A self-confident, useful and internationally respected TBU

Career development, evaluation and remuneration

• A stronger and healthier team spirit and cooperation across UTB. I want to systematically foster the emergence of a stronger university team and overcome the barriers between individual faculties and other units. UTB can succeed in the long term only if we manage to connect our professional capacities better, share experience and coordinate our efforts for the benefit of the whole university. It is precisely stronger cooperation across UTB that I am convinced is one of the preconditions for improving the university's results and the key indicators described in the following parts of this programme. Part of this change will also be support for shared university activities that connect employees of the individual units in a natural way – for example through voluntary team games with a sporting, knowledge-based or entertaining dimension. This should not be merely another “sports day”, but a format built on healthy rivalry, cooperation and shared experience, helping to strengthen mutual trust and the awareness that the success of individual units is at the same time the success of the whole of UTB.
• A predictable career path. Refine the university framework for career development so that staff know what is expected at each stage of the academic and professional career. Respect the differences between disciplines, while at the same time ensuring transparency and comparable principles.
• Strategic personnel planning and the HR Award. Introduce medium-term planning of personnel needs, succession and talent development at the faculties and other units. Extend the HR Award to further units as a practical standard for high-quality recruitment, evaluation, equal pay, support for diversity and workplace wellbeing.
• Balanced evaluation. Evaluate not only publication and project results, but also the quality of teaching, student supervision, team building, knowledge transfer, the third role and service to the academic community. High-quality teaching must not be perceived as less valuable than research.
• Remuneration according to contribution. Continue to increase the transparency of personal evaluation and extraordinary bonuses. Create conditions for recognising excellent teaching, successful project teams, high-quality supervision of doctoral students and exceptional contributions to the university. Define special motivational bonuses at UTB level, above all for those results successfully reported on behalf of UTB in Module M1 or M2.
• Support for leaders. Develop the leadership of deans, vice-deans, institute directors, heads of departments and administrative units. High-quality people management is a professional competence that requires training, the sharing of experience and feedback.

A process-based approach: less administration, more time for professional work

• A transition to process management following an audit of administrative burden. Identify duplication and triplication in reporting, record-keeping and controls. Every new requirement must have a clear purpose and, wherever possible, replace an existing activity rather than add a new obligation. On this basis, process management can be introduced across agendas. This principle has already been proven at a number of higher education institutions and in an MŠMT (Ministry of Education) project.
• High-quality central services. Professionalise project, legal, personnel, financial, IT, library and communication support. Faculties and teams must receive practical help, not new methodological complications.
• Digitalisation of agendas. Interconnect information systems, automate repetitive activities and use AI in preparing documents, analysing data and standardising procedures. Measure the time saved and return it to teaching, research and work with students.

A safe, fair and supportive working environment

• Social safety. Strengthen trustworthy mechanisms for preventing and addressing inappropriate behaviour, ombudsperson and counselling services, and whistleblower protection. The rules must be comprehensible, accessible and applicable to everyone.
• Wellbeing and balancing roles. Support mental health, flexible forms of work where the nature of the activity allows, return from parental leave, and a sensible balance between academic, research, managerial and personal demands.
• Equal opportunities and work with talent. Actively seek out talented staff, support their professional growth and create conditions for retaining young academics, researchers and top experts from practice and from abroad.

• AI literacy for every graduate. Embed the possibilities, limits, ethics and practical use of AI in the graduate profiles and learning outcomes of all degree programmes. The scope and form must correspond to the discipline – differently in technical, economic, health, humanities and creative fields.
• AI competences of academic staff. Ensure regular training for teachers and researchers, access to the necessary tools, support in designing courses and the sharing of good practice. Clearly define the rules for the use of AI in assessment, final theses and research.
• UTB AI Centre. Establish an interdisciplinary platform that will not compete with the faculties, but will provide methodological, technological and project support to faculties and students alike. The Centre should coordinate internal AI services, education, research projects, transfer and the offer for companies, schools and public administration.
• A digital university. Create a long-term architecture for information systems, remove incompatible records and develop a unified data environment. Leadership decisions must be based on available, comprehensible and verifiable data. The priorities will be the secure interconnection of key agendas, the digitisation of records management and study agendas, the modernisation of the financial information system and rigorous management of data, access rights and the life cycle of systems.
• Cyber and data security. Strengthen the protection of systems, personal and research data, know-how and intellectual property. Security should not be perceived merely as a technical agenda, but as the responsibility of every user.
• Physical and operational security. Create a unified framework for the protection of buildings and workplaces, crisis preparedness and operational continuity. Regularly test security scenarios and educate students and staff so that security becomes part of the university's everyday culture.

