Present (without titles): Roman Černík (arriving 16:25 online), Doubravka Dostálová, Eliška Drbohlavová, Filip Novák, Karolina Plicková, Kateřina Štefková, Hanka Malaníková (arriving 16:27), Marta Ljubková (arriving 16:31 online), Jiří Adámek (arriving 16:47), David Mírek (arriving 17:24), Tomáš Pavelka (arriving 17:47)
Excused (without titles): Anastázie Dobrodinská, Cyril Janeček
Guests present (without titles): Daniela Jobertová (future Dean of DAMU), Michal Lázňovský (President of AS AMU, arriving 17:34)
Initially, only five Senators were present, so the start of the sitting had to be postponed. At 16:25 R. Černík came online, at 16:27 H. Malaníková; the Senate now had a quorum and could begin its deliberations.
Number of Senators and Senators present: 7
Majority of participating members: 5
At the beginning Karolina Plicková, the Chair of AS DAMU, welcomed the attendees, introduced them to the agenda and invited them to add any additional items.
1. Inventory of Senate topics
2. Miscellaneous
The Chairperson proposed one more short item, the inclusion of which on the agenda was proposed to the members of the AS DAMU in advance.
1. Report on the current status of the appointment process of the Dean of DAMU - submitted by K. Plicková
2. Inventory of Senate topics
3. Miscellaneous
K. Plick called for an acclamation vote on the agenda.
Vote on the agenda:
For 7
Against 0
Abstained 0
All Senators and Senators present and attached expressed their agreement with the submitted programme.
At its last meeting on 25 November, the AS DAMU adopted a resolution requesting the Rector of AMU to report on the current status of the process of appointing the Dean of DAMU for the term 2025-2029 and the timetable of further steps leading to the appointment of the Dean. The Rector replied that she will inform the DAMU AS about the timetable by the end of next week (by 6 December) and the appointment of the Dean of DAMU is scheduled for the beginning of 2025 after the formal check of all documents.
K. Plicková stated that on 16.12. she received a message from the Rector that the formal check of the submitted documents related to the election of the Dean* of DAMU had been carried out and the appointment decree would be D. K. Plicková added that this message has already been delivered to the members of the DAMU AS; now it is also being heard during the meeting so that the academic community is also aware of the appointment process.
16:31 M. Ljubková joined online.
Discussion:
H. Malaníková pointed out that if the DAMU AS had received information in advance that the process of document review could take so long, there would not even be a need to find out this information and appeal to the Rector. // K. Plick asked D. Jobert if she wanted to comment on this matter. D. Jobert stated that the previous day there had been a meeting between the Dean's team and the incoming Dean's team to discuss the current responsibilities of the current Dean and his team and the process of handing over responsibilities to the incoming team so that they could prepare for the situation. // K. Plicková recalled that in the interim period between the election of the Dean* and the current Rector's report, i.e. in the last two months or so, she had faced questions from the DAMU Academic Community membership and added that she would have appreciated better information on such important matters.
K. Plicková recapped that the constituent meeting of the current AS DAMU was held on 11.3.2024. 40 weeks and 281 days have passed. We agreed to try to partially take stock of the past part of the term, to detect the spectrum of topics that are important for us now, and above all to outline the future outlook.
Issues that currently resonate:
- The need to set up baby-changing counters at the faculty
K. Plick stated that she received a suggestion in late November from a DAMU AO member who has a young child and inquired about the location of the faculty changing station. The suggestion was forwarded to the DAMU AS membership. Since it was shortly after the DAMU AS meeting where the mid-term outlook and various planned innovations were discussed, she approached K. Plicková directly addressed her question to the Dean and the Secretary. It turned out that there was not a single changing table in the entire faculty building. Mr. Dean promised to bring the suggestion to the AMU Equal Opportunity Group meeting in early December. The Registrar has also taken up the issue. F. Novák added the topic to the agenda of the December meeting of the STRK (Student Quality Council) platform. K. Plicková added that she understood that innovations should go through an official path, but at the same time it could be more lengthy. She added that it would be good to address some things in an expeditious manner. // K. Štefková said that there is an unused space in the KS in the corridor opposite the toilets that could serve this purpose well. D. Jobert suggested folding changing tables located in selected toilets as an operational solution. K. Plick explained that a tour of the space is in the works and she has corresponded with the Secretary (Mr. Losky will conduct the tour). There was also discussion that the ideal solution is to place a counter in each wing of the building, both in the women's and men's restrooms. It was suggested that the topic could also be addressed with DISK (some of the toilets are managed by DISK). It would also be good to push for the possibility of setting up gender neutral toilets (someone has already made a guerrilla attempt to do this in the building).
