On April 8th, the recipients of the 2025 FSS MUNI Dean’s Award were announced during Faculty Day. Nominations are typically submitted by the heads of departments or research institutes, and the selection takes into account academic performance, extracurricular engagement, publication activity, and—in the case of teaching awards—the results from course evaluations. Who were this year’s awardees?
Ivo Možný Award for Contributions to Society: Mgr. et Mgr. Marína Urbániková, Ph.D.
Marína Urbániková is not only an outstanding researcher and educator, but also highly active in translating scientific knowledge into the decision-making sphere and in promoting greater public understanding of science. She actively draws on her expertise in journalism—particularly in the areas of public service media and the position of women in journalism—in her efforts to improve the conditions in both of these fields.
Dean’s Award for Research Excellence
Associate Professor Waschková Císařová has succeeded—within our academic environment—in transforming the previously marginalized topic of local journalism into an increasingly relevant field that is now attracting significant international attention. Her publication record has long been exceptional and includes top-tier journals indexed in WoS, as well as chapters in books, monographs, and popular science outputs. This year, she published the English-language book The Margins of Journalism, which offers a comprehensive synthesis of her research to date—drawn primarily from diverse, predominantly qualitative studies.
Dean’s Award for Support of Teaching and Research
Simona Crhová is a long-standing pillar of the Office for Studies, consistently demonstrating that hard work, reliability, and humility are more than just words. With remarkable calmness and perspective, she helps both students and colleagues resolve a wide range of study-related and administrative issues—always with a smile, a willingness to help, and a professional attitude. Her supervisor, Jan Písařík, appreciates not only her expertise and attention to detail, but also her honesty, team spirit, and unwavering dedication, which she has maintained throughout her many years of work at the faculty.
Dean’s Award for Support of Study and Research
Pavel Bartoněk is not only an indispensable member of the Building Management team but also the heart and soul of academic ceremonies. In his role as bedel, he ushers dignitaries with such remarkable grace that even ballet masters would envy his poise. For his diligence, precision, team spirit, and willingness to share his knowledge with colleagues, he is this year’s well-deserved recipient of the Dean’s Award for Support of Study and Research. His proactive attitude and thoughtful suggestions for improvement are appreciated not only by his supervisor, Mr. Jati, but also by everyone around him.
Dean’s Award for Teaching and Education
Associate Professor Pavel Navrátil, Ph.D., received the award in the field of teaching for his exceptional and long-standing commitment to advancing social work as an academic discipline that bridges high-quality instruction with research activity. He is one of the founding figures of university-level education for social work in the Czech Republic, the author of the first post-1990 textbook on Theories and Methods of Social Work, and played a key role in shaping the system of professional placements and school-based supervision. As a program coordinator and instructor in both the bachelor’s and master’s programs, he is highly regarded for his expertise and pedagogical skills, as reflected in the consistently positive student feedback he has received.
Dean’s Award for Outstanding Doctoral Students
Adéla Švestková works at the Interdisciplinary Research Team on Internet and Society (IRTIS) and is currently in the fifth semester of her doctoral studies at the Department of Psychology at FSS MU. She has published three scholarly articles to date, including two first-author papers in Q2 journals indexed in WoS. Her research focuses on the use of digital technologies for health-related purposes, specifically in the areas of eHealth, mHealth, and the application of AI in healthcare contexts. Adéla also teaches at the Department of Psychology, where she plays an active role in running the Fundamentals of Academic Reading and Writing course, lectures in several others (Psychology and the Internet, Psychology in Everyday Life, Scientific Propaedeutics), and assists in the teaching of additional classes.
Dean’s Award for Outstanding Doctoral Students
Nikol Kvardová is a doctoral student at the Department of Psychology at FSS MU and a junior researcher at the IRTIS research center. Her work focuses primarily on social media use and body image among young people—also the central topic of her dissertation. She is already recognized as an expert in this field and continues to contribute to its development, for example by exploring the largely under-researched impacts of online body positivity content. Her research also extends to other areas, including the effects of cyberhate, online anonymity, and the development of measurement tools. She publishes her work in leading peer-reviewed journals that shape progress in her field. To date, she has co-authored 11 publications, with 4 more currently under review.
Dean’s Award for Outstanding Master’s Students
In the past year, Eliška Mádrová achieved notable success both in her creative work and in representing Masaryk University—specifically the Faculty of Social Studies. Her original radio documentary “The Five Stages of Grief,” created as part of her studies, was published as an episode of the GenZ podcast and earned a nomination from an international jury for the prestigious Prix Bohemia Radio festival, held in October 2024 in Olomouc. She went on to win third place in the Documentary category.
Dean’s Award for Outstanding Doctoral Students
Adéla Pokorná graduated with exceptional results for academic performance (GPA 1.1) and defended her thesis with distinction at the Department of Environmental Studies. Her thesis, Forest Defenders: Explaining the Violent Politics of Illegal Logging in Romania, also serves as a strong example of cross-departmental collaboration—her advisor was Associate Professor M. Matejová from the Department of Political Science. Building on her master’s thesis, she published an article in the peer-reviewed journal Environment, which was ranked in Q1 of the WoS in the past year. In addition, she represented the organization Youth and Environment Europe at the UNFCCC COP27 conference in Egypt and currently serves as a youth advisor to the Director General of the Global Center on Adaptation.
Dean’s Award for Outstanding Bachelor’s Students
Throughout his studies, he consistently focused on the topic of Russian influence in European countries, culminating in a bachelor’s thesis analyzing the Russian Federation’s communication strategy toward North Macedonia before and after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. By examining Facebook posts from the Russian embassy in Skopje and applying framing theory, he identified the ways in which Russia addresses the North Macedonian public and situated his findings within the broader context of bilateral relations. The resulting thesis was not only successfully defended under the supervision of Associate Professor Věra Stojarová, but was also accepted for publication in a prestigious peer-reviewed journal indexed in WoS Q1—a truly exceptional achievement at the bachelor’s level.
On the occasion of the anniversary of the Velvet Revolution, the President of the Czech Republic, Petr Pavel, held a discussion with students at the Faculty of Social Studies. Nearly two hundred students filled the lecture hall to capacity, and the event was covered by student media outlets Radio R, MUNI TV, Studex, Atrium, and Stisk.
On November 8th, more than seven hundred high school students spent their Saturday exploring the cozy corners of our faculty. In addition to experiencing the atmosphere of our classrooms, they also received valuable insights from current FSS MUNI students. Furthermore, they learned a great deal about the admissions process and the study programs at the faculty from the Office for Studies. That was this year’s Open Day at our faculty. The next major event for prospective students at FSS MUNI will be the Open Day on January 16th.
