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Speech by Rector of BUT Ladislav Janicek on the occasion of his inauguration on 26 April 2022.

Your magnificence, rectors,

spectabiles, deans, honorabiles, honored guests,

ladies and gentlemen,

I am honoured to welcome you today to the Brno University of Technology on the occasion of taking over the office of the rector. I can now tell you how good we are as a university and overwhelm you with a wealth of numbers and evidence of how and what we are the best university for. But I would probably bore you. Therefore, I will focus only on expressing my views and ideas about the present, about the university, about universities in general and where I want and will lead our university.

We meet here to formally close one and enter a new stage in the development of our university, given the democratic change of its leadership. At the outset, I would therefore like to thank the previous rector, Prof. Petr Štěpánek and his team for leading the university in the previous period. Thanks also go to the deans who left their positions after the elections in the faculties and who directed their faculties to fulfil their mission. I would also like to wish their followers to follow them up successfully, just as my team and I will build on the university's previous leadership. I would like to thank the faculties and higher education institutions and the academic senate of the school for their trust and support for the strong mandate that I hold in high esteem. This trust is a commitment for me, because I understand the function of the rector as a service.

Our term began in a difficult situation. As soon as we learned to live with the covid, we were surprised by the incredible news at the end of February, when we witnessed an inexcusable act of Russian aggression against Ukraine. As a centre of learning, our university is aware of its responsibility to build and defend the values ​​on which the democratic world stands. We show a fundamental attitude, based on the rejection of Russia's aggression on the territory of a sovereign state, and together with other universities and the Czech Rectors' Conference, we are committed to protecting the values ​​of the highest - democracy, freedom and humanity. In cooperation with the state, the region, the city of Brno and universities, we consider it our duty to provide support to those in need who seek safety in the Czech Republic before the war in Ukraine. From the very beginning, we have been helping, providing material support to people who arrive in need and at the same time creating opportunities for future studies for applicants from Ukraine who are prevented from studying at home.

However, the macroeconomic situation is deteriorating as a result of the pandemic and the war. All this leads us to think about the future and to think about the security and resilience of our society. The importance of some current topics on sustainability and quality of life, environment and climate, energy and energy resources and other topics behind the term Green Deal has deepened. In addition, the importance of these topics has shifted towards reducing raw material dependence on Russia. It is a challenge and an opportunity for a technical university to show that society can rely on us in this regard. The role of technical universities in this is indispensable. We train engineers - experts who bring innovative, exact and reliable solutions to these topics, whose applications will take us through the complex present into a better future.

We are a "full-blown" technical university covering the whole spectrum of technical fields, which complement the fields of economics and art. At present, we are undoubtedly the leading university and pillar of higher education and research in the Czech Republic. We are an international university. A quarter of our students are from abroad, of course, mostly from Slovakia, but more than a thousand of them are from other countries, especially Slavic countries. Our competitive advantage is the connection of research and teaching and close cooperation with industry and the application sphere in contract and application research. From the point of view of our budget revenues, research slightly outweighs teaching, and the university's research profile is also determined by the share of doctoral students, which is one of the highest in the Czech Republic.

I entered the rector's election with a vision to lead the university to excellence and quality in teaching and research and with the need to strive for its competitiveness, so that we give students quality and prestigious education at a respected technical university and our graduates are proud of their education at this university.

Internationalization is the challenge not only in the field of education for us. We need to be more open to the world. In Europe, the concept of building international university alliances as a network of higher education cooperation is being promoted as part of the formation of the global higher education area. I am glad that our university is also involved in such networks. In the field of education, we are still facing a reform of doctoral studies. We must make full use of institutional accreditation and we want to expand the possibilities of vocational education connected to the application sphere and responding to the speed of technological and social development.

In the field of research, there is a need to effectively seize strategic opportunities, coming up with new project challenges that will allow the university to further develop. We must also strive to maintain the competitiveness of our research infrastructure and ensure its renewal so that it creates the preconditions for obtaining prestigious research grants and achieving top research results. Together with other universities, we must strive to complete the setting of the research evaluation methodology and promote proper and equal evaluation of the results of applied research, which is so typical for technical universities.

We need to think about supporting and perhaps reforming technical education. Industry in the Czech Republic generates 38 % of GDP and the Czech Republic is the second most industrialized country in the European Union. Our university is part of the European system of technical universities and polytechnics typical of countries where industry belongs to the dominant segments of the economy. For this reason, technical education as a source of graduates for industry should become a social priority in the Czech Republic expressed in the form of systematic support, similar to that, quite deservedly, for doctors and teachers. I am ready to look for ways to promote technical education and interest in them. Perhaps this is where there is a place for universities providing technical education to work together, for example through their association. Even so, despite the difficult macroeconomic situation, it will be necessary to strive, together with other universities, for adequate funding for higher education in the Czech Republic.

