Prague Journal

Monday, December 13, 2004

Eva and I have a date with Jitka in Kladno on Wednesday to go over details and make corrections on the case study we are writing about her company. So this morning we talked mostly about what additional information we wanted and the direction we think our analysis should go. We're also making progress on the book project. I had sent Eva the first draft of my chapter on women entrepreneurs last night and she had already printed it out and read it before I came to her office this morning. She is happy with the draft; I hope it is close to what Martin and Mr. Novy have in mind. According to Eva, mine is the first chapter that’s been submitted! The rest are in outline form.
I met with Radek in the afternoon, partly to talk about potential study-abroad course outlines and logistics, and partly to talk about case teaching. We had a nice lunch at the VŠE cafeteria, which has only recently reopened. The new building is in construction, which affects parts of the old building that is adjacent. But now the cafeteria is larger and more modern – and the food is good and cheap.
My evening was spent listening to a panel – and comments from the audience—discuss the future of higher education in the Czech Republic. I understood almost nothing, but I did tape-record the discussion for Eva and/or Ales. I know there is some controversy over implementing a tuition-based system, and there have been lots of changes in curriculum and degree offerings. I would not be surprised if there were not discussions about class size and the number of students allowed, since the numbers of Czech graduates is low by European standards, due to the competition for relatively few seats. The Czech government has only recently recognized private universities, but accreditation requirements are still controversial.
The panel discussion took place at the palatial headquarters of CERGE-EI, the Center for Economic Research and Graduate Education of Charles University, which was founded in 1991 as an American-style Ph.D. program in Economics taught entirely in English. In 1992, the Economics Institute of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic (EI) was created as an economics research institution, and the two organizations merged in 1993. The building they now occupy was a pharmacist’s home during the time of Charles IV (1346-1378) and the street was called “Angel Street” (to this day, all Czech pharmacies bear the symbol of an angel). After the pharmacist’s home was demolished, a palace was built on the site, which was destroyed by fire in 1757, and replaced with a convent-hospital-orphanage operated by Empress Maria Theresa. In 1871, the present building was constructed as a palace for railroad builder Baron Jan Schebek and then in 1890 it was sold to the Austro-Hungarian Bank. In 1918, after the founding of the first independent Czechoslovak Republic, the building became the headquarters of the State Bank of Czechoslovakia. During World War II and the Nazi Occupation, the Gestapo used a building on the same street as its headquarters. As a result, the street today bears the name “Street of Political Prisoners” (ulice Politických vĕzňů). In 1963, ownership of the building was transferred to the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences, which made it the seat of its Institute of Economics. The Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic is still the owner of the building, and the designation “The House of the Angel” is still noted on plaques inside the building.
Rick spent the evening with his Czech class buddies. His class ended last Wednesday, but there is some negotiation for a follow-on class in December. He likes Irena, the teacher, and has been having fun studying Czech. He is encouraging me to attend with him. It’s been nice having some evenings to do research, but I probably do need an excuse to try to improve my Czech.
Matt called shortly after I got home, which was a nice way to end the day. We haven’t talked with him for awhile, and it’s nice to hear his voice and get an update on his activities and plans. His classes ended on Friday, and he has just turned in his English final, so he should have a relatively easy week studying for his other exams before he heads to Denver for winter break.

posted by JWinn @ 10:51 PM