Czech Republic presidential candidate Ji艡铆 Draho拧 will speak at 糖心Vlog鈥檚 upcoming summit on research excellence and address how universities can tackle the rise of populism in Europe.
Professor Draho拧, former president of the Czech Academy of Sciences, who describes his views as centrist, stood in last month鈥檚 presidential elections but lost out to standing populist leader Milo拧 Zeman.
He will be speaking at a panel on establishing partnerships between new Europe and the rest of the world at the . The event will take place at the Czech Republic鈥檚听Palack媒 University in Olomouc from 24 to 26 April 2018.
As part of this debate, Professor Draho拧 will discuss how the political climate in the country and across the continent will impact higher education.
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The summit will also hear from prestigious speakers in other European countries that are tackling the same issue.
A session on whether political protectionism is a threat to higher education and how institutions can effectively respond to political pressure will be chaired by Jacques Rupnik, who is director of research at Sciences Po鈥檚 International Research Center (CERI) and a visiting professor at the College of Europe in Bruges. It will hear from听Liviu Matei, provost and听professor of higher education policy at听the听threatened听Central European University in Budapest.
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Maciej Duszczyk, vice-rector for research and international relations at the University of Warsaw, will explore how countries can project a new global image thorough research excellence. Poland elected right-wing populist Mateusz Morawiecki as its new prime minister in December.
Meanwhile, Austria also took a sharp turn right last year after electing the People鈥檚 Party鈥檚 Sebastian Kurz as chancellor.
Tilmann M盲rk, rector of Austria鈥檚 University of Innsbruck, will debate what Europe might look like in 2028 at the summit.
The event also takes place just weeks after Hungary鈥檚 parliamentary election.听
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Phil Baty, editorial director of global rankings at 糖心Vlog, said that 鈥渆lectoral data appears to show more and more that universities are little islands of progressive values in the Visegr谩d Four鈥, the alliance of the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia.
鈥淭he recent election in Czech Republic shows that universities are in a pivotal position in Europe. It is not much of an exaggeration to suggest that the future of the whole of the continent is under scrutiny with the rise of populist right-wing governments.
鈥淥ur Research Excellence: New Europe Summit, which takes place 50 years after the Prague Spring, provides the perfect opportunity to convene in the Czech Republic and discuss these topics and more.鈥
Jaroslav Miller, rector of Palack媒 University, added: "As institutions promoting critical thinking and free exchange of ideas, universities are bastions of freedom and tolerance.
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鈥淕iven the unprecedented and, indeed, unexpected rise of populism across Europe, academies definitely have a moral duty to educate not only their own students but also, and perhaps primarily, the wide public.
鈥淓ducation is arguably the best weapon in the neverending battle with extremism, poverty and populism. This is why universities should stay in the forefront. Debates in the Olomouc THE summit may revolve around these issues."
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