In the course of 1998, the International Relations Department sought in particular to deepen its co-operation with the European university networks which Masaryk University has successfully entered in previous years, and to build on its growing co-operation with North American and other universities as well.
The 4th general meeting of the Compostela Group of Universities held July 1 – 4, 1998 at Masaryk University represented a very significant event in this regard. In autumn 1993, our university was closely involved in the founding of this greatest European association of universities, and the fact that the fourth gathering took place in Brno meant a great honour for Masaryk University and the Czech Republic.
This was also documented by the presentation of the International Prize of the Compostela Group of Universities which was (at this Brno general meeting) conferred on Václav Havel, President of the Czech Republic. (In the absence of the Czech President – who could not be present at the ceremony for reasons of ill–health – the award was received by the Head of the President’s Office, Ivan Medek.) At the conclusion of the gathering, the Chair of the Compostela Group of Universities, Prof. Marc Richelle, was awarded the Great Medal of Masaryk University. Two new members joined the group: Wroclaw University and the School of Economics in Budapest. The general meeting of the Compostela Group of Universities in Brno confirmed the active involvement of Masaryk University in this network. Membership in this renewed academic network strengthens the international prestige of Masaryk University (until 1999 represented by Prof. Jioí Šrámek), and it provides many opportunities for the establishing of new close relationships needed for the University’s engagement in European study programmes.
Masaryk University also co–operated with universities associated in the Utrecht Network. In April, a regular annual meeting of representatives of associated universities (including MU) was held at Thessaloniki University in Greece. In September, on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the founding of Aarhus University, rectors of the universities joined in this network met. Masaryk University received from the Utrecht Network a grant for the organisation of an intensive course in public economics.
In the framework of international cultural agreements negotiated by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport, Masaryk University was awarded funding for visits abroad: eight teachers and 33 students were able to take part in lecture and study stays or to participate in language courses.
Contacts with universities in Wroclaw, Poznan, Katowice, Szeged, Vienna, Regensburg and Greifswald were deepened. These connections are based on bilateral agreements on mutual co–operation, and in the framework of negotiated quotas we were in a position to welcome 54 foreign academics and teachers to Brno, while 56 Czechs were able to travel abroad.
Based on such bilateral agreements and co–operation between university networks, our students were able to experience greater study mobility. Utrecht University (Netherlands) invited five students for a summer course on Dutch Culture; Regensburg University (Germany) provided three study grants for a summer course in German; three students had the chance to participate in a semester–long course at Greifswald University (Germany); the Faculty of Economics and Administration provided one of its post–graduate students with a nine–month study grant at Fribourg University (Switzerland); and a student of the Faculty of Education received a grant for a one–semester stay at Edgewood College in the USA. As part of the programme provided by the Compostela Group of Universities, two students of Hispanic Studies received a grant to participate in the pilot Peregrino student mobility project, which enables students to gain study experience at a number of universities in different language areas.
Contacts with the Viadrina European University in Frankfurt an der Oder (Germany) were also strengthened: four students from the Faculty of Economics and Administration and three students from the Faculty of Education took part in two–semester courses at this university.
A student–for–student group exchange, between ten MU students of Polish Studies and students of Slavonic Studies from Wroclaw University (Poland) was organised.
At Comenius University in Bratislava (Slovak Republic) and in the presence of representatives of Masaryk University, the Rectors of these universities signed an agreement on mutual co–operation between their universities which created a new basis for further mutual contact.
In April 1998, Masaryk University was visited by Petra Perazzini of the TEMPUS Office in Turin (Italy) who – together with a representative of the Prague TEMPUS Office – monitored the implementation of TEMPUS projects which reached their final stage in the summer semester:
In the course of 1998, TEMPUS project activities focused on the introduction of new working methods at foreign liaison departments of schools of higher education in Moravia. The co–ordinator of this particular project is Glasgow University, supported by other foreign participants (universities in Madrid and Paris). The Czech party is represented by the Brno Technical University (VUT), Masaryk University, Mendel University of Agriculture and Forestry, the Janáeek Academy of Musical Arts, Palacký University in Olomouc, and the Ostrava Technical University.
