by Ismatulloev I.U., guest researcher from Tajik State University of Commerce
According to the invitation from the MOCCA (Multilevel Orders of Corruption in Central Asia) project and the prior agreement with the project partner universities, I spent two months of my next secondment in two partner universities – Lund University in Sweden and Charles University in the Czech Republic.
It was my second stay in Lund. The secondment was already on another level, there was no need to get to know the city and the university. Therefore, this time we were fully involved in the research: very important meetings with the project coordinators and consultants, reviewing the work already done and discussing the detailed content and chapters of future activities. As my impressions of Lund and Lund University already been published, this time I decided to write about Prague and Charles University.
From September 17 to October 20, we continued our secondment at the Charles University in the Czech Republic. The project representatives from Charles University, especially Anna Jordanova planned our visit in advance and took care of the organizational issues before we arrived in Prague, for which we are very grateful.
During the secondment at Charles University in Prague, the first thing that comes to mind is the historical aspect of the city of Prague. To be honest, I have never seen such a historical city in my life, where every street and corner reminds of its history. In all corners of Prague, you can see only history, ancient buildings, castles, manors and statues and monuments of different eras. Charles Bridge, Vatslav Square, Old Town, Old Prague Castle, Old Square, Prague Astronomical Clock and dozens and hundreds of other historical monuments that cover the whole city, and in every corner of the city, you will only breathe history and feel history.
The Charles University is also a part of this history and was founded in 1348 by Charles IV and is considered one of the oldest universities in Central and Eastern Europe. It is said that Prince Karl, who was only 33 years old at that time, studied in France, regularly attended lectures and studies at the Sorbonne University, and always dreamed that such a university would be established in his country.
Currently, more than 50,000 students study at Charles University, more than 10,000 of them are foreign students.
Our secondment took place mainly in the Faculty of Social Sciences and the Institute of International Studies. You enter the faculty library, which is very large and spacious and consists of four floors, from the entrance hall of the faculty. The scientific resources of the library are very rich, and from there it is possible to find the books and sources of the libraries of other universities in a virtual way.
At the beginning of the Secondment, we participated in the first organizational meeting of the department, which was held after the vacation, and also participated in a seminar on the topic of a new research method called autoethnography, and learned about this modern research method.
Then a series of meetings were held with teachers and professors of the departments of the Faculty of Social Sciences, as well as representatives of the departments of enterprise economy and international business (as well as from the Metropolitan University of Prague and the Higher School of Economics). In these meetings, useful and exchange conversations were held on the topics of the studied subjects and educational materials.
There were so many meetings and places visited that there was not enough time for some important events, such as visits and meetings at the Center for Knowledge and Technology Transfer of Charles University. Yes, not only from the history, but even you don’t get enough to gain experience in research and academic affairs at Charles University in Prague.