- The need for greater awareness of upcoming actions
H. Malaníková stated that the secretary is leaving AMU for the position of bursar, which he will take up as of 14.2.2025. In addition, from January DAMU will have a Vice-Dean who will be in office for only 3 months, so it is very important to inform each other about the next steps. // D. Jobert informed the attendees that at the Dean's Team meeting yesterday they talked about the need to meet in early January over the budget. She also stated that the position of Secretary*ice will be advertised. Communication between the incoming dean and the current dean, as well as communication between the vice dean teams, is going well, although the distribution of vice dean positions will change. // H. Malaníková stated that she perceived that some topics were addressed by the Secretary J. Sedlacek beyond the scope of the secretarial agenda, and thus it will be necessary for someone to take over these topics and continue to address them. // D. Jobertová responded that part of this agenda will be taken over by the future Vice Dean for Strategy and Development (current AMU Bursar) Tomáš Langer and it will depend on the person who will take over the secretarial position.
- Overload of secretaries and secretarial and technical-economic staff
H. Malaníková pointed out that Secretary Sedláček addressed, among other things, the situation of departmental secretaries and secretaries as well as technical and economic staff, who are faced with very low flexibility of working hours and a large overload - it is currently possible to switch to the home office for only 2 days a month. // D. Jobert responded that she personally would like to increase the number of days and plans to look into this. // E. Prichystal said that it is important for learners to be able to meet secretaries and secretaries physically in the department, although flexibility of working hours is also essential. // H. Malaníková agreed but added that this needs to be balanced. Just as learners can choose their timetables, departmental secretaries and secretaries should also be able to choose their timetables. // E. Drbohlavová clarified that the idea was not to introduce a more extensive home office as an obligation, but as an option.
- Discussion on the change of the Rules of Procedure of the AS DAMU, parts related to the election of the Dean
F. Novák reminded that during the recent election of the Dean*, proposals for a possible revision of the Rules of Procedure of the AS DAMU, or those parts that relate to the election of the Dean*, were made in the Senate. The possibility of introducing a prospective option or obligation to include a justification for the nomination on the nomination ballot was considered. Furthermore, the modification of the date of the fourth round of elections was considered. Finally, the possibility of holding the AO DAMU assembly earlier than the election day was considered, i.e. to modify the current rule that the assembly and the vote must be held on the same day.
F. Novák further stated that he and the AS DAMU student chamber had prepared a list of topics they would like to discuss. They will now present them gradually.
- Introduction of the Sustainability Strategy and the new course on Sustainable Project.
F. Novák presented to the attendees the proposal of a new subject Sustainable Project and the creation of a new strategic document. // At 16:47 J. Adámek arrived. // F. Novák presented the NPO Green Deal project and the upcoming course, which does not create new obligations, but builds on existing projects and for which a manual is being developed in cooperation with Tomáš Kočí. The Environmental Panel is going to hold a presentation on the AMU Sustainability Strategy for AO in January or February (this will be driven by when the Vice Deans can make it). The document is a non-binding, 15-page document that communicates the goals of the European Union. // E. Drbohlav said that there should be a press release on the topic in January. // K. Štefková said that since the topic is strongly related to scenography, she will start to take more interest in it. // E. Přichystalová argued that at the same time, the subject is not purely related to scenography, but also connects actors, directing and production and focuses on sustainability not only material but also human.
