FACULTY OF MEDICINE
LETTER FROM MARTIN BARES TO EVERYONE AT THE MEDICAL FACULTY OF MASARYK UNIVERSITY
Dear members of the academic community,
Honorable Members of the Academic Senate,
Dear academic and non-academic staff and students,
Dear colleagues,
Friends,
I am writing to you for the first time in my new role as dean, to greet you all cordially and introduce to you my closest team. I would also like to report on my activities since assuming the office of the dean, and to outline the main ideas and principles which I want to draw upon in our shared mission at the Medical Faculty of Masaryk University.
But first let me thank Dean Emeritus Prof. Mayer and his whole team for all
their hard work for the faculty and the academic community in recent years. I will, of course, be grateful for all their support and help, so that together as a faculty we can rise to meet the tasks and challenges ahead of us. At the same time, I would like to express my thanks to the former Faculty Bursar Mrs. Ing. Blanka Sochorova for her many years of excellent work for our faculty.
As you know, I was elected as dean by the Academic Senate of the Faculty of Medicine of Masaryk University on May 16, 2017, but I did not officially assume the faculty leadership role until February 1, 2018. On February 20, 2018, by secret ballot, the Senate approved all of my nominations for the vice deans by a large majority (with a number of my vice deans gaining the unanimous or almost unanimous confidence of the senators).
I am naturally very pleased by this strong support for my team. But I also understand that since such great trust has been placed in me, I will have to work even harder to ensure that through joint efforts we realize the visions and aspirations I set forth before the senators last May, when I received unprecedented unanimous support in the election.
I am also very pleased that on February 20, 2018, with a very significant majority, the Senate also approved my motion for a new makeup of the Scientific Board of the Faculty of Medicine of Masaryk University, resulting in a 40% personnel change of this university body.
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Allow me now to officially present to you my team of vice deans, whose appointment was confirmed by the Academic Senate of the Medical Faculty of Masaryk University:
• Prof. MUDr. Tomáš Kašpárek, Ph.D., Vice Dean for Research and Ph.D. Study Programmes (and Deputy Statutory Dean)
• Prof. MUDr. Kateřina Kaňková, Ph.D., Vice Dean for General Medicine Study Programme (yrs 1-3)
• Prof. MUDr. Lydie Izakovičová Hollá, Ph.D., Vice Dean for Dentistry Study Programme and Academic Affairs
• Assoc. Prof. MUDr. Martin Repko, Ph.D., Vice Dean for International Affairs and International Study Programmes
• Assoc. Prof. MUDr. Petr Štouraě, Ph.D., Vice Dean for Development and General Medicine Study Programme (yrs 4-6)
• Prof. MUDr. Jaroslav Štěrba, Ph.D., Vice Dean for External Affairs
• Assoc. Prof. PhDr. Andrea Pokorná, Ph.D., Vice Dean for Healthcare Study Programmes and Information Technology
• MUDr. Mgr. Be. Tomáš Vojtíšek, Ph.D., Vice Dean for Legislation and Professional Qualifications
• Mgr. Jana Fialová, Ph.D., Vice Dean for Student Affairs
Now I would like to tell you about the important steps I and the other faculty members have taken so far. On the very first day of my tenure, February 1,2018,1 invited all the staff of the Dean's Office to a joint meeting, where I introduced my closest team, and outlined my ideas for the day-to-day functioning of the Dean's Office and the direction of the faculty as a whole.
On the same day, the new management of the faculty met for a day-long retreat, which was also attended by Rector Mikuláš Bek, who emphasized in his talk the cooperation between the faculty and the university on two important projects: the Complex Simulation Centre of MU (SIMU), and the completion of the Campus infrastructure. The day-long meeting was followed by weekly management meetings in February. We have published the agenda and outcomes of these meetings and will continue to do so with future meetings.
The main topics of these management meetings were: the annual evaluation of the faculty by the management of Masaryk University, organizational rules, the conditions of PGS study, the preparation of the budget for 2018, the re-accreditation of the study fields in preparation for the overall institutional accreditation, the transformation of study fields into study programs, and the creation of SIMU.
Also in February, I began evaluation interviews and consultations with all the heads of clinics, departments or institutes at the Medical Faculty of Masaryk University (over 70 in total). These interviews took place throughout February and will continue in March.
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From the beginning of my tenure I also have also been active outside the faculty. On February 5, 2018,1 was elected deputy chairman of the Association of Deans of Medical Faculties of the Czech Republic. The main objective of this organization is to coordinate at the national level the issues of education at medical faculties and, in particular, the issue of state funding.
On February 22 and February 23, 2018, within my capacity in the Association of Deans of the Medical Faculties of the Czech Republic, I took part in negotiations at the Ministry of Health of the Czech Republic (with Minister of Health Adam Vojtěch and Deputy Minister Roman Prymula) and at the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic (with Deputy Minister Pavel Doleček) in Prague. The main topic of the meetings was the shortage of teachers at medical faculties and the question of funding. At the Ministry of Health, the issue of specialist training of Physicians was raised as well.
As for my long-term plans and intentions, most of them can be found in my program statement, written last year as I was running for the top managerial post of the faculty. In that statement, I stated the areas in which I plan to seek change and the ways in which I hope those changes will be implemented.
Among other things, I want to concentrate on improving in these areas: the forms and methods of instruction, research and development, external relations, faculty public relations, and internationalization. I also want to focus on personnel policy, and I intend to actively engage in student affairs and increase communication with students. Quite naturally, I cannot ignore the key area of the economy, and the burning question of the funding of medical faculties and related legislation.
I personally believe that open communication and good cooperation
throughout our faculty is a key condition for successful implementation of positive changes. I am convinced that it really is all about teamwork, not only among the members of the new faculty management, but also among all academic and non-academic staff, and of course the students. Teamwork is particularly crucial, because not all the steps that await us will be easy, and not everybody will be able to identify with them (e.g. new budget rules, changes in Ph.D. study programmes conditions, conditions for habilitation or professorship, and the unification of the timetable).
As for my role as dean, I would like to repeat what I have been saying for a long time, and what I publicly stood for when I ran for this position - that the dean's job is to ensure and maintain a dignified, friendly and motivating environment for all staff and students. I understand the role of the dean as a service for the entire academic community. I want to cooperate with everyone in this community and strive for the maximum possible consensus.
I view the faculty primarily as one big team, in which the mission of the dean is to connect people, motivate them, and foster a good atmosphere, and thus develop the intellectual and creative potential of the whole faculty.
I think that the approaching 100th anniversary of the foundation of our faculty and our university obliges us to follow such an ideal, and we should work together to pursue this ideal to the best of our ability. Only with incredible teamwork
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we will be able to accomplish really challenging tasks, such as the building of the Complex Simulation Centre of MU, which will take our faculty to a whole new level and make it unique.
Dear members of the academic community,
Honorable Members of the Academic Senate,
Dear academic and non-academic staff and students,
Dear colleagues,
Friends,
Teamwork, team spirit, good communication, and an open exchange of views are the main principles which I want to adhere to as the head of this faculty. I will also seek new ways to involve you in our common efforts to manage and improve the faculty so that we do not miss out on any inspiring and inspirational ideas.
As the patron of our university T.G. Masaryk once said, the world is maintained only by work which is incremental and continuous. I believe that with the approaching 100th anniversary of the foundation of our faculty and our university, all of us should be inspired not only by this idea, but also by Masaryk's profound approach to life and work sub specie aeternitatis.
Cordially yours,
Martin Bares / Dean of the Faculty of Medicine of Masaryk University
Brno, February 28, 2018
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