a good tradition again that we meet twice a year in the historic Karolinum building, one of which is during Advent to appoint new professors. It is always a pleasant duty for me to meet so many dedicated and knowledgeable people who are constantly working on themselves to deepen their scientific knowledge and then pass it on to their students and younger colleagues. I am delighted to see that there are always many who reach this highest academic standard at a relatively young age. I believe that this is also a sign of the gradual transformation of the Czech academic community.
Much has changed in the last 35 years. Our universities cooperate with a huge number of universities from Western Europe, North America, and the rest of the world. Students and academics alike take advantage of countless opportunities to work abroad. We are represented in many international research teams. In some fields, we are even among the world's leaders. Yet we all feel we could do better. After the initial timidity of the 1990s, our academics have long since realised that they are internationally quite competitive. Our higher education has given them good prerequisites for this. However, we are still not in the position in international comparisons that we would probably usually like.
We all know that the future prosperity of our country is indisputably linked to an educated society, an economy based on modern technologies and high added value, which cannot do without a quality research base. Universities have a key role to play here.
Yet we are still not doing enough to move clearly in that direction. More often we talk about it, less often we take concrete steps towards it. There are a number of reasons for this. I will mention just a few, linked to the academic environment. These include, of course, the long-term underfunding of the entire higher education sector and academic research. We are failing to sufficiently increase the proportion of the population that is university educated. The proportion of people of working age who have a university degree is a third lower than the OECD average.
Moreover, the financial situation of higher education is exacerbated by the unfair allocation of resources within some universities. This does not always follow quality and performance. It is incomprehensible to me that there are still universities where similar teaching work is rewarded across disciplines and faculties at completely different salary levels. It is even less understandable to me that the state, which provides public funds for education, monitors this situation but does not try to do anything about it.
Educational activities in particular are often neglected by today's remuneration and funding system. Often the only chance for an academic to improve his or her standard of living is to channel all energy into science and research, i.e. grants, and to neglect the educational role. However, the concept of the university is based on a balanced symbiosis of both - education and science. I am not talking about the third, social role of universities.
University research is then undermined by the small amount of funding for grant agencies supporting both basic and applied research. I hear from some scientists that getting a grant from, for example, GAČR is basically more of a fluke. Moreover, applied research is still viewed with suspicion by some, even though it is an obvious route to the constantly mentioned innovation economy.
But it's not all about the amount of money. We are often very cautious and conservative when it comes to supporting research. We often prefer to support research projects which, although they have a high chance of producing the expected result, their real contribution may not be very significant. We rarely have the courage to support projects with a high level of risk, with a lot of research uncertainty. Many such projects do not really reach their goal. That is the natural toll. But those that do succeed usually produce breakthroughs.
I would therefore wish more courage not only to those who make decisions about research support. But also to you and to all the scientists who are preparing their research projects. Be innovative, be imaginative, be ambitious and be brave. That's the kind of scientist we need, but that's also the kind of university teacher we need. Your students will appreciate it.
I wish you a peaceful Advent and a pleasant Christmas.
Petr Pavel, President of the Republic, Karolinum, 10 December 2024
"I congratulate all the newly appointed professors and wish you every success in fulfilling your academic and civic mission. I would like to take this opportunity to emphasise that if we as a society are to compete fiercely, we need to return to significantly strengthening the number of undergraduates in the period ahead and strive for a more even representation outside the largest cities. However, this also means moving forward with some long-delayed systemic changes in tertiary education, in particular to more strongly diversify expectations from different types of universities. We are also completing the transformation of the subject structure of secondary education, which will make the system of subjects clearer and simpler. For 2025, we are further increasing funding for public universities by 14 %, which creates room for a significant increase in academic staff salaries. I am confident that these and other steps we are taking now will attract quality teachers to academia and make studying more attractive to other university aspirants,"said the MinisterMikulas Bek (you can read his full speech HERE).