In March, a meeting with the co–ordinator of this project, Mr. Birks from Glasgow University, took place in Brno at which a schedule for the first year of this project was discussed. In the course of the year, a short–term attachment at the foreign liaison department of Glasgow University was organised. At the end of August, a week–long course for employees of the international relations office who deal with EU programmes was held in Lednice. A part of the project’s budget was spent on the purchase of office and computer technology for the International Relations Department of Masaryk University.
While the TEMPUS programme has almost stopped serving as a project facilitating mobility for MU students, the SOCRATES-ERASMUS programme offers a great range of opportunities in this field. Masaryk University prepared a pilot one–year programme for this project. After international students were accepted at MU, all necessary forms and information materials were processed and these were sent to all co–ordinators of this programme at the partnership universities. Simultaneously, visits of Czech students to foreign universities were prepared and planned. The International Relations Department together with the Department of Czech for Foreigners held a two–week introductory language course. In the 1998/99 winter semester, MU accepted international students of Music, Slavonic Studies, English, and Theatre and Film Studies from universities in London, Regensburg, Antwerp, Bochum and Greifswald for study courses of between three and nine months at our university.
By November 15, 1998, the draft of an institutionalised contract for the 1999/2000 academic year had been processed and sent to Brussels. There is a definite and growing interest in the SOCRATES programme at Masaryk University. At the present time, the University has 73 partner universities and the mobility of students has grown, too. 165 MU students on the programme are studying abroad and 132 students are at MU.
Masaryk University will be involved in other activities, such as ECTS (the European Credit Transfer System), CDI and CDA (the development of a curriculum for bachelor’s and master’s studies) and ILC (intensive language courses). It will also co–ordinate three IP (intensive programmes): two in natural sciences and one in medicine. The extent of activities described corresponds with the increased budget of approximately ECU 190,000.
In the first six months of 1999, all institutionalised agreements from all European universities will be processed and evaluated at the Technical Office of the SOCRATES programme. The results of these proceedings will be known in May or June 1999.
In 1998, Masaryk University was represented at a number of significant international university trade-fairs and conferences. In March, MU had a stand at the international trade–fair of post–secondary education in Vienna, and as such was the only representative of Czech schools of higher education. The interest of students visiting the event focused on the humanities, foreign languages and Czech Studies.
In May 1998, MU representatives participated for the first time in a prestigious
conference organised by NAFSA, the Association of International Educators, which was held
in Washington, DC, USA. At this, the 50th annual NAFSA conference, a
representative of MU was elected co–chair of the ECENIS special interest group of
universities in Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. This has furthered
the University’s work in establishing and strengthening contacts with US and Canadian
universities.
In November 1998, the 10th conference of the European Association for International Education (EAIE) was held in Stockholm, Sweden. MU representatives took an active part in this gathering on ”Interaction with the Wider Community”, which focused on the issue of the internationalisation of university activities.
On the recommendation of the former Austrian vice–chancellor Dr. Erhard Busek, Masaryk University established contact with the Institute of Molecular Pathology in Vienna. The main issue of negotiations was Prof. Nasmytha’s proposal to create a European Conference Centre in Brno, where genetics – a modern science of experimental biology – was founded. The matter was discussed with representatives of Brno institutes of genetics and the Abbot of the Augustinian monastery, the latter of whom has promised to accommodate the scientific centre on the monastery site. Local and international committees were established, the main task of which is to prepare and implement this promising project.
In 1998, the International Relations Department promoted Masaryk University both at home (in the Czech media) and abroad. A whole range of events connected with public relations was organised in co–operation with the Brno City Council and the SNIP Brno advertising and public relations firm. Because of Brno’s ever growing involvement in a European context, domestic and international public relations are increasingly overlapping.
The international conference on ”European Culture at the Crossroads – Responsibility and Hope” was among the most important events organised by MU, the Brno City Council and SNIP. The conference was held in co–operation with other institutions (VUT and BVV) and took place between September 30th and October 3rd, 1998. Participants in the conference discussed the development process of the European culture value system in the course of the 20th century and issues connected to the current state of European culture. One of the significant points of departure was the Exhibition of Contemporary Culture (held in Brno in 1928 on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the founding of Czechoslovakia and focusing on the presentation of a comprehensive conception of cultural development). These days – at the turn of the millennium and following a tradition of many years – humanity would only benefit from activities bringing together art, science, technology and politics. In the final declaration, conference participants encouraged Brno’s organising institutions to continue in this tradition and implement similar events in coming years.