• Fewer formal agreements, more results. Evaluate the existing international partnerships and concentrate support on universities with which joint projects, publications, double/joint degree programmes, summer schools, academic exchanges and long-term student mobilities are being created.
• PIONEER and joint international programmes. Strengthen UTB's active and measurable involvement in the PIONEER alliance through joint projects; joint, double and multiple degree programmes; BIP and other forms of mobility; research networks; shared teaching; and the transfer of good practice, so that membership in the alliance delivers concrete benefits for the faculties, students, academic and non-academic staff and strengthens UTB's international standing.
• International experience for students. Simplify the administration of mobilities, improve the recognition of study abroad, support both short-term and long-term formats, and involve in mobility also those students for whom a longer stay is difficult for financial, family or health reasons. Base the increase in the number of international students on long-term partnerships, with a focus also on the Vietnamese and Indian markets.
• International experience for staff. Support outgoing mobility of academic and non-academic staff, visiting positions at high-quality institutions, the formation of joint teams and the arrival of international experts. Mobility must have a concrete output and subsequent use at UTB.
• An international environment at home. Expand the high-quality offer in English, support visiting professors, international researchers and the internationalisation of the curriculum. Strengthen language preparation and integration support for international students and staff.
• Responsible growth of the international environment. Aim for a target of at least 15% international students and 15% international academic and research staff, while at the same time emphasising the quality of admissions, integration, language support, study success and genuine involvement in the life of the university.
• A reputation founded on genuine quality. Use QS, THE and subject rankings as a diagnostic tool. Improve data quality, citation impact, academic and employer reputation, internationalisation, graduate employability and sustainability; not merely “play the rankings game” for its own sake.

• Faculty autonomy and shared responsibility. Respect the different missions and disciplinary structures of the faculties. The university level should address what is more effective to do jointly: strategy, key services, security, major investments, data standards, international representation and the coordination of interdisciplinary activities.
• A budget linked to strategy. Gradually link part of internal funding to the quality of teaching, research, internationalisation, the third role and the fulfilment of agreed goals. At the same time, protect the stability of high-quality disciplines that cannot be evaluated solely by short-term economic indicators.
• Diversification of income and reserves. Increase the success rate of projects, contract research, lifelong learning, donations and other legitimate sources of income. Strengthen the building of reserves for the co-financing of projects, exceptional situations and strategic investments.
• Investment with clear priorities. Assess investments according to their contribution to the quality of teaching and research, security, energy efficiency and the working environment. Every larger investment must carry responsibility for its utilisation, operating costs and measurable results.

The UTB Library as a strategic service of the university

The UTB Library must be a stable, modern and accessible shared service for the whole university. Its role goes beyond managing the library collection: it creates the information infrastructure for education, science and research, supports work with data and new technologies, and at the same time offers important facilities for study and for students' community life.

• Sustainable funding for the UTB Library. Respond to the fact that over the past three years, as a result of the way the UTB budget was set, almost the entire original library reserve of CZK 15 million has been consumed. Establish a predictable multi-year funding model that will ensure stable operation, the renewal of information resources, the development of services and the gradual restoration of an adequate financial reserve.
• Access to information resources and the use of AI. Guarantee students and staff access to key electronic and printed information resources and systematically develop new services connected with artificial intelligence. The Library will support the safe, ethical and effective searching, verification and use of scholarly information.
• Support for science, research and Open Science. Strengthen the Library as an active partner of research teams in the areas of Open Access, research data management, FAIR principles, data management plans, publication strategies, bibliometrics and the responsible reporting of research results.
• An attractive space for study and meeting. Invest in the Library's physical environment, the modernisation of technical equipment, study rooms and spaces for individual and team work. The Library should be a safe, accessible and inspiring place where students learn, collaborate and naturally meet.
• Information, data and AI education. Develop the Library as an active provider of information education for students, doctoral students and staff. The offer will include working with scholarly resources, the critical evaluation of information, citation, academic integrity, data management and the responsible use of artificial intelligence tools.

