MINUTES OF THE 7TH MEETING OF THE AS DAMU ON 4 OCTOBER 2024

Present (without titles): Jiří Adámek, Roman Černík, Anastázie Dobrodinská, Cyril Janeček, Hana Malaníková, Filip Novák, Tomáš Pavelka (online), Karolina Plicková, Kateřina Štefková (online)

Excused (without titles): Doubravka Dostálová, Eliška Drbohlavová, Marta Ljubková, David Mírek

Guests present (without titles): Karel František Tománek (Dean of DAMU), Michal Somoš (Vice-Dean of DAMU, online), Jan Sedláček (Secretary of DAMU, online), Pavel Zajíček (member of AS AMU)

Number of Senators and Senators present: 9

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.

Program:

1. Meeting with Andrea Slováková in connection with the selection of a candidate*for appointment as Rector*of AMU for the term 2025-2029
2. Medium-term development of DAMU - submitted by the Dean of DAMU
3. Discussion of the accreditation file of the Master's Degree in Scenography - submitted by the Dean of DAMU
4. Discussion of the accreditation file of the Master's Degree in Dramaturgy of Drama Theatre - submitted by the Dean of DAMU
5. Miscellaneous

No additional suggestions were made. K. Plick called for an acclamation vote on the agenda.

Vote on the agenda:
For 9
Against 0
Abstained 0

All Senators and Senators present and attached expressed their agreement with the submitted programme.

1. Meeting with Andrea Slováková in connection with the selection of a candidate*for appointment as Rector*of AMU for the term 2025-2029

K. Plicková welcomed to the meeting Andrea Slováková, former Dean of FAMU (2020-2024), who has expressed her interest in running for Rector of AMU in the upcoming elections. According to Article 3, paragraph 6 of the Rules of Procedure of the AS AMU, the AS DAMU may nominate candidates for the appointment of the Rector* of AMU. On the basis of Jiří Adámek's proposal, who supported A. Slováková in her intention to present her vision at the DAMU AS meeting, A. Slováková was invited by the DAMU AS President to the meeting. Thesenators received a letter in advance in which A. Slováková briefly introduced herself and summarized the key points of her dean's tenure (the letter is attached to these minutes). A. Slováková thanked for the invitation and for the opportunity to meet live. She expressed her wish that the DAMU AS would express how the Rector's Office can be helpful to the faculty. She presented the process of the election of the Rector*, explained the impulses that led her to apply for the Rector's post and presented the basic points of her future concept: in her opinion, AMU must be above all a modern institution, also in an international context. Such an institution is visible and welcoming and also sustainable. She developed the theme of sustainability and gave examples of its implementation in many concrete forms. She specified her ideas about the role of the Rector's Office within the Academy and emphasized the sphere of care for the development of the whole institution.

Discussion:

Senators asked questions on individual points. A. Slováková presented her ideas and solutions to specific challenges and added that if nominated, she would prepare a comprehensive concept to be submitted to the President of the AS AMU by 4 November 2024. A. Slováková left the room. Pavel Zajíček, member of AS AMU, left the meeting. The senators conferred. Having experienced the discussions that accompanied the nomination process in the ongoing election of the Dean* of DAMU, they also discussed what a nomination actually means, what meaning can be attached to it and how it can be read. (In the meantime, Jan Štěpánek, the guarantor of the accreditation file of Scénography, came to the meeting and operatively with H. Malaníková to discuss her comments on the file in question. J. Štěpánek left the meeting again shortly afterwards for work reasons.) K. Plicková stated that the wording of the resolution by which the nomination could be accepted was based on the draft nomination ballot for students and corresponded to the wording in the Rules of Procedure of the AS AMU. Senators proceeded to vote on the resolution as follows:

Resolution: The Academic Senate of DAMU proposes, in accordance with Article 3, paragraph 6, letter a) of the Rules of Procedure of the Academic Senate of AMU, PhDr. Mgr. Andrea Slováková, Ph.D., MBA as a candidate for appointment as Rector of AMU for the term of office 2025-2029.

For 7
Against 0
Abstained 2

The resolution was adopted.

A. Slováková was invited back to the meeting, the chairwoman of AS DAMU congratulated her on the nomination. At 17:15 the Dean of DAMU also came and the Secretary of DAMU joined
the meeting online.

2. Medium-term development of DAMU - submitted by the Dean of DAMU

The Dean of DAMU and the Secretary of DAMU briefly presented the key points of the mediumterm development of the faculty (infrastructure development, internal grant competition, external premises and other topics, including salary costs).  The complete document will be presented to the Senate for approval at the November meeting. This is a three year forward view which includes a projection of the disposition of funds.

The DAMU Secretary followed up on the discussion about the funding of the internal grant competition of the DAMU from the Dean's College and the last DAMU AS meeting. The DAMU management proposes a solution for the situation when the contribution from the Ministry of Education will decrease. In the event that the year-on-year contribution to educational activities is reduced, the faculty will cover the internal grant competition from the Dean's Office operating fund. This will stabilize the funding and make it possible to draw down the funds from the beginning of the calendar year or to implement the competition at the end of the year preceding the drawdown.