- The topic of the change of the election system to the AS DAMU
D. Dostálová opened the topic of possible changes to the Election Regulations of the DAMU. The spring elections to the Senate were specific in the appeal that accompanied them and aimed to ensure that all departments were included in the Senate. This element is important, also purely psychologically. // K. Plick argued that the graphs of senate election results show that the electorate also votes interdepartmentally, i.e., it is not true that people only vote for candidates from their home department. It's an interesting statistic. She added that it makes her feel that she is not exclusively representing her home department in the Senate, but rather that she represents a broader spectrum and shared values. // J. Adámek argued that it is challenging to find a different model for senate elections. It is not possible to make quotas for all departments to be here. It would mean an obligation to have a candidate*from each department and then that*one would also be automatically elected. // F. Novak responded that Sen. Janecek offered to program several possible election models that would show the possibilities for change. // D. Jobert stated that, for example, the FSV has departmental districts. Complicated in such a case is the replacement scheme in case a current senator or senator leaves. She offered that she could consult with university lawyers and bring different options and possibilities. // D. Dostálová said that C. Janeček is interested in the setup of the electoral system and it would be good if someone would join him to look into it. // F. Novák asked if it would be possible to contact someone within the Higher Education Council. // D. Jobert responded that consultation could be arranged with someone from the Legislative Committee or the Forum of Academic Senate Presidents or another expert from the Council of Colleges. If it is decided that the value of having representatives from all departments on the senate is important to the DAMU community, it should be understood that the change is process-intensive. It is possible to facilitate a consultation with a lawyer from Masaryk University who deals with the Higher Education Act. // D. Dostálová added that the issue of the ratio of students and teachers in the DAMU AS is also related to this topic.
- Artistic Council
D. Dostálová raised the question of the number of members of the Artistic Council. She said that she and F. Novák had compared the number of members of the Arts Council at other art schools and had also noted the proportion of women and men. The number is not set by the DAMU Statute, it depends on the Dean or Deaness. // D. Jobert stated that she is mapping the situation and sees this as her topic.
- Safety and security measures
D. Dostálová said that at the meeting with the Secretary she had got acquainted with what measures are being introduced - even more important now is to inform about it. A newsletter has been sent out so awareness is already increasing, need to continue. // K. Plick seconded, noting that one thing is the measures themselves, another is the training that is needed.
- Erasmus
D. Dostálová said that the topic of Erasmus had emerged from the last meeting of the STRK platform. DAMU is presenting the possibility of a trip within Erasmus and declares its support for the trip. However, it is often practically speaking impossible to go within the curricula, many disciplines and departments do not allow it. It is unfair to present this possibility when the only chance to go on Erasmus is only when extending studies. D. Dostalová is mainly concerned with transparency, at the moment the information is confusing. // D. Jobertová responded that this topic needs to be reopened so that it is possible to go and have courses studied abroad recognised. However, it is important whether or not the subject is of a profiling basis. She sees a development in the willingness to recognize things, but it is probably not as fast as it could be - at the same time, year papers are an issue, which are tied to the whole collective, so that if someone in the year leaves, one cannot work. It's a complex issue. // K. Štefková reminded that D. Jobert talked on election day about how important it is for students to go abroad while studying. // D. Jobert confirmed that she still sees the topic as very relevant, also from her own experience. // J. Adámek expressed his support for steps to make Erasmus more flexible. // D. Jobert stated that this topic is also related to the analysis of curricula and courses of a profiling basis. // H. Malaníková argued that the shift in the issue of departures could also have a change on our thinking about whether or not it is necessary to study a course in a single home department. // D. Jobertová mentioned the topic of "equivalences", i.e. the possibility of replacing one course with another (similar or comparable), but added that at present their use would imply very different credit settings for similar courses in different departments. // J. Adámek said that this matter also follows the discussion that was held during the evaluation of compulsory elective