List of appointed professors:
prof. Mgr. Libor BARTO, Ph.D.
for field of study: mathematics - Algebra, number theory and mathematical logic
on the proposal of the Scientific Council of Charles University
prof. Ing. Eduard BELAS, CSc.
for field of study: quantum optics and optoelectronics
on the proposal of the Scientific Council of Charles University
prof. Mgr. Petr BENEŠ, Ph.D.
for Molecular Biology and Genetics
on the proposal of the Scientific Council of Masaryk University
prof. MUDr. Martin BOBÁK, PhD
for Environment and Health
on the proposal of the Scientific Council of Masaryk University
prof. MUDr. Jan BOUČEK, Ph.D.
for Otorhinolaryngology
on the proposal of the Scientific Council of Charles University
prof. MUDr. Kateřina BOUCHALOVÁ, Ph.D.
for specialisation: paediatrics
on the proposal of the Scientific Council of Palacký University in Olomouc
prof. Mgr. Jana BOUŠKOVÁ
for the field of study.
on the proposal of the Artistic Council of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague
prof. RNDr. Marcela BUCHTOVÁ, Ph.D.
for field of study: experimental animal biology
on the proposal of the Scientific Council of Masaryk University
prof. RNDr. Iva BUREŠOVÁ, Ph.D.
for field of study: food technology
on the proposal of the Scientific Council of Tomas Bata University in Zlín
prof. Mgr. Juraj BUZALKA, Dr. phil., MA
for field of study: sociology
on the proposal of the Scientific Council of Charles University
prof. MUDr. Ing. RNDr. Peter CELEC, PhD.
for field of study: pathological physiology
on the proposal of the Scientific Council of Charles University
prof. MUDr. Zdeněk ČADA, Ph.D.
for Otorhinolaryngology
on the proposal of the Scientific Council of Charles University
prof. Ing. Pavel ČÁSTKA, Ph.D.
for field of study: management and managerial economics
on the proposal of the Scientific Council of the University of Economics in Prague
prof. Ing. Lenka ČESLOVÁ, Ph.D.
for field of study: analytical chemistry
on the proposal of the Scientific Council of the University of Pardubice
Prof. RNDr. Aleš DOLNÝ, Ph.D.
for the field of study Organismal Biology
on the proposal of the Scientific Council of the University of Ostrava
Prof. PaedDr. PhDr. Jiří DOSTÁL, Ph.D.
for the field of study.
on the proposal of the Scientific Council of Palacký University in Olomouc
prof. Ing. Jaromír DUŠEK, Ph.D.
for field of study: water management and water construction
on the proposal of the Scientific Council of the Czech Technical University in Prague
prof. MUDr. Přemysl FALT, Ph.D.
for field of study: internal diseases
on the proposal of the Scientific Council of Palacký University in Olomouc
Prof. Dr. Ing. Vlastimil FÍLA
for field of study: inorganic technology
on the proposal of the Scientific Council of the University of Chemical Technology in Prague
prof. MgA. Kristýna FIŠEROVÁ
for field of study: art
on the proposal of the Artistic Council of the University of Applied Arts in Prague
prof. MUDr. Eva FROŇKOVÁ, Ph.D.
for field of study: medical biology
on the proposal of the Scientific Council of Charles University
prof. Anton GALAEV, Dr. rer. nat.
for field of study Mathematics - Geometry
on the proposal of the Scientific Council of Masaryk University
prof. Ing. Bohumír GARLÍK, CSc.
for field of study: applied informatics
on the proposal of the Scientific Council of the University of Hradec Králové
Prof. Douglas Lawrence GODBOLD, Ph.D.
for field of study: forest ecology
on the proposal of the Scientific Council of Mendel University in Brno
prof. MgA. Mgr. Jan GOGOLA Jr.
for Film, Television, Photographic Arts and New Media
on the proposal of the Artistic Council of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague
prof. doc. PhDr. Magdaléna HAGOVSKÁ, PhD.
for Rehabilitation and Physical Medicine
on the proposal of the Scientific Council of Charles University
prof. Ing. Jan HAJNÝ, Ph.D.
for field of study: information security
on the proposal of the Scientific Council of the Brno University of Technology
prof. PhDr. Dalibor HAVEL, Ph.D.
