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At the Ladislav Sutnar Faculty of Design and Art at the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen, also known as Sutnarka, international workshops led by foreign lecturers are regularly held. This semester, graphic design students are meeting with typographers Avigail Reiner and Avner Haberfeld from the Holon Institute of Technology, and will also work in a joint workshop with students from the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw under the guidance of Lech Majewski and Karel Míšek. Students from the Multimedia studio are working on a site-specific project called Tree of Life with American artist Peter Bill. We spoke with Andrea Sloupová, the Vice-Dean for External and Foreign Relations at the Faculty, about the significance of these encounters and more.

What topics and approaches do foreign lecturers most often bring to students? Are there fields where international collaboration is especially important?

In design, these are generally current trends influenced by the specific conditions of the lecturers' home countries. In the artistic field, the visiting personality itself is crucial, giving students insight into their own creative process. When designing workshops, all lecturers also emphasize creative processes and are open to experimentation.

International collaboration is undoubtedly key for disciplines using dynamically developing technologies, such as audiovisual fields, industrial design, or graphic design. However, as a source of inspiration and new opportunities, it is indispensable in all specializations we teach at the faculty, including fine art.

The workshops of foreign lecturers are an integral part of the faculty's program. How do you select visiting artists and educators? What determines who you invite?

We implement workshops on several levels. We organize two regularly alternating themed symposia (Boundaries, focused on time-based media, and the Jiří Trnka International Symposium for illustrators and animators), where we invite guests from a wide range of experts depending on the focus of that particular year. Additionally, we have projects in cooperation with partner institutions - for example, the mentioned Holon Institute of Technology - and individual events that arise from the professional contacts of our teachers. The selection of lecturers for the international ArtCamp summer school, which the faculty organizes for the general public, follows a similar process.

The faculty establishes numerous international partnerships. What criteria do you use when deciding which institutions to collaborate with? Can you mention some recent partnerships and what specifically resulted from them?

We strive to collaborate with institutions that have strong international reputations in design, art, and research activities while sharing similar values and ethical approaches with us. Geographic and cultural diversity also plays an important role in our selection. Just these days, we formalized our collaboration with Bauhaus Universität Weimar by signing an agreement, a relationship we've been developing since last academic year. Currently, two three-year projects have been created, for which we've applied for Credit Mobility grants: a collaboration project with National Taiwan University of Arts, our long-term partner, and with the University of Sarajevo – Academy of Fine Arts, which, like the University of West Bohemia, is a member of the EUPeace university alliance group.

Do you have feedback from students on how these encounters with foreign lecturers influence their future work?

I'm pleased that these experiences open new paths for them, not only in their own creative work but, quite literally, to the countries where the guests come from, often based on the personal connections they form.

Where would you like to direct the faculty's external and foreign relations in the future? Are there any challenges or goals you would like to accomplish in the coming years?

I'll be happy if we manage to attract quality applicants for our planned English-language program, which we intend to gradually expand. In the near future, we also plan to open our first double-degree program, which will enrich not only the students themselves but will also bring additional international opportunities to our faculty.