Balanced development of the faculties and university infrastructure

The university's development must be based on the real needs of its faculties and other units. I therefore held a dialogue with the deans even before the election, and as rector I will continue it systematically. The development and location needs of the individual faculties differ according to their disciplinary focus, their current facilities and their long-term strategic plans. My fundamental principle will be that the development of one unit must not come at the expense of another, and that investment priorities must be assessed transparently, over the long term and within the framework of a shared UTB campus master plan.

• Faculty of Technology – new U1 building. Complete the construction, final approval and equipping of the new U1 building and ensure that it is fully operational in 2027. The new laboratories, technological facilities and energy-efficient operation must be used to the full for high-quality teaching, research and cooperation with industry.
• Faculty of Management and Economics (FaME) – reconstruction of U2. Prepare and, subject to the availability of grant funding for the construction infrastructure of public higher education institutions and of the university's own resources, carry out the final stage of the comprehensive reconstruction of the U2 building, in particular the modernisation of building technologies, fire safety, energy management and the internal layout. The expected implementation horizon, depending on the availability of funding, is 2027–2029.
• Faculty of Multimedia Communications (FMK) – location and specialised facilities. Together with the leadership of FMK, address its long-standing fragmented location and the spatial and technological needs arising from the specific nature of its studio-based and creative disciplines, such as design, audiovision, animation, photography, digital media and glass. FMK's needs must be a fully fledged part of the long-term UTB campus master plan.
• Faculty of Humanities (FHS) – development of non-medical healthcare disciplines. Create conditions for the further development of non-medical healthcare disciplines and, together with the faculty, healthcare partners and the Zlín Region, examine their future spatial, personnel and organisational arrangements, including the possibility of creating a stronger institutional platform, for example in the form of an institute.
• Faculty of Applied Informatics (FAI) U5 (and U56). The faculty is the subject of gradual investment, partial reconstructions and technical modernisation; the priority will be to ensure the sustainable development and modernisation of its material and technical infrastructure in line with the campus master plan.
• Faculty of Logistics and Crisis Management (FLKŘ). Support the further effective development of the faculty in Uherské Hradiště, on land provided long-term by the partner city, and continue the gradual strengthening of its laboratory, teaching and research facilities. The existing spatial capacity provides the basis for the faculty's further development without the need for major relocation measures in Uherské Hradiště.
• U3 Růmy halls of residence. Complete the project preparation of the new hall of residence with a capacity of 158 beds, with the aim of bringing it into operation in 2028. Any PPP model (Design–Build–Finance–Transfer) must be conditional on a transparent assessment of value for money, risks, long-term repayments and the impact on UTB's financial stability.
• U55 multifunctional sports hall. Push through sustainable funding and the construction of the U5 multifunctional sports complex, which is intended to centralise UTB's sports facilities, improve conditions for teaching and student sport, and enable the hosting of national and international university events. Given its location in the immediate vicinity of FAI, the technical, transport and operational design must be prepared so as not to constrain the faculty's teaching, research or further development.
• Garni U19 university student club. As a priority, complete the reconstruction and equipping of the student club premises and establish a long-term sustainable and efficient model for its operation. The club must provide high-quality facilities for student life, community activities, meetings, university events and the strengthening of students' sense of belonging to UTB.
• Master plan, sustainability and operational responsibility. Update the UTB campus master plan to at least 2035 so that it transparently captures the long-term spatial, technological and investment needs of all faculties and other units. Every major investment will be assessed according to its contribution to teaching, research and the university's development, according to total life-cycle costs, operating costs, energy efficiency, safety, accessibility, the quality of the working environment and the actual utilisation of space.

I do not regard these needs as competing with one another. The task of the university's leadership is to prepare a realistic order, timetable and funding model for them, so that every faculty has a clear perspective for its further development and so that the development of one part of the university does not create a long-term deficit for another.

• Open communication. Regularly and clearly communicate key investment and development decisions to the academic community; publish the state of delivery of priorities, timetables and, above all, the basic financial frameworks from the planning phase through implementation to final financing, including risk management; and create space for substantive discussion of them with the senates, faculties, students, trade unions and other employees.