I am convinced that despite the external influences, we will fulfil the programme thesis with which I appeared before our academic community. Experience has taught me a positive attitude. It is necessary not to admit the existence of problems as such. Problems are just topics or tasks that need to be addressed. Difficulties are just challenges and many are actually opportunities. And the fact that we have learned to find solutions, optimize and in many ways turn constraints into opportunities, has been shown to us by the covid time. There is no progress or development without challenges. On the other hand, no development can do without the need to change traditional approaches and without a constructive understanding of the need to adapt and respond to external conditions. This year, as a university, we will go through another evaluation of the European Association of Universities, which is an opportunity for constructive self-reflection, which we have the opportunity to use.

With our team and the management of our faculties and higher education institutions, we are ready to address all these challenges and turn them into results that demonstrate that technical education, research and its applications are the future of our society. The Czech Republic will take over the presidency of the Council of the European Union in the second half of the year, which gives Czech universities, including ours, the opportunity to present their potential to Europe.

However, even the best visions and plans cannot do without the enthusiasm, commitment and efforts of people, our academic, research and non-academic staff. Without them, they will remain empty words and wishes. We received the HR Award as an expression of appreciation for the approach to human resources development. People are a real source of quality and excellence. I believe that whatever we do for their benefit will return to us in the results we achieve. Therefore, I want to strive for their support, for the development of the quality of the environment and organizational culture that motivates and supports academic work, creative activity and mutual cooperation. It is necessary to face unproductive administrative burdens, and not only for projects, especially by competent, timely and effective argumentation towards its originators outside the university. I am convinced that prosperity cannot be achieved through administrative measures, but only by promoting excellence. I will strive to ensure that administrative rules are not the end in themselves and do not deprive them of the capacity to do real work. I also want to contribute to this at the Czech Rectors' Conference with my professional experience.

I would like to highlight the activity and interest of our students in participating in shaping the image of our university. I trust our students and I want to say that I count on them and rely on them. I am convinced that, in addition to a quality study background, it is entirely appropriate to create conditions for their active work so that they perceive that they are an integral and respected part of the academic community. I want to create conditions for the all-round development of their personality not only in the field of education and creativity, but also to create conditions for their sports, cultural and social activities or for their volunteering, which I perceive, especially at this time, as very useful and necessary.

I consider ethics in all its dimensions, decency and equal opportunities for all to be an integral part of the university's culture. It is necessary to respect the diversity of disciplines and traditions and traditions, listen to ideas and align them with the needs of the university. These are the values ​​on which I intend to build further cooperation inside and outside the university. They strengthen trust, support openness and help to establish partnerships and real cooperation with other universities, the application sphere and other institutions not only in the Czech Republic.

I have always acted and I want to continue to act decently, with tolerance and respect for people. My professional experience has taught me to make decisions with an economic and legal context. At the same time, we need to act outwardly as a proud and knowledgeable representation of a strong technical university. We must support and strengthen our representations, but also alliances and cooperation with other universities.

Ladies and gentlemen, in conclusion, I would like to thank my friends from our university and beyond. I am grateful for their support and openness and for always being able to count on them.

I would like to thank the rectors, representatives of the Ministry of Education, the city of Brno and the region for "having overcome the distance" and arriving at BUT today. I want this "overcoming distances" to remain in the future, and even though we all have the interests of our own institutions in mind, we always find the will and time to listen and cooperate.

I would like to thank my family, who stand by me, have been and are my support and inspiration, and have lent me for some time to fulfil my mission for the university. Unfortunately, some, who I would like to be here, can no longer be with us today.

I would like to thank the members of my team of vice-rectors. I appreciate their support and courage in tackling the difficult challenges that lie ahead. But I am also aware that it will not be possible without the help of our academics and non-academics, students of our university. Therefore, I respect all those who not only work at BUT, but also work at BUT and I will do everything to ensure that they have the support and background, opportunity and appropriate awards.

Higher education is my alma mater and I am ready to do everything for its reputation and development to pass on the best we can build together to the next generations of our graduates. My specialization is aeronautical engineering and economics. As an aeronautical engineer, I know that flying slowly and low, thinking it's safe, is probably the worst possible alternative I could follow. Turbulent situations in which we find ourselves need to be flown with foresight and experience, and my team and I are ready for that.

Thank you.

Assoc. prof. Ing. Ladislav Janíček, Ph.D., MBA, LL.M. Rector