“How to Be Popular With Students? This Is a Bit Like an Old Family Recipe for a Famous Soup of Secret Ingredients From the Kung FU Panda Series, ”Says Assoc. Prof. Stuchlíková, Educator of the Year 2019

Last week Assoc. Prof. Ing. Zuzana Stuchlikova, PhD was voted as the most popular teacher of the year 2019 at FIR as a part of the student poll of the Educator of the year 2019.

The Associate Professor has been working at the Department of World Economy at FIR since 2004. In 2008 she received her doctorate in International Economic Relations, her doctoral thesis was focused on the sources of growth of the current Japanese economy. She was also engaged in the Japanese economy in her habilitation work. In addition to the macroeconomic development of China and Japan, he has long been involved in selected issues of foreign trade policy, new regionalism and economic diplomacy.

She is currently a director of the Center for Asian Studies and guarantees minor specialization in Chinese Studies. Furthermore, she teaches minor specialization in Economic Diplomacy and, among other things, she leads and teaches the obligatory subject Regional Markets in a Global Perspective for students of the International Business Master’s program.

What does this award mean to you?

It means a lot to me, maybe I was even more pleased than when I became a professor. I have been teaching at the University of Economics for quite a long time, but at the faculty/rectorate level, a similar poll, as far as I can remember, has not yet taken place. Feedback is very important – but standard student surveys in subject evaluations bring it to a limited extent, and unfortunately, not all students respond to them. Sometimes the professor is not certain how he is doing from the students’ perspective. In the last semesters, I have so often doubted and wondered if I should continue. Thus I did not expect the award. This makes me even more pleased I will celebrate for a long time! It’s a very nice stimulus for the job I love.

Each professor has his / her teaching methods that suit him / her according to his / her personality. Which methods suit you best and seem most effective?

I do not have specific methods that I would prefer more than others. I combine different approaches in lectures and seminars. A large part of the tasks in the Regional Markets and my colleagues are optional, ie it is up to the students to choose which activities they will pursue in the semester and whether at all. For example, if they do not like to speak in the class, they can earn points in other ways. I also try to get students to read more because I see great reserves in that aspect. Reading high-quality texts and books from various fields is in my opinion (besides travelling) the key to having a more comprehensive view of the world, being more resistant to fake news, etc.

Do you have a recipe on how to be popular with students?

This is a bit like an old family recipe for the famous soup of secret ingredients from my favourite movie, respectively. Kung Fu Panda series (by the way, I highly recommend it, it’s not just a computer-animated movie for children). There is no secret ingredient, just believe in it…

In principle, I just try to communicate with students as colleagues, systematically explain to them what we are in each subject or specialization focus on, I have no problem making fun of myself at the lectures. At the same time, I try to keep the bar high for all assessments, which should be as fair as possible to all students. And I’m glad that, although some students sometimes sizzle, have little points, or spend a lot of time in my subjects and study (especially in Regional Markets), they will often appreciate it. Moreover, I have personal contact with several graduates, even though they have been away from FIR for a long time, and I see how they are doing. Maybe it is also helped by the fact that students often see me outside the standard courses (for example, we attend traditional Chinese dinners every semester with students of the Chinese Studies specialization), at Asian Studies Center events or the Faculty (FIR quiz, etc.).

We thank the lecturer for representing the FIR and wish her much success in the coming years.