Dear students, dear colleagues,
at the beginning of the new academic year, I would like to welcome you to our Alma Mater and wish you all the fulfilment of all the positive expectations that the new academic period brings with it.
In the past academic year, we managed to cope with the difficulties brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. Through joint efforts, we successfully managed to meet the requirements set by the Government of the Czech Republic, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, and the National Accreditation Bureau for Higher Education, requirements that also resulted from the specifics of our university and the uniqueness of its facilities. I would like to believe that we have already overcome this disease in our environment and that its possible recurrence will be in a form that will not endanger lives and health and will not limit conditions for teaching at our university.
In the coming academic year, our university will continue to fulfil its mission to carry out education and creative activities, provide veterinary care to the public within a professional veterinary practice, and conduct other activities related to higher education focused on veterinary issues. Our educational focus on the long Master's degree programmes in Veterinary Medicine, Veterinary Hygiene and Ecology, on the Bachelor's and follow-up Master's degree programmes in Food Safety and Quality and in Animal Protection and Welfare has been newly expanded to include a Bachelor's degree programme in Veterinary Assisting, designed for clinical veterinary practice, and a Bachelor's degree programme in Veterinary Public Health Protection focused on assisting in official veterinary activities. The first students will enter these new degree programmes at our University with the start of the academic year 2022/2023. We have improved the quality of teaching through new forms of study and knowledge testing. In addition to the traditional teaching in the form of lectures, seminars and practical classes in laboratories, we have enriched the teaching with practical exercises on models, allowing better training of skills needed for clinical education. In clinical teaching, we have upgraded mobile clinics which allow students to travel to see patients. Moreover, students have been provided with expanded access to a database of clinical cases handled at university clinics, allowing students to gain deeper experience in solving a large number of real clinical cases. We have increased safety standards in laboratories and operations. For the state exams, we have intensified the handling of specific cases from practice in most state exam subjects so that graduates are well prepared for the conditions of practice from the first day of graduation. Using specific programmes, we extended our support for student life and prepared events for students aimed at familiarising them with the university, the opening ceremony for new students, matriculation, midterm party, May Day, sports activities and competitions, farewell party, graduation ceremony and others. We have also increased scholarship support opportunities for talented and successful students.
For the next academic year, however, we are concerned about the energy situation, the availability and the price of energy. The announced energy price increases and possible regulation of energy consumption may be a major complication in the activities of our university. The university management is taking all possible measures to reduce the possible negative impact of fluctuations in the energy markets. I believe that the situation will eventually be adequately resolved at the national level and education at our university will be successful in the next academic year.
Dear students, dear colleagues, I believe that the academic year 2022/2023 will be another good year in the life of our university.
prof. MVDr. Alois Nečas, Ph.D., MBA
Rector of the University
Brno, 15th September 2022