for field of study: historical auxiliary sciences
on the proposal of the Scientific Council of Charles University
prof. Ing. Alexander HOŠOVSKÝ, PhD.
for field of study: applied informatics
on the proposal of the Scientific Council of Tomas Bata University in Zlín
prof. RNDr. Jiří HRDÝ, Ph.D.
for Medical Immunology and Microbiology
on the proposal of the Scientific Council of Charles University
prof. Ing. Zdeněk JEGLA, Ph.D.
for Design and Process Engineering
on the proposal of the Scientific Council of the Brno University of Technology
prof. dr. mag. slov. liter. Alenka JENSTERLE DOLEŽAL
for field of study: Slavonic studies
on the proposal of the Scientific Council of Charles University
prof. Ing. Karel KATOVSKÝ, Ph.D.
for field of study: power and electrical engineering
on the proposal of the Scientific Council of the Brno University of Technology
prof. Mgr. Petr KNOBLOCH, Dr.
for field of study: mathematics - numerical and computational mathematics
on the proposal of the Scientific Council of Charles University
prof. Ing. Miroslav KOLÍBAL, Ph.D.
for field of study: applied physics
on the proposal of the Scientific Council of the Brno University of Technology
prof. RNDr. Arnošt KOMÁREK, Ph.D.
Mathematics - Probability and Statistics, Econometrics and Financial Mathematics
on the proposal of the Scientific Council of Charles University
prof. Mgr. David KOŘÍNEK
for field of study: visual communication
on the proposal of the Scientific Council of Jan Evangelista Purkyně University in Ústí nad Labem
Prof. JUDr. Josef KOTÁSEK, Ph.D.
for field of study: business law
on the proposal of the Scientific Council of Masaryk University
prof. MUDr. Tomáš KOVÁRNÍK Ph.D.
for field of study: internal diseases
on the proposal of the Scientific Council of Charles University
prof. RNDr. Vladimír KRAJČÍK, Ph.D.
for field of study: economics and management
on the proposal of the Scientific Council of the Silesian University in Opava
prof. Mgr. David KUBIZŇÁK, Ph.D.
for field of study: theoretical physics
on the proposal of the Scientific Council of Charles University
prof. MUDr. Roman LIŠČÁK, CSc.
for the field of surgery
on the proposal of the Scientific Council of Charles University
prof. MgA. Bohuslav MATOUŠEK
for the field of study.
on the proposal of the Artistic Council of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague
prof. Ing. et Ing. Renáta MYŠKOVÁ, Ph.D.
for field of study: economics and management
on the proposal of the Scientific Council of the Silesian University in Opava
prof. PhDr. Klára OSOLSOBĚ, Dr.
for field of study.
on the proposal of the Scientific Council of Masaryk University
prof. Mgr. art. Ivan OSTROCHOVSKÝ, ArtD.
for Film, Television, Photographic Arts and New Media
on the proposal of the Artistic Council of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague
prof. Mgr. Martina PACHMANOVÁ, Ph.D.
Theory and History of Modern and Contemporary Art
on the proposal of the Artistic Council of the University of Applied Arts in Prague
prof. Ing. Jiří PATOKA, Ph.D.
for field of study: applied zoology
on the proposal of the Scientific Council of the Czech University of Agriculture in Prague
prof. PhDr. Andrea POKLUDOVÁ, Ph.D.
for field of study: Czech and Czechoslovak history
on the proposal of the Scientific Council of the University of Ostrava
prof. Ing. Jiří POKORNÝ, Ph.D.
for field of study: theory and construction of buildings
on the proposal of the Scientific Council of the University of Mines - Technical University of Ostrava
prof. Ing. Michal PRAUZEK, Ph.D.
for field of study: cybernetics
on the proposal of the Scientific Council of the University of Mines - Technical University of Ostrava
prof. RNDr. Tomáš ROUŠAR, Ph.D.
for field of study: medical biology
on the proposal of the Scientific Council of Charles University
prof. RNDr. Pavel ROVNANÍK, Ph.D.
