The Academic Senate of UWB to Elect a New Rector

Dr Milan Edl, the outgoing Dean of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, and Dr Jiří Hammerbauer, the former Dean of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, are running for the post of Rector.

On 31 October, the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen (UWB) will elect a new Rector, the academic and executive head the University for the term of office from 1 March 2023 to 28 February 2027. Members of the Academic Senate of UWB could nominate their candidates until 29 September. Dr Milan Edl, the outgoing Dean of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, and Dr Jiří Hammerbauer, the former Dean of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, are running for the post of Rector.

The term of office of the current Rector, Dr Miroslav Holeček, the executive head of UWB since March 2015, will end on 28 February 2023. Dr Holeček has been appointed the Rector for two consecutive terms of office, which precludes further candidacy. On 31 October, the Academic Senate of UWB will elect one of the two nominees for the post of Rector.

Doc. Ing. Milan Edl, Ph.D. (*1973) studied industrial engineering and management at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering of UWB, where he was awarded the rank of Associate Professor (Docent) in the field of Mechanical Engineering (2009). In 2014, he became the Dean of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at UWB; his second term of office will end on 15 October 2022. In his research, he is concerned with sustainable production systems, the implementation of 4IR modern technologies in manufacturing and education, and circular economy issues. He has extensive international teaching experience, working as a visiting professor at three foreign universities. Dr Edl serves as an evaluator of the National Accreditation Office of the Czech Republic and an evaluator and reporter of projects carried out under the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic; he is also a founder of the Industrial Council and the Czech-Bavarian International Industrial Council. In cooperation with the Industrial Council, he founded the Children's Technical University in the Pilsen and Karlovy Vary regions. Dr Edl is the president of the Czech Smart City Cluster and the Czech Technological Platform of Engineering and the vice president of the Smart Pilsen Region Cluster.

Doc. Ing. Jiří Hammerbauer, Ph.D. (*1964) received a vocational certificate in electrical engineering in 1982 and then graduated from evening secondary school in the same field. He worked at the ETD Škoda Plzeň plant as an operator in the electronics assembly department and as a worker in the electronics testing room. In 1989, he graduated from the College of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering in Pilsen. In the years 1992-1998, he also worked as a service technician for consumer and industrial electronics equipment, serving customers in the Czech Republic and Germany. In 2003, he was awarded the rank of Associate Professor (Docent) in the field of Electronics at UWB. From the same year, he held the position of Vice-Dean for Research and Development of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering at UWB; in 2005, he was appointed to the position of the Head of the Department of Applied Electronics and Telecommunications for a five-year term.

In the years 2010-2018, Dr Hammerbauer served for two consecutive terms as the Dean of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering; simultaneously being the Director of RICE (the Regional Innovation Centre for Electrical Engineering) for four years. Since March 2018, he has been Vice-Dean for Research and Head of the Department of Electronics and Information Technologies. He specializes in the areas of analogue electronics, linear and impulse power supply technologies, charging sources for accumulators and electronics for power systems in the automotive sector.

The Rector is elected by the Academic Senate of UWB in a direct secret ballot. To be elected, it is necessary to obtain a majority of the votes of all 58 senators, i.e. at least 30 votes. The successful candidate will assume the position of Rector on 1 March, 2023, after being formally appointed by the President of the Republic. The new Rector will be the head of the University, which currently has almost 11,500 students and 2,300 employees, during a four-year term, until the end of February 2027.

The candidates will present their programmes to the members of the Academic Senate of UWB, as well as other members of the academic community, in a debate that will take place on 10 October from 1 p.m. in the building of the Faculty of Applied Sciences of UWB (room US 207). The debate will be live-streamed.