Thursdays, where students have the freedom to choose what they will study and teachers should not dictate it to them. // At 17:24 D. Mírek arrived. // F. Novák said that the Faculty of Arts of Charles University has a system whereby students can choose which and when they take courses within a course of study. // R. Černík said that in Brno they have the possibility to enrol in Erasmus as a separate subject. This could also be dealt with in an individual study plan, because it is true that the Erasmus trip also affects the whole year and it is related to the subjects that the student has to take when they are announced. // D. Dostálová interrupted the discussion with the suggestion that within the time limits of the meeting we do not need to look for a solution now, but rather agree when we will deal with this topic. // K. Plick declared her support for Erasmus and also supported the possibility of taking courses from other departments and faculties - she added that these experiences have been crucial for her in her academic life and she is very supportive of these opportunities. She would also appreciate learners being able to experience courses across departments without taking them all year. She asked if such an opportunity already existed. // E. Prichystalova responded that there are plans to open up such an opportunity as part of the NADAMU festival, for which the learners themselves have offered programs and workshops that interested students across all departments can participate in. // J. Adámek would appreciate more integration of departments and courses. // D. Dostálová offered that KALD learners could connect with KVD learners in the creation of fairy tales. // D. Jobert concluded that the topic is also related to study or workload, which could be reduced by this, as courses would be sorted; however, this also applies to accreditation and profile courses. // At 17:26 E. Drbohlavová, R. Černík disconnects.
- STRK
D. Drbohlavová and F. Novák said that the third meeting of the STRK platform would be held the following day, i.e. on 18.12. Together with M. Sikora they are thinking about the concept of a trust box. // H. Malaníková responded by asking whether one can be anonymous at all at this school. // D. Dostálová shared that she has also addressed several suggestions that have come to her with the ombudsman. // K. Plick reminded the Board that the Ombudsperson has been invited to the February 18 Senate meeting to speak about his 2024 report, his recommendations, and the extent to which they are being implemented. // F. Novak summarized that now is the opportunity to open up suggestions rather than offer solutions and experiences straight away, in order to be able to complete the inventory given the time constraints of the meeting. // M. Lázňovský arrived at 17:34 (faculty members of the AS AMU were invited to join the meeting with their perspectives on the inventory). K. Plickova welcomed him and stated that communication with the AMU AS and other academic bodies needs to be intensified.
- Lack of space
D. Dostálová recalled the pressing issue of the lack of space for study. At the same time, it is necessary to streamline the booking system of classrooms and the system of borrowing equipment. F. Novák added that in connection with the rector's election, the pressing issue of the fatal lack of accommodation capacities in the dormitories was also raised. // D. Jobertová responded that the problem is related to the fact that Prague wants to be a tourist city rather than a student city, and the schools then have no partners to support them in their search for space.
- Transparency of rewards and scholarships
D. Dostálová also included a transparent system of rewards and scholarships in the inventory. The problem is also related to the inadequate remuneration of the work of senators and senators, who have de facto added time to their work (mostly the President of the Senate). // At 17:48 T. Pavelka arrived.
- General overcrowding
Those present agreed that this was a key issue to address.
- Environmental panel
The visibility of its activities should be promoted.
- Propose a schedule of Senate meetings within the year
D. Dostálová suggested that there should be a schedule of AS DAMU meetings throughout the year and that the structure of mandatory topics to be addressed by the Senate should be set by the faculty management. This would create more room for addressing other important current topics. // K. Plicková responded that we have had meeting dates planned since the summer for the entire winter semester, and the planning was done in coordination with the Dean, who communicated the essential topics from the faculty leadership that the Senate would address and that the Chair shared with the Senate right away during the planning process. It is necessary to plan the meetings in such a way that they follow the meetings of the AS AMU, the Dean's College, the Arts Council, etc. Meetings are now scheduled through March 2025 when the faculty leadership will be changing. // J. Adámek responded that scheduling the meetings and their framework content for a quarter of a year in advance seems sufficient to him.
