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Universities have a responsibility towards the whole society

Masaryk University is becoming increasingly involved in civic life. 

Muni is becoming increasingly involved in civic life. For example, the students organised humanitarian aid for Ukraine last year.

The new Masaryk University Strategic Plan shows how the institution wants to develop in the following five years. One of the main areas of focus is the social responsibility of the academic community.

“It is the task of every good university to educate and spread knowledge through science not only among its own students, but also with regard to the general public. While this is certainly no breaking news, it is good to remember it every now and then. Moreover, MU is the second largest Czech university and its responsibility for what is happening in the region and in the whole country is proportional to its size. These days, many private corporations are aware of a certain degree of social responsibility, let alone a public university,” explains MU Rector Mikuláš Bek.

Over past decades, Masaryk University has become the leader in a number of areas, including streamlining the study agenda through its own information system, promoting transparency by making final theses and research results available to the public, and making university education more accessible to special needs students, and it has inspired a number of Czech and international institutions to make similar efforts.

It has also been a strategic partner and initiator of many development projects in the city of Brno and the wider region and has contributed to national policies. It is the only university in the Czech Republic with its own cultural facilities: the unique Mendel Museum and the popular University Cinema Scala.

Nevertheless, the Strategic Plan points out that MU does not use the full potential offered by its more than 5,000 employees and almost 34,000 students when communicating with the general public. “Regular monitoring of the university’s visibility in the media shows that only some fields are proactive when it comes to contact with the general public. Compared to the media visibility of The Czech Academy of Sciences or the Charles University, it is not enough. Unfortunately, we have a worse starting position as the national – that is, almost entirely Prague-based – media are not so readily available to us,” explains Bek. The rector also justifies the need for visibility by explaining that MU is a public institution that needs to be active in persuading the public and the politicians about its own usefulness. “It is a natural part of academic staff members’ roles to present the results of their work. It has always been this way: during the early years of the university in the 1920s and 1930s, a number of its lecturers were public figures,” he says.

The authors of the Strategic Plan add that the university’s role in society must be based on its internal culture, which stems from shared values, increased awareness about individual responsibility for the quality of one’s work, and recognising those who show excellent results, whether they are students, researchers or teachers.

Bek adds that despite a natural diversity of opinions, there is a majority consensus at the university regarding shared values based on the elementary principles of democracy that go together with the name of Masaryk. “There is probably no need to remind our academic community what these values are – moreover, you can read many of them on the ceiling of our assembly hall, if you only look up. This is a commitment that we have received from the generations of our colleagues before us,” says the rector.

The authors of the Strategic Plan state that to develop a sense of commitment to the university among its students and employees and to promote a sense of pride in working or studying there, the university needs to revise its internal communication processes. “The general level of knowledgeability about our findings, our experience, and what is going on at the university needs to be significantly improved,” says Tereza Fojtová, MU communication director, who is currently leading an audit.

One hundredth anniversary
The current developments within society show that Masaryk University will be ever more present in civic life and will increasingly participate in public debate, offer a space for discussion and assist in resolving pressing problems with its expertise as well as voluntary activities. The university’s 100th anniversary in 2019 will present a great opportunity for the university to become more visible in the public space.

“I see this anniversary as a great opportunity to engage in a dialogue with the public as well as our graduates and future students. The main mission of the university has remained unchanged since it was founded. It should spread knowledge and help people use their own reason. Labels change with time and so this role is called ‘enlightenment’ in one period and ‘innovation’ in another, but it is still the same thing,” says Bek.