People of FSS: Who is Dagmar Hábová?

You have surely gotten an email from her offering you a trip abroad. Whether you want to go to China or Brazil, she will be happy to help you. She is fluent in English and Russian, but also knows basic Italian and Spanish. We are talking about none other than Dagmar Hábová, the Foreign Relations Officer.

When she lures students to go for a study stay abroad, she presents it as a great experience. She knows exactly what she's talking about. After all, she herself studied for her degree in economics as far away as St. Petersburg, at Leningrad State University. She witnessed the gradual disintegration of the Soviet empire, which was then gathering pace, and the rapid-fire replacement of General Secretaries of the Communist Party and the ascension of Mikhail Gorbachev to the leadership of the country.

She gained further valuable experience in the Western Hemisphere when, a few years later, she traveled to Ontario, Canada and spent a year as an au pair looking after four children. 

She has been working as a foreign relations officer at the FSS since February 1, 2008. She takes care of students in the doctoral English studies programs and visiting students at all levels. She also promotes study and work trips, such as Erasmus, and works with the departments and the Centre for International Cooperation to ensure that all trips go smoothly. 

Dagmar Hábová already had previous experience with student mobility from her former job when she worked first as a foreign relations officer and then as a coordinator of international mobility of students and employees at the Brno University of Technology. 

Dagmar Hábová has two sons, both of whom are university students. As she says, the famous saying about the cobbler's children applies to them. As their mother, she was not able to persuade either of them to do somepart of their studies abroad. She thinks it's probably because neither of them is studying at Masaryk University and their schools are not nearly as welcoming to their students' foreign placements as they are at FSS.

Her hobbies, of course, include travelling the world, which has now been put on the back burner taken a back seat due to the pandemic. That’s why she has been catching up on exploring the beauty of the Czech Republic and has been enjoyingworking in her garden, which she used to regard as a necessary evil.

Petr Suchý, Vice Dean for Internationalisation of the Faculty and Student Affairs at the Faculty of Social Sciences, cannot heap enough praise on the cooperation with Ms. Hábová. “Dáša Hábová is a great colleague and solid supporter of the international department. It is very clear that for her this work is her calling. She is a patient, helpful and calm person who knows how to listen to others. And last but not least, is a very dedicated and brave woman.“