In April 1998, Masaryk University took part in the preparation and implementation of the ”European Days in Brno”. The main aim of this event was to draw attention to and increase public knowledge of the European Union. For legal institutions and other interested parties, the Faculty of Law held a seminar on ”Legal Matters of the Czech Republic’s Preparation for Entering the European Union”. In the IBC complex, panels were installed informing the public of MU’s involvement in European co–operation programmes (TEMPUS, SOCRATES, LEONARDO), MU membership in international university networks, bilateral co–operation with universities in European Union countries, and prominent personalities who had visited Brno in previous years.
”Italian Days in Brno”, which took place in June 1998, was another event co–organized by MU. The university accommodated lectures by Prof. Bilohradský on the political situation in Italy and Prof. Singha on ”Giacomo Leopardi – European Poet”. In the foyer of the MU Rector’s Office, an exhibition of photographs was installed titled ”Common People – Pictures from Italy”.
In co–operation with the Spanish Embassy, the ”Days of Spanish Culture” were held in Brno in May 1998, the main cultural event of which was a concert organised in honour of Federico Garcia Lorca.
A representative of Masaryk University took part in a delegation representing the Brno Council in Rennes in France, one of Brno’s sister cities. Included on the programme of the visit was a discussion on ”The Europe of Education”. In December 1998, a delegation from Rennes reciprocated the visit by coming to Brno. Representatives of Rennes University took part in this visit and met the leading figures of Masaryk University and representatives of MU faculties involved in the partnership. The two faculties agreed upon the draft form of a co–operation agreement which will facilitate the effective preparation of MU students for their work in state administration in line with EU standards.
On May 14th, 1998, at the end of the 1997/98 academic year, Masaryk University held its second Dies academicus. At the ceremony, teachers and students were presented with the Rector’s Prize for outstanding academic and study achievements and the honorary Rector’s Prize for exemplary representation of the university in sports disciplines at an international level. In the framework of Dies academicus, two new competitions were organised: the Department of Slavonic Studies of the Faculty of Arts held a literary competition for young poets and writers in which 48 works written by MU students were evaluated, while the Department of Art Education of the Faculty of Education organised the ”Phenomenon of a Book” competition in which 14 students and one group participated. Winners of both competitions were announced and prizes were awarded at this gathering of the MU academic community. At the end of this ceremony, Prof. Dr. Josef Válka – on whom the Rector’s Prize for outstanding creative achievement was conferred – held a lecture on ”New History Teaching and Czech History”.
On September 1st, 1998, the new MU management started its three–year tenure. The hand–over of the MU symbols of academic authority from the outgoing Rector to his successor was held on October 9th together with the inauguration. Representatives from many prominent institutions and organisations were present at this ceremonial event.
On December 9th, 1998, leading MU representatives and figures from Brno’s public, cultural and business life discussed the results of their co–operation in the course of the previous year at an informal meeting. Masaryk University also introduced its aims and plans in various fields of activity for the year to come.
In the Great Hall of Masaryk University and under the auspices of the MU Rector, the University Choir performed works of Czech and international composers in a Christmas concert for the academic community and the wider public. The interest of the public was so great that in the future it will be necessary to consider using a hall with larger capacity.
In 1998, the International Relations Department of Masaryk University published the following publicity materials:
Information concerning significant foreign activities was reported in the Academic News column of the University Newspaper and in the MU Information Bulletin, the English version of which was also sent to our international partners.
On the occasion of the prize–giving ceremony of the Compostela Group of Universities, a Czech–English brochure ”Havel – Dramatist” was published.
The Department also constantly monitored the daily press, and significant events at Masaryk University were documented in the form of photographs.
In order to enable the better orientation of international students within MU study programmes, an overview of all study disciplines at individual faculties was published in English.