Czech University of Life Sciences (CZU) is a popular destination for students and professionals from all over the world, who are attracted by interesting research and educational projects. The Welcome Centre has been operating at the University for more than three years, helping international scholars and their families. The purpose of the Welcome Centre is to provide them with the support that everyone appreciates during their stay in a foreign country, whether it’s help with administrative matters, healthcare, accommodation, or the opportunity to get to know a new country, its culture, nature and people. The heart of the Welcome Centre is its manager Miroslava Perst.
You were at the creation of the Welcome Centre and everything that was going on around it. What did it look like three years ago and where has the center moved to?
I joined the CZU with the vision of creating a place where international employees could turn to whenever they needed help. Unfortunately, right from the start, the pandemic presented us with a series of challenges, but we successfully overcame them. I am convinced that our path at the Welcome Centre is the right one. The working conditions created for us by Mr. Lukáš Pospíšil, who was at the time the Head of the International Relations department, have allowed us to make significant progress.
I see the biggest shift in the fact that the Welcome Centre has become known not only to international employees and PhD students, but also to Czech colleagues at the faculties. I have noticed a high level of interest in its services from the departments and project offices of the faculties. From processing residence and work permits, assisting with relocation to the Czech Republic including finding suitable accommodation, moving, communication with real estate agents or property owners, checking and translating rental agreements, obtaining a Czech phone number, help with opening a bank account, assistance with communication with various university departments and Czech authorities to supporting entire families from a practical and psychological point of view.
Finally, I found time to create our website, which my new colleagues are now helping to improve. With an intern from France, we launched additional information portals for the Welcome Centre on social