NOTICE FROM THE CHAIRMAN OF AS AMU REGARDING THE RECTOR ELECTION

Dear Members of the Academic Community,

In accordance with the resolution of the Academic Senate of AMU dated 29 June 2020, I am hereby presenting brief profiles of the individual candidates for the Rector of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (“AMU”) for the 2021–2025 term of office.

An assembly of the Academic Community of AMU was called for Monday, 23 November 2020 from 2:00 PM, where the candidates will introduce themselves, present their concept documents and answer the questions that the members of the Academic Community may ask.

On the dame day, i.e., 23 November 2020, the Academic Senate of AMU will be passing a resolution on the proposal for the appointment of the Rector of AMU.

Yours sincerely
MgA. Petr Prokop, m.p.
Chairman, AS AMU

Daniela Jobertová

Daniela Jobertová holds the position of the Vice-Rector of AMU for Student Affairs and Quality Assurance, and is also the Head of DAMU’s Department of Theory and Criticism. In addition to theatre science, in which she graduated from the Suffolk University in Boston, she also translates from French and English. She obtained her Doctor’s degree at the Université Paris VIII-Vincennes-Saint Denis. She is a laureate of the Knight Order of the Academic Palms and a member of several councils and committees, including the Strategic Committee of Sorbonne Universités. In her position as the Vice-Rector, she contributed to the development of a quality assurance system with regular Department and subject evaluation cycles, thanks to which AMU is the first art school in the Czech Republic to have obtained institutional accreditation, among other things. As a result, AMU can make decisions on the accreditation of its programmes for the next ten years.

In her concept for the Rector’s position, she places emphasis on the development of graduates’ knowledge and skills not specific to the various subjects with a view to enhancing their professional profiles, and on introducing more flexible methods of tuition for certain types of subjects to allow the students to reconcile studying and working more easily. Daniela Jobertová also intends to pay more attention to doctoral programmes, improving their quality in terms of structure, personnel and financial backing and the nature of doctoral research. She will focus in particular on strengthening the support for researchers provided by the school’s project sections, creating the prerequisites and room for international experience of students and teachers, developing ‘internationalisation at home’ to a greater degree, and, in terms of strategic management on the Faculty level, reflecting on the principles of environmental responsibility and continuing the digitalisation of agendas.

Vlastimil Mareš

Professor Vlastimil Mareš works as the Vice-Dean for Student Affairs and Art and Concert Activities of the Music and Dance Faculty as well as an in-house teacher at the Woodwinds and Brass Instruments Department of HAMU. He held the Dean’s office at HAMU from 2010 to 2018. He is a respected musician who has won countless prestigious awards in both domestic and international competitions. Since 1985, he has held the 1st Clarinet Chair in the Prague Symphonic Orchestra (FOK) and is also a member of the Prague Wind Quintet. He is a member of many expert panels, such as the Management Board of the Antonín Dvořák Foundation and the Concertino Praga international competition. He also conducts orchestras, including concerts in Seoul and Riga as well as the Plzeň Philharmonic and the West Bohemian Symphony Orchestra in Mariánské Lázně.

In his concept, he places emphasis on observing the principles of equality and non-discrimination as far as both student admission and employee recruitment is concerned. He intends to continue supporting the policy of sustainability, which was launched under the current Rector with the establishment of the Environmental Panel as an advisory body to the Rector, also in connection with the preparation for the environmental audit that AMU should undergo in the near future. He intends to place the same emphasis on issues related to the new forms of education in an era of anti-pandemic measures, the administrative requirements for both supporting and academic personnel, the financing of the individual faculties and encouraging both teachers and students to create art. Vlastimil Mareš’s concept includes the idea of organising an annual AMU Festival, which would regularly present the best artistic output of the students from all three Faculties. His ambition is to be a moderator in Faculty affairs with a view to ensuring the requisite respect and power in decision-making while not permitting their misuse.

Filip Suchomel

Filip Suchomel works at AMU as the Vice-Rector for Development, PR, Science and Research. He is a Japanologist, an art historian and a teacher at the Film and TV School of AMU and at the Academy of Arts, Architecture & Design. He used to work as a curator of Japanese art collections, the Head of the Asian Department at the Náprstek Museum in Prague, and the Head of the Asian Art Collection of the National Gallery in Prague. He was nominated for the Magnesia Litera Award in 2011 in the Publishing Feat of the Year category for his book …and the Chinese Cliffs Emerged out of the Mist.

Mr Suchomel’s concept document covers six areas. He intends to become a mediator capable of listening to various ideas, pursuing clear and open communication and dialogue, and applying transparent decision-making. On the Faculty level, he would like to initiate mentoring programmes, under which students could consult international teachers on their work. As far as the structure of study programmes is concerned, he sees a focus on art trends and on the gradual integration of doctoral programmes as crucial for giving rise to good quality subjects with a broad reach. With regard to creative activity, he would like to initiate a new form of the AMU Internal Competition and scholarships for the most talented students and the option for academics to apply for sabbaticals more often. The areas of his interest include support for the full range of science and research activities at the individual Faculties, improving the communication and promotion of the school, both within AMU and externally towards the general public, and developing the resources, strategic management and financing.

Ingeborg Radok Žádná

Ingeborg Radok Žádná works at AMU as the Vice-Rector for International Relations and Artistic Activity as well as a teacher at HAMU’s Music Management Department. She used to play the cello and viola da gamba, and since 1996 she has held managerial positions at various cultural institutions (Prague Philharmonic Choir, Prague State Opera, etc.). During her 20-year tenure at AMU, she was nominated for many grant panels and workgroups and represents AMU on the Presidium of the University Council of the Ministry of Education. She is the author of several nationwide projects in various fields and in 2015 was elected a member of the Council of the Association Européenne des Conservatoires, Académies de Musique et Musikhochschulen (AEC), of which HAMU is an active member. She received the title of the Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters from the French Government in 2003. In addition to the nomination by a number of collective bodies across AMU, she was also nominated as a candidate by 25% of the students of the Music and Dance Faculty, a first in AMU’s history.

Her slogan for the Rector election is to ‘balance and unite’. In her concept, she places emphasis primarily on the communication, administration and support role of the school’s leading personality. In terms of educational activities, she intends to place greater emphasis on the quality of the graduates’ preparation for their professional life and portfolio art careers, on transforming doctoral programmes with a view to improving the content of studies and financial support for students, and, in more general terms, on ensuring that AMU embraces more modern modes of operation. As far as creative activities are concerned, her concept includes plans for initiating new grant opportunities, a multi-purpose venue, Rector’s and Dean’s awards for excellent students, etc. If elected, she intends to work on improving central administrative support for ongoing projects and on greater utilisation of the doctoral students’ potential for the benefit of AMU. She also wants to seek new opportunities for AMU in terms of international contacts, including international mobility of academic workers, employees and students, improving the conditions for distance learning, strengthening AMU’s PR strategies towards the general public, and developing the sustainability policy further with regard to cultivating the environment and society.