for field of study: physical and civil engineering
on the proposal of the Scientific Council of the Brno University of Technology
doc. MUDr. Zdeněk RUŠAVÝ, Ph.D.
for Gynaecology and Obstetrics
on the proposal of the Scientific Council of Charles University
prof. Ing. Pavel RYANT, Ph.D.
for field of study: general plant production
on the proposal of the Scientific Council of Mendel University in Brno
prof. Ing. Pavel SCHMID, Ph.D.
for field of study: construction and transport engineering
on the proposal of the Scientific Council of the Brno University of Technology
prof. RNDr. Petr STEHLÍK, Ph.D.
for field of study: applied mathematics
on the proposal of the Scientific Council of the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen
prof. et prof. Ing. Jan STEJSKAL, Ph.D.
for field of study: regional and social development
on the proposal of the Scientific Council of the Czech University of Agriculture in Prague
prof. Ing. Mgr. Blanka STIBŮRKOVÁ, Ph.D.
for Medical Biology and Genetics
on the proposal of the Scientific Council of Charles University
prof. MUDr. Jakub SUCHÁNEK, Ph.D.
for specialisation: dentistry
on the proposal of the Scientific Council of Charles University
prof. MDDr. MUDr. Jiří ŠEDÝ, Ph.D.
for Anatomy, Histology and Embryology
on the proposal of the Scientific Council of Charles University
prof. PhDr. Jan ŠIŠKA, Ph.D.
for specialisation: special education
on the proposal of the Scientific Council of Masaryk University
prof. JUDr. Martin ŠTEFKO, Ph.D.
for the field of study: labour law and social security law
on the proposal of the Scientific Council of Charles University
prof. PhDr. Matúš ŠUCHA, Ph.D.
for field of study: psychology
on the proposal of the Scientific Council of Palacký University in Olomouc
prof. Mgr. Radmila ŠVAŘÍČKOVÁ SLABÁKOVÁ, Ph.D.
for field of study: history - general history
on the proposal of the Scientific Council of Masaryk University
prof. RNDr. Martin TANCER, Ph.D.
Computer Science - Theoretical Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, Discrete Models and Optimization
on the proposal of the Scientific Council of Charles University
Prof. PharmDr. Aleš TICHÝ, Ph.D.
for field of study: medical biophysics
on the proposal of the Scientific Council of Palacký University in Olomouc
prof. MUDr. Jan TRNKA, Ph.D.
for field of study: medicinal chemistry and biochemistry
on the proposal of the Scientific Council of Charles University
prof. MUDr. Michal TUČEK, Ph.D.
for specialisation: orthopaedics
on the proposal of the Scientific Council of Charles University
prof. RNDr. Filip UHLÍK, Ph.D.
for field of study: physical chemistry
on the proposal of the Scientific Council of Charles University
prof. RNDr. Petra URBANOVÁ, Ph.D.
for field of study: anthropology
on the proposal of the Scientific Council of Masaryk University
prof. Mgr. Ing. Magdalena Daria VAVERKOVÁ, Ph.D.
for field of study: applied and landscape ecology
on the proposal of the Scientific Council of Mendel University in Brno
prof. MUDr. Vít WEINBERGER, Ph.D.
for Gynaecology and Obstetrics
on the proposal of the Scientific Council of Masaryk University
prof. PhDr. David ZBÍRAL, Ph.D.
for field of study: history - general history
on the proposal of the Scientific Council of Masaryk University
prof. Ing. Zdeněk ŽABOKRTSKÝ, Ph.D.
for field of study: computer science - mathematical linguistics
on the proposal of the Scientific Council of Charles University
prof. RNDr. Jan ŽENKA, Ph.D.
for field of study: political and cultural geography
on the proposal of the Scientific Council of the University of Ostrava
prof. Ing. Vladimír ŽLÁBEK, Ph.D.
for Environment and Health
on the proposal of the Scientific Council of Masaryk University
prof. RNDr. Ivo RUDOLF, Ph.D.
for the field of study: medical microbiology
on the proposal of the Scientific Council of the University of Defence
PHOTO - Tomas Fongus
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