H. Malaníková appreciated this assumption of faculty responsibility in the event of a shortfall in part of the contribution from the Ministry of Education. The Secretary of DAMU added that the Dean's College had agreed on these possible conditions for the use of grant funds.

J. Sedláček also reported on external premises: contracts have already been concluded with Unitaria (rehearsal room and dance hall) and with Divadlo Na zábradlí (Eliada's library). He reminded about the possibility of using the room in the AMU dormitory in Hradební Street and the Inspiration Theatre after the secretariat of the departments had agreed with the mentioned departments. The creation of an arts hub in the former Galaxie multiplex in the South Town and the use of the space for the new LAD.LA programme is currently under discussion. The external spaces are being funded this year by the Chancellor's Office.

H. Malaníková mentioned the course of the dean's college and presented a discussion on the topic of whether the internal grant competition should take place within the entire faculty or
whether the funds should be distributed directly into the budgets of individual departments and whether the competition should take place only at the departmental level. She added that we just need to discuss the matter prospectively. K. Tomanek stated that he would like to revisit this issue at some point in time and expressed his desire to have it discussed as part of
the budget debate. K. Plick closed the discussion on medium-term development.

Cyril Janeček asked J. Sedláček about the ongoing reconstruction in the Řetězová tract. He objected that he did not feel sufficiently informed by the management about the practical consequences of the extension of the construction and confronted the information from the official newsletter with the dismal reality (it is dusty and noisy everywhere, even outside the specified areas and times). He raised the question of when the construction work in the whole
tract would be finished.

K. Tománek described the course of the construction and its unpredictability. He stated that during the construction a sewer emergency in the Řetězová tract was identified. Correction of this condition objectively delayed the entire construction. Failure to remedy the situation would place DAMU in a much more difficult situation during this academic year. The original deadline for the completion of the noisy and dusty work was August 15, and it was subsequently extended to September 30, 2024. J. Sedlacek stated that he agrees that surprise by the construction workers creates situations that are unacceptable for the implementation of DAMU activities. In the event that such situations arise, he negotiates with the relevant department, i.e. in this case KALD and the contractor.

He informed about the current construction schedule: the elevator is to be installed in midNovember, the noisy drilling work is to take place in the morning hours and on weekends,
possibly also on Fridays after agreement with KALD, which is most affected by the work. The current schedule commitments are: by 15 October the work in the area opposite the Chain (warehouse and toilets) is to be completed and the ceilings in the Paint Shop are to be finished; mid-November - lift installed. C. Janecek asked when the Paint Shop will be made accessible. J. Sedlacek responded that the company has promised a completion date of October 15. Anastázie Dobrodinská asked if the agreed scope of the noisy works between 7 and 9 a.m. was actually valid - this week, drilling was taking place outside this range. J. Sedlacek confirmed that the company had not complied with the agreement. After a coordination meeting with KALD, the teaching was moved to other rooms and some subjects were partially changed. J. Sedlacek requested that information be passed on to him if noisy work was interfering with classes. K. Plicková asked if the company would be required to pay financial penalties; Katerina Štefková, who attended the meeting online, coincidentally raised the same question in the chat at the same time. J. Sedlacek confirmed that sanctions would be discussed. On the issue of information, he added that when preparing newsletters, we rely on the latest information we receive from companies, and we work with a security expert to
formulate the text, including security measures. The information will continue to be communicated to the KALD and possibly sent by newsletter. The situation is unpleasant, but
we cannot do more.

3. Discussion of the accreditation file of the Master's Degree in Scene Design - submitted by the Dean of DAMU

The Dean of DAMU briefly presented the accreditation file of the Master's degree programme in Scenography. The file together with other materials and the statement of the programme guarantor Prof. Jan Štěpánek were received by the members of the DAMU AS in advance. The materials are available for the academic community here.

These were:
1. Accreditation file NMSP Scenography
2. Cover letter of the guarantor Prof. Jan Štěpánek
3. CV of the guarantor

J. Štěpánek presented the form of the file in a lengthy letter; he excused himself from attending the entire meeting for work reasons.

Discussion:

Members of the Senate made the following comments or observations: Overall, a very high quality, well thought out and consistently developed file, enabling the profiling of students and reflecting current trends, movements and shifts in the art scene (concept, curating, expanded perception of scenography, etc.). The file is a testament to the modern concept of the entire study programme. Identical lists of literature appear on the course cards at different levels of study, so a gradation in the complexity of the specialist materials is in order. The specialisation Film Scenery Design has a course in English for Professional Purposes, which is the same course prescribed in the specialisation Theatre Scenery Design. Since Film Scenery Design is the only explicitly film major at the Theatre Faculty, the possibility of taking an English course with a film focus (perhaps related to the FAMU curriculum?) comes into consideration.

