She was nominated the Rector when covid had paralysed Czechia. She had to tackle distance teaching, but it was not exactly smooth sailing even after that: affairs and tragedies struck, including Ne!musíš to vydržet, stolen e-mails and wiretapping at one of the Faculties, the war in Ukraine and the related economic difficulties, and finally the shooting at the Faculty of Arts in Prague last year. As Ingeborg Radok Žádná says, the Rector’s role is a somewhat thankless job – you do a lot of work that is invisible, boring and difficult, but it keeps the boat afloat. She will run for the position of the Rector again this year; she wants to put in place stricter rules for conflict of interest and ensure that AMU teachers’ salaries are not the fourth lowest across the country.
You were elected the Rector of AMU in 2020, at the beginning of the covid era. How would you rate the pandemic period in retrospect? Where did that make you and AMU progress?
There were more unexpected events that followed right after the pandemic – the Ne!musíš to vydržet initiative [ed. note: in April 2021, a group of students used an anonymous form to poll DAMU and JAMU students regarding their experience of the school in their position as students. The replies unveiled problems that students face within the inner world of prestigious schools]; theft of private e-mails and wiretapping at one of the Faculties; the war in Ukraine; inflation of energy prices; the shooting at Charles University’s Faculty of Arts… All of that caught us off-guard, but it also taught us how to change many things much faster. We can teach and meet online, we have welcomed students from Ukraine, we are preparing extensive energy-saving measures, and we have crisis plans in place. Yes, a lot of things have happened. The pandemic faced us all with completely new challenges. Unfortunately, it was also a milestone following which mental health and tolerance to different opinions have declined across society, universities included. This is why we currently pay much greater attention to students, employees, and the environment where we meet and communicate.
What attention specifically do you pay to what you have mentioned?
We provide hybrid forms of teaching, relief for parents and caregivers, support for mother researchers in the form of funds to pay for babysitting, support for students with specific needs, seminars on mental health, and counselling by ombuds and psychologists.
What was the most difficult thing for you during your four-year tenure as the Rector?
When I was considering running for the Rector four years ago, I had a feeling that there was some sort of unnecessary ‘legacy rivalry’ between the individual Faculties and between the Faculties and the Rectorate, which was not founded in anything rational. Our Faculties are obviously different, just as their study programmes are – but that should be an opportunity for tolerance, mutual inspiration and understanding rather than a pretext for rivalry. Also, there was a lack of trust between certain groups of students and teachers at the Faculties. I wanted to make a positive contribution to debate and peace. I don’t think I have succeeded 100 percent, but I believe there has been a positive trend. Communication between people in general is becoming more difficult, as we can see in society, and universities are no exception. What happened at FAMU didn’t help enhance trust between teachers, students, the Faculty and the Rectorate – I mean the theft, alteration, and anonymous distribution of teachers’ and students’ private e-mails and the installation of spatial interception equipment in the office of a Head of a Department [ed. note: find out more about this issue here].
How do you think instruction is changing and evolving with the advent of new technology, most notably artificial intelligence? In what sense does it harm and/or help art?
In many respects, art schools still do not work with AI as their main creative instrument; they only use it as an auxiliary tool for writing final papers and essays, preparing audiovisual content and so on. We should always keep in mind that it is just a tool. We are not in a hurry to issue guidelines or regulations on how and when to use AI tools. What we have issued are just recommendations for using AI. The reason is that the development is so rapid. Before we are able to reach an agreement and formalise the rules for using AI tools, those tools will have evolved one level up. People with a good relationship to technology are not afraid of AI; also, for the time being, you can’t really use AI in certain jobs such as playing the violin. But you can use it in making films or composing music… If I get to continue as the Rector, I would like to focus more on the creative options for using AI in teaching art in the future.
What have you accomplished during your four years as the Rector?
