The minute of 3rd session of AS CU 2nd FM 16th March 2005

 
Vice-chairperson of the academic senate David Major welcomed all the present members with special reference to the following guests: prof. MUDr. J. Koutecký, DrSc., prof. MUDr. J. Bartůňková, DrSc., prof. RNDr. V. Pelouch, CSc., and prof. MUDr. J. Herget, DrSc.
 
The minutes were approved without any comments.

 
prof. MUDr. Josef Koutecký, DrSc.
Dean of the Faculty
 

1. The scientific council of Charles University approved the application for accreditation in surgery for the habilitation (a higher doctorate) procedure and appointing of Professors and forwarded the application to the Accreditation Committee.
2. The application for the establishment of Department of Surgery at the 2nd Faculty of Medicine and the Central Military Hospital has been presently submitted to the Ministry of Defence for the opinion.
3. Having been asked by the Rector of Charles University, the Faculty Management submitted a proposal for granting the Charles IV. Award to Sir Charles Mackerras.
4. The University Management gave instructions that the applicants for the opening of the habilitation or appointment procedures should inform about their teaching activities. This instruction makes this procedure more difficult mainly for external applicants due to insufficient pedagogical activity.

 
On the request of the academic senate, the Faculty Management submitted the conception of the Faculty. The Dean of the Faculty answered five questions asked by the senate:

1. The ideal number of students:
   The number of students is limited by the Faculty capacities:
   • The optimal number of students in the Master´s Programme in General Medicine is 150 – 180.
   • There is an effort to keep the same number in the Bachelor programmes, i.e. 40 for Nursing, 20 for Laboratory assistants, 15 for Radiological assistants, 35 for the Physiotherapy Course. These programmes will not be further extended.
   • As for postgraduate students, there is an intention to keep the present number and to extend the study by other accredited disciplines. However the increased number of postgraduate students is obstructed by the lack of instructors.
   • The number of international students is 40.
      
2. Number of lessons for individual subjects:
   In the academic year 2003/2004 there was opened the teaching according to newly re-arranged curricula and the immediate change is not possible. The attention is to be paid rather to the change of the contents of individual subjects than to reduce the number of lessons.
    
3. Whether to change the work (teaching) loads at single departments:
   For 4 years there have been evaluated in detail the results of the work of individual departments and the evaluation shows a clear survey of their efficiency. The Faculty management intends to introduce so called centre-based economy of the Faculty, i.e. that each head will get a certain amount of financial resources including the wage funds and their use will be in their responsibilities. The Faculty management will however keep the right for individual intervention into the economy of newly established or problematic departments.
    
4. Whether the Faculty should be extended by further clinics and departments:
   On one hand there is an effort to have a complete faculty, the attention is turned to the basic orientation of the Faculty, i.e. its developmental character. On the other hand there are departments which should be joined to other, more efficient workplaces. Their extension is exlusively an economic and personnel question.
    
5. Which research trends should be supported by the Faculty:
   This is given by the accepted research objectives: Neursosciences, cardiovascular research, pediatric hematology and oncology as well as immunology. The extent of the said disciplines is considerable and a number of departments may participate.
    

DISCUSSION:
 
The number of students
Doc. Hrušák compared the numbers of international students at other medical faculties of Charles University, their number in the first year is the lowest at our faculty.
Vice-dean Herget stressed that further increase in the number of students is not realistic as far as the theoretical disciplines are concerned; the departments have already exceeded the limits of their capacities.
Doc. Leffler strictly refused to decrease the number of Czech students is favour of increasing the number of foreigners.
Professor Hampl supported the idea to incorporate into the conception as an item ‘a proactive recruitment of good international students and proactive recruitment of postgraduate students’.
Docent Trka asked about the future of Bachelor programmes. Vice-dean Bartůňková informed about a future intention to introduce here some forms of distance education (Nursing and Laboratory Technician).
 
Scientific activities
Professor Hampl informed the senate that within the framework of evaluation at Charles University, our faculty did very well. However if the scientific activities and works published are considered within the Faculty itself, it shows, that only a few departments participate in these activities. Professor Hampl suggested, within the Faculty conception, to solve the problems of the departments that participate in the research insufficiently or not at all.
 
Foreign contacts
Student David Major informed that the demand for study stays within the frame of the Erasmus programme among our students is greater than the offer and requested to extend the programme. Vice-dean Bartůňková offered other possibility to promote study stays abroad in a form of grants from the mobility fund. As for the Erasmus programme, she invited students to tell at which universities they want to study. If possible, the Faculty management will try to conclude particular bilateral contracts (contracts of Charles University with a given university). Vice-dean Pelouch said that there are also conditions whose fulfilling is requiered by certain foreign partners – e.g. Norway requires a communicative knowledge of Norwegian...
 
External relations, information and consulting services, infrastructure
Doc. Trka expressed his doubts over publishing the Faculty bulletin ‘Pelikán’ and suggested to concentrate instead on improving and updating of the Faculty websites.
Vice-dean Bartůňková informed that the reaction of the Faculty members concerning the intention to terminate publishing of the bulletin was negative.

1. Economic committee will, at the next meeting of the academic senate, submit comments on the proposal to change the Internal wage regulations of Charles University.
    
2. Pedagogical chamber will submit their comments on the proposed change of the Scholarship Rules.
   The Scholarship Rules will be changed due to the changed distribution of subsidies for the students accommodation at university hostels which will result in a considerable increase in the prices for the accommodation, Professor Hampl confirmed that the social committee of the senate of Charles University has been presently concerned with this problem.
    
3. The economic committee of the academic senate of the 2nd Faculty of Medicine elected prof. MUDr. Martin Vízek, CSc. as its chairman.
    

• The next meeting of the academic senate will take place on Wednesday 20th April 2005 from 2.30 p.m. in the small left lecture hall at the Faculty.
• The Minutes were sent to the Department of Languages for the translation into English for websites of international students on 6th April 2005.