- Budget
H. Malaníková asked how the budget planning discussion was progressing. K. Plick replied that this is a question for the Budget Committee Chair, who is D. Mírek. She invited him to share an update. D. Mírek said that he and the Secretary have met several times about this
- Situation of foreign students and teachers
F. Novák opened the topic of faculty communication in both Czech and English. The situation is changing and improving, but there are still a few systems that are not available in English (thesis assignments, Chain reservation, etc.). Furthermore, it is confusing when a faculty passes an invitation in English for an event that is, however, only in Czech - this discrepancy should be thought of, a practical comment attached to the invitation, etc. He also reopened a question he had raised at the first Senate meeting in March 2024, namely what would happen if foreign students and faculty ran and were elected to the Senate.
This concluded the suggestions from the student chamber of AS DAMU.
K. Štefková asked if there were any other topics that had not yet been raised.
- Catering
D. Jobert opened the topic of catering. She stated that there is a canteen in Voršilská near the faculty, another one is in the Faculty of Law. There is a reservation system at Charles University - if there is interest, we will ask the UK if DAMU students could go there. There is also a great cafeteria at FAMU. // H. Malaníková responded that there is also a debate about what catering is offered by KAFE DAMU. There was discussion on whether it is realistic to go out to eat a few minutes walk from the faculty due to busy schedules.
- The need for a teacher's office
M. Ljubková recalled a topic from the election of the Dean*, namely the need to establish a workroom for teachers.
- The need for a children's group
K. Plick recalled another topic that had already been raised during the election of the Dean*s, namely the need for a children's group.
- Unsatisfactory wage conditions
K. Štefková recalled the topic of the underpayment of teachers' salaries and raised the question of whether we are no longer used to the fact that working at school does not make us a living and whether we do not take it for granted. She also shared her concern that the boiled frog syndrome applies to this situation, as she is no longer able to respond adequately and in a timely manner because she is under extreme stress. // F. Novak suggested inviting union representatives to the Senate. K. Plicková was also interested in the activities of the trade unions, but it seems that they did not participate in the protests during the Hour of Truth (?). J. Adámek joined in: he would like to know more about the functioning of the unions. // K. Štefková said that we practically have no influence on wage funds - the wage levels are determined according to the tables. // M. Lázňovský argued that setting wage rates is not outside the school's competence. It is up to the school to decide what level of wages it will set and what rules it will follow. This is also the subject of Mr. Secretary. // D. Mírek followed up that while the hours are "inherited", it is the responsibility of the departments to work with those hours. One can either protest the setup of the system or make teaching more efficient, which goes hand in hand with overload. // F. Novák responded that he found the use of the word "streamlining" inappropriate in the context of how little money the school receives. K. Plick supported this objection. // D. Mírek asked how else to approach the problem. Recruiting courses and people has the effect of spreading the same amount of money among a larger number of teachers. // At 6:18 p.m., D. Dostal. // D. Jobert stated that the numbers of adjuncts in departments need to be reviewed. AMU and DAMU budgets have grown over the years, but the school has also grown. Some funds could go for in-house faculty, but they are going for external faculty. We have a high number of external appointments per semester (she estimates it will be several hundred), which is usually a matter of departmental decisions. At the same time, we feel that we would need to comfortably cover full-time faculty from age 30 to age 80. The emeritus status of professors needs to be thought about. It is one thing to have a chain of fixed-term contracts; it is another thing to have open-ended contracts, which also bring specific complications. It is not clear when the space will be made available for young incoming teachers. There is the problem of departures. // K. Štefková responded that precisely because the full-time positions are blocked, sometimes the only way to employ young teachers is through external employment. // H. Malaníková appealed that it is necessary to open the topic of what exactly full-time positions mean, because it varies from department to department. // K. Plicková suggested intensifying communication with the AS AMU, among others, on the topic of salaries. She also stated that the Hour of Truth initiative published an excerpt from the President's speech at the presentation of appointment decrees a few days ago on the networks (10.12.). The President also wondered about pay inequality. K. Plicková quoted an excerpt from his speech: "More often we talk about it, less often we take concrete steps for it. There are many reasons for this. I will mention just a few, linked to academia. (...) It is incomprehensible to me that there are still universities where similar teaching work is rewarded at completely different salary levels across disciplines and faculties. 