The Rector and their team do a lot of work that is invisible, very boring and difficult, but it keeps the boat afloat. The desired result is a well-functioning, predictable practice and a system the Faculties can depend on, without this being a burden for anyone in the sense of how much effort goes into it. This is where the non-academic employees play a crucial role – they are also a bit ‘invisible’, but without them, we wouldn’t be able to do almost anything. I have resolved some complicated cases, on which I will not comment publicly. Fostering a fair environment is one of those thankless yet also the most important tasks for the Rector. The Faculty ombuds have been helping me with that for more than two years now. What I see as one of my most successful achievements is the equal distribution of funds between the Faculties and the peaceful manner in which this was put in place. I am proud of any artistic feat that teachers and students achieve, and it’s definitely true that AMU’s teachers and students are successful and doing well. I felt a similar sense of pride about the university community’s reaction to the war in Ukraine and the help that all those driven from their homes received at AMU, and not just from the central resources. Some of them have found their ‘second home’ here and are still staying with us. Small modifications that have the potential for improving the environment for both students and teachers also make me happy. For instance, we furnished the atrium in the building at Tržiště some time ago in order to transform it into a pleasant resting space. That made me really happy, and I would like to invite everyone to come for a visit.
In turn, what did you not get right?
I am sorry that we were not more courageous in updating our study programmes while transitioning from the old ones to the new ones in terms of study plan structure and modifications, of course with respect to circumstances and applicable regulations.
What do you mean by more courageous?
I mean, for example, making a greater use of modular instruction and being more flexible about distributing subjects across the years of study. Even doctoral studies got stuck mid-way so to speak – we kept waiting for the next amendment to the Higher Education Act to transform those, but everything is delayed and we have only made partial changes.
How did last December’s events at the Faculty of Arts, Charles University affect AMU?
The murderous rampage of the shooter at the Faculty of Arts had a huge impact on students. There was a surge of solidarity, and the leadership rapidly began thinking about certain issues that were perhaps not so obvious before: protecting our students, teachers, and employees within our facilities which are partially open to the public; making sure that we have the means to let each other know of any danger given that our buildings are scattered all over Prague; getting our students and employees psychological and therapeutic help in good time when it is needed… We are preparing a number of soft measures such as crisis plans; we have co-workers who are helping us set up the information system and others who are helping us choose the equipment suitable for our needs and facilities. This, however, is a long-distance run and will be massively costly. I believe that, at the end of this effort, we will be more resilient and readier to face threats of various types.
What security measures and technologies are you considering?
We are considering, for example, an emergency call system and a CCTV system.
A few years ago, a father happened to be the supervisor for his son’s dissertation thesis at AMU. As a result, AMU has tightened its rules for conflict of interest. What is your opinion on this matter, and how in particular did you modify the rules?
What you’re asking about is an affair from the 2015–2020 period. A parent should never supervise their child’s qualification thesis – this is beyond any doubt. It was wrong and I am sorry that it happened; I wasn’t the Rector yet at the time. With that being said, it is quite difficult to prevent any and all forms of conflict of interest in the Czech artistic community because it is so small: various artists perform together, teach together, sit on various panels and juries together, assess each other’s grant applications, or just date or have children together… Beyond our Code of Ethics, I have covered conflict of interest in my decree on associate professorship and professorship procedures, because it is also necessary to prevent persons with family, professional, or close personal ties from doing assessments in those procedures. We are also in for a difficult discussion on amending the AMU Code of Ethics with regard to conflict of interest. That being said, using these cases as a pretext for attacking individuals, groups of people or the entire Faculty, as has happened recently, seems really strange to me, especially before elections.
You will be running in the Rector election again. What are you bringing to this election? What is your plan in terms of priorities and topics?
I am convinced and do realise that I still have a lot of work to do and that AMU’s strength and uniqueness is in the combination of its three diverse Faculties. So, I really wish for the relationships between them to be good, correct, and solidary. Next year, we will have to respond very expediently to the discussed and not yet enacted amendment of the Higher Education Act. AMU will be evaluated by an international panel with regard to research and development. Another important task for me or my successor will be to consider and maybe prepare an extension of our institutional accreditation. In the years to come, we will also open refurbishment and construction projects, adopt energy saving and security measures, and pursue numerous other projects. I would be happy if we succeeded in obtaining more funding for our teachers in order to motivate our current staff and bring more active artists to AMU’s fold. This is what I consider the principal challenge for retaining our school’s high standard and prestige. This is also my primary wish for AMU on its 80th anniversary, which we will be celebrating in the next academic year. Despite several raises, the average salary of the academics at AMU is the fourth lowest across the entire tertiary education sector! If we maintain correct relationships and good atmosphere across the school all the time, I will consider it a success.