For the Costume Technology course, it is not explicitly stated if attendance must be met; a percentage requirement may be considered.In the online accreditation report on the card of the guarantor doc. J. Štěpánek's accreditation report shows completely empty fields Artistic activity and Research activity, it will be necessary to fill in the data there. We recommend a final proofreading - we would also like to clarify that typos occur only sporadically (e.g. Artuad), rarely a comma is missing/absent in a sentence, these are really
only minor details.

Resolution: the AS DAMU discussed the accreditation file of the follow-up Master's degree programme Scene Design and recommended the guarantor of the programme to settle minor comments from the AS DAMU.

For 9
Against 0
Abstained 0

The file was discussed and after the minor comments were settled, it was forwarded to the DAMU Artistic Council for approval. (KP note: The comments of the DAMU AS were forwarded
to the sponsor on 7 October).

4. Discussion of the accreditation file of the Master's Degree in Dramaturgy of Drama Theatre - submitted by the Dean of DAMU

The Dean of DAMU briefly presented the accreditation file of the Master's degree programme Dramaturgy of Drama Theatre. The file, together with other materials and the statement of the future programme guarantor doc. Milan Šotka were received by the members of the DAMU AS in advance. The materials are available for the academic community here.

These were:
1. Accreditation file NMSP Dramaturgy of Drama Theatre
2. Cover letter of the guarantor doc. Milan Šotka
3. CV of the guarantor
4. Teaching practice of the guarantor
5. List of works of the guarantor

M. Šotek presented the form of the file in a letter; he excused himself from attending the meeting for work reasons.

Discussion: 

Members of the Senate made the following comments or observations:

The file is relatively brief; a more thorough elaboration of individual points and their deeper concretization would be advisable. (Especially in comparison with the SP Scénographie file, the dramaturgical file is considerably more concise and more generally formulated, some elements - it seems - are completely missing, see below.)

We are interested in how the negotiations with Lenka Havlíková as the intended teacher of the main subject Dramatic Production will develop...The writings use mostly generic masculinities. Exceptionally, "student*ka" appears. In line with the development of contemporary (not only) academic discourse, we recommend choosing more gender-sensitive language for the whole file.

For the Translation Seminar course, the credit evaluation is given as 1 credit; an increase in evaluation is possible. For some courses, there are no guarantors*, only teachers. We recommend adding the names of the guarantor*s.

Both the Required Elective Courses and the Major Elective Courses sections are completely empty. Electives are missing, but credits are reserved for them. It would be useful to comment on this matter. We can only speculate that this is indicative of a certain tightness of the curriculum. It is problematic to discuss the file without the presence of the supervisor. We
would appreciate the opportunity to discuss such issues with the programme guarantor in person at the meeting - accreditation is granted for a generous period of time, which is why we
think the personal presence of the guarantor at the meeting is indeed necessary and desirable. During the discussion, J. Adámek left the meeting and K. Štefková.

Resolution: the AS DAMU discussed the accreditation file of the Master's degree programme Drama Theatre Dramaturgy and recommended the guarantor of the programme to settle the
comments that the AS DAMU considers essential.

For 7
Against 0
Abstained 0

The file was discussed and after the comments were settled, it was forwarded to the DAMU Artistic Council for approval (KP: The comments of the DAMU AS were forwarded to the sponsor
on 7 October).

5. Miscellaneous

K. Plicková briefly mentioned the inspiring Culture Get-Together discussion, the Prague part of which took place on 3 October at CAMP. The conference was organized by the New Network. This year the conference was dedicated to urban living culture, the situation in Slovakia and the possibilities of Czech-Slovak cooperation. It would be possible to be inspired and
prospectively invite some guests to DAMU as well. The Chairwoman of the AS DAMU thanked the attendees for their active participation and invited them to the next meeting, which is associated with the election of the Dean* of DAMU and is scheduled for Friday 18.10.2024 at 19:00 in the DAMU meeting room. It will be preceded by a meeting of the DAMU Academic Community in the DISK Theatre on the same day from 16:00 to 18:00.

Attachments:
1. Introductory letter of Andrea Slováková addressed to the DAMU AS membership
2. Accreditation file NMSP Scenography3. Cover letter of the NMSP guarantor Scene Design Prof. Jan Štěpánek
4. CV of the NMSP guarantor Scene Design Prof. Jan Štěpánek
5. Accreditation file NMSP Dramaturgy of Drama Theatre
6. Cover letter of the NMSP guarantor Dramaturgy of Drama doc. Milan Šotka
7. CV of NMSP guarantor Dramaturgy of drama theatre doc. Milan Šotka
8. Teaching practice of the NMSP guarantor Dramaturgy of drama theatre doc. Milan
Šotka
9. List of works of the NMSP guarantor Dramaturgy of Drama doc. Milan Šotka

They wrote it down: Filip Novák and Karolina Plicková
The minutes of item 2 were revised by Jan Sedláček, Secretary of DAMU.

Approved: Karolina Plicková, Chairwoman of DAMU, v.r.