Elections at VŠE

What do you expect from it?

I would like both students and academic staff to be able to find out about all the elections that will take place at VŠE in one place. As a result of greater awareness and the proactive steps taken by the VŠE management, I hope that more voters will participate in the elections and that the number of candidates who want to join the activities of academic senates or apply for other elected positions at the level of faculties or the entire school will also increase.

Furthermore, I would like to support individual candidates so that they can – if they are interested – obtain an independent public space for their presentation and communication with potential voters.

How is low voter turnout problematic?

According to the Act on Universities and the Electoral Rules of the University or Faculty, elections are of course valid even if only one person votes. But that is not the proper role of elections. Their purpose should be to discuss opinions on the further development of the school or faculty, on who will lead them in the future and in what direction. And therefore, it is necessary to involve as many participants as possible in this decision-making, and especially a larger number of candidates. This will increase legitimacy, support electoral competition and, above all, strengthen the mandate of the election winners.

What does it actually mean to be a senator and what brought you to it?

‘Being a senator gives you the opportunity to give something back to the school and participate in its management. The desire to gain unconventional experience and the desire to actively influence things around me led me to this. But being a senator also means finding out how a colossus like VŠE works, i.e. sometimes finding out that not everything can be changed easily and it is sometimes a long process.’

In addition to the election of the rector or dean, what does the senator participate in?

‘The Academic Senate of the University approves all significant changes at VŠE, whether it concerns regulations that may directly affect students or the VŠE budget itself, which is higher than 1.7 billion CZK. This gives each senator great responsibility as well as extensive experience in representing thousands of students and directly influencing their studies. In addition, the senate also elects or approves other important officials of the University, such as members of the Scientific Board, International Evaluation Board or the national representative body of the universities.’

Is it even worth spending time at senate meetings? Are you able to really influence something? If so, can you mention some examples?

‘It’s not about meetings, it’s just mostly a voting act. Most of the activities are done outside the senate, when everything is prepared and discussed with relevant persons at the University. A number of things that we want to change as student senators do not necessarily have to go through the senate but can be changed directly by the management of the faculty or the University. As we are elected by students, we have a certain mandate. Personally, I perceive it more like an obligation to be interested in student problems or ideas and to facilitate communication towards the leadership that can solve them. Many things have been successful in the past. For example, the digitalisation of elections to the senate, the adjustment of subject evaluation polls, and better communication and support for associations have been set up. In general, student representatives are an advisory voice on a number of other topics that not only influence their faculties. Student senators are thus a crucial element in the framework of academic self-governance and politics, which also takes place outside senate meetings.’

How should I start if I want to run for the senate?

‘Clarify what you want to change, then just watch when the elections are announced and log in. It is definitely a good idea to follow what is happening at school, what is happening in the senate (and not only that) and on the university website, or connect with an active student or associations.’