Palacký University Olomouc - UPOL Speciality : Anthropology
programme: Anthropology

First of all I think evaluating the university as a whole is not relevant, as we all study at different faculties and departments and very often the environment and approach changes from one to another very much. I can only try to evaluate my department, which is the Department of Sociology, Andragogy and Cultural Anthropology and even within it several differences are observable. As an anthropology student, I am very content with the approach of my department. Lecturers are real professionals with a lot of research and academic experiences so it is always wonderful to learn from them. Most of them is also trying to take a more open and egalitarian approach towards teaching which I find more effective and which in my opinion helps students find their intrinsic motivation and therefore brings up anthropologists with a clear sense of their own responsibility.
However there are several things at the department in general which I am rather critical about. There is a very clear hierarchy among the individual fields of study and the dominance of some can be harmful to others – speaking not only about the variety of classes offered but also about financing and other opportunities connected to the topic. My biggest concern (but I believe this is rather a systemic problem than the department’s itself) is about the focus on publications from the lecturers – they are generally more important than the level of pedagogical dedication and this creates a high pressure environment for the lecturers who want to teach science, not only do it.
Overall however, I am very happy at my department and would like to continue all the way to doctoral studies here.