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." // M. Lázňovský responded that it is also necessary to focus on fundraising and socially responsible companies and not to let up on the pressure. AMU should have an increase in funds that should go primarily to salaries. For next year, the jump should be larger perhaps by 10-20%. There is a lot of pressure from the university management and representation towards the ministry. It needs to be maintained, but in a situation where the state needs to make savings and increase the military or social budgets, it is difficult to know how the situation will develop. // D. Jobert said that she has been attending meetings on behalf of the Council of Universities with the Minister of Education, Mikulas Bek, who has negotiated an increase of 4 billion for his department (originally only 1 billion was to be added, 6 billion was requested). Now it will be a matter of increasing by this amount every year. There is low pro-education in the regions, politicians are demanding an increase in the number of students in schools (AMU is not affected). It's a complex political debate. // D. Mirek stated that there are things at the ministry level that we cannot control, but things at the school level we can control. In the production department, we cut 25% of the teaching and students started working more, just outside of school. We are presenting outputs, graduates, there should be an audit to see if we are doing it right. // D. Jobert said that the Czech system is exceptional in that we have great academic freedoms. If the state gives more money to schools, it is very likely that it will also want to manage them more and support specific schools that it itself evaluates as socially beneficial. At the moment, the increase in funding is independent of which schools and subjects are supported. // K. Štefková stated that we are overworked to the point that we do not have time to defend ourselves. // D. Jobert responded: let's not call it streamlining, but look at where we have grown in the last 10 years. The budget may have grown, but it still doesn't cover what we are doing extra. // J. Adámek followed up and stated that things are growing and developing and not stagnating, which he considers a basic principle of democratic institutions. And we need to make room for this development. It is a general phenomenon of all universities. The range of things that need to be covered is growing. Professions today have a different character, new competences are needed. But the problem is also that those of us who work in art schools are even more underfunded in practice than in school, so we face both underfunding of education and underfunding of culture - we have to strike for culture as well. // At 18:22, M. Ljubková disconnected. // In response, D. Jobert said that either budgets will grow exponentially in parallel with the development of schools, or we need to learn to let go of things that no longer serve. // J. Adamek followed up that it is okay that we are growing. We do not have an educated population. We don't suffer from having too many sprawling programs, we suffer from not having enough. This world needs to evolve. // K. Plick stated that she agrees with J. Adamek on this. She recalled that in her speech at the Hour of Truth protest in front of the Ministry of Education in June, she spoke about the crucial role of education and culture in the current polycrisis situation. If we do not understand that critical thinking and the ability to imagine alternative options are key skills and abilities with which we can face the current challenges, in the geopolitical sense, we will easily succumb to demagoguery (see the plans of the Motorists). Of course, given the security risks, spending on security is a priority. However, the role of education and culture is also essential and crucial in this respect. // D. Jobert responded that the state also needs to have more options on where to raise funds - the matter is also related to tax policy. She also thanked for the invitation to the meeting and for all the suggestions.
K. Plick concluded that the minutes of the inventory will be prepared and we will divide the topics at the next meeting in January.
There were no motions at this point in the agenda.
The Chairwoman of the AS DAMU thanked those present for their active participation, wished them a peaceful holiday season and a happy entry into the New Year and invited them to the next meeting, which is scheduled for Tuesday 20 January 2025 at 16:00 in the DAMU meeting room
There are no annexes to this meeting.
They wrote it down: Eliška Přichystalová and Karolina Plicková
The minutes of item 2 were revised by Daniela Jobert.
Approved: Karolina Plicková, Chairwoman of DAMU, v.r.
9. January 2025
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