Interview with Martin Chovančík - Guarantor of the Bachelors Programme International Relations and European Politics

By Abhinav Banerjee, October 2023

1. Can you share an achievement or a moment you're particularly proud of? If so, how has it influenced your career and approach to education?

When I was a kid, I went to live in the United States, which made the English language essentially my other language. And back then, it wasn't that common, especially in Slovakia. At that time, very few people spoke English and could absorb everything that came from the outside, from media that was predominantly Western, if it wasn't translated. And I think that influenced me for the rest of my life because, at a very young age, I could absorb influences from all across the world, which is why I also decided to study International Relations.

2. What exactly was the factor that influenced you to pursue International Relations?

I'm sure that the fact mentioned above put me in a good position to pursue something that was not purely national, that you wouldn't be looking inside as much but looking outside much more because those influences came from all over. I knew English and German and my friends attracted me to study high school in French. Knowing three languages at the end of high school helped me with the decision to pick a future career. All of my applications were for IR, whether it was here in Brno or other universities in the Czech Republic or Slovakia. So, it was a very clear, delineated track.

3. What exactly are you interested in within the realm of International Security if we have to take a deeper look into IR?

That's a very interesting question that students ask themselves once they have to navigate the great span of the field. You find out that IR could be about human rights, security, and sustainability, it could be about many great things or a specific region. I think there was always a humanitarian aspect to any sort of volunteering work or anything we did next to school. The necessity for humanitarian interaction in these situations usually came with a conflict preceding. There are, of course, natural disasters that might also create this necessity, but it seemed that what can be politically influenced had to deal with security, with the potential destruction that comes from conflict (because you can't really influence other than your preparedness for natural disasters). Therefore, it's prevention, mediation, and interactions that help to address conflict, either prior or after. It grew from the humanitarian point to understanding that the majority of these impacts are actually caused by security matters. Thus, addressing security matters might be an interesting field to invest in.

4. One of the subjects that you're teaching at FSS, which is very popular amongst students, is Peace economics. So why do you think it is so popular and so interesting?

Those are very kind words and I did not realize it was that popular. If you are reading this, definitely fill out your course opinion polls because we do take them very seriously. We improve our courses year on year based on that feedback. I feel that the interactive nature is what students might enjoy, in each lecture, they're given at least one or two puzzles. They're supposed to come up with a couple of potential solutions. Then we go through explaining why they might or might not work so the learning is done more on a peer level. If you're able to explain why you think this is a solution within the group, you're actually learning much more effectively than just listening to a lecture or reading literature. I hope this is something that students enjoy based on what you just told me. It's not easy to implement in any course, so not all courses are amenable to it.

5. Do you think the program currently fulfills the demands of all those who are currently enrolled, or are there some changes that you would like to make to it to make it fit the current demands better?

We review our programs regularly and have program boards where students give us feedback. There will be a new compulsory course that is going to replace one of the existing compulsory courses, and it's going to be on political geography. We hope that our graduates will get a better understanding of what underpins much of international relations. We will cover all regions including those where students come from. Otherwise, based on the feedback we collect from alumni, I think we're fulfilling most of the demands put on our graduates by their future employers or master's programs.

6. How important do you think it is for academics to participate in international exchange programs and collaborate with scholars from around the world?

We are encouraged to travel out at least once a year for academic exchange. When staff travels for academic exchange, we typically offer our own existing course to teach within a week. I usually go out of Europe, so this has taken me to Kazakhstan, Nairobi, or Iraq. It's good for networking and I gain a much deeper appreciation for how things are done elsewhere and hopefully bring home some ideas. You may also have something to offer, which was the case last time I was in Iraq, they were starting their international program.

In international collaboration, especially in our research and publication, not only are two heads better than one, but the different perspectives and different networks might definitely improve the quality of the work.

7. Are there opportunities for international students to participate in internships, co-op programs, or research projects that can enhance their learning experience and future career prospects?

I would encourage all students to seek an internship with which the academic staff here can help because we track where our students have been and where they actually provided the experience that potentially led to future job offers or cooperation. We have an internal database of where students have gone, and how their experience was, and we can help guide students to internships. However, students should primarily be the ones to track the internship possibilities as well as some places open every three years or every half a year.

We can help you alter your study plan so that you can fit an internship that lasts up to half a year and this won't endanger your studies.

Now, the other question regarding the inclusion of students in research done here at the faculty. I know that's an existing obstacle, but it's due to the way that funding of research works here, we can't really employ bachelor students. We even have a challenges employing master's students. Obviously, you need funding for that and National Research funding is from the master level and up. So, if we're writing research grants, we can only put in students who have already graduated to be eligible for funding.

8. What are some typical career paths that graduates with a degree in international relations and European politics have pursued?

The answer is different for the bachelor and for the master students. We do keep track of where our bachelor students go because most of them go to other universities, and they might take a gap year. Some of them start working for their governments because obviously they already have the age and a good bit of experience with them. However, a lot of students like to pursue master’s studies in the very specific field that they found through their bachelor studies. So, it's essentially, if you graduate well from this bachelor program then there's not a ranked university up there that would have a problem accepting you. So, it's up to individuals. We have students in the top 10 rankings without any issues getting in, being funded, and getting scholarships. So, the possibilities are always there, or you'll pick one of the programs here in the Czech Republic.

That's completely up to a bachelor. Some students already start working, and the most typical career path is ministries of trade, ministries of foreign affairs and sometimes ministries of defense. The most typical career paths, whether for our Czech students or our international students, are government jobs or big multinational corporations where they work for example on risk management for large investing firms. So, it’s a big array, but I'd say a good starting point for graduates is beginning a career with government life and specifically those ministries. It gives you an experience that is very valuable going forward. Even if you then swap over to private business in the future.

9. What message do you have for the students considering this course?

The university experience is not just about the education you're supposed to receive within the classroom but very much about the interactions. I'm very happy to be the head of a program that has this at its forefront where we try to do that even within the classroom. The official term is decolonise the curriculum and have other perspectives come in and students learning from each other and each other’s cultures and have that competence. It's really hard to measure but this is a highly sought-after quality because it helps you be more of a team player. I hope my takeaway message for students is that they expose their intellects to as much of this friction as possible with other cultures within the class and through international exchanges as well. And when you approach a problem, try to think how would it be solved at the other end of the globe? Because the approach might be surprisingly different, and that will inform how you analyze the problem and synthesize a solution. And this is exactly what you were telling me about peace economics. I think if students are exposed to a wide variety of answers, they gain these analytical tools in their toolbox and that will be the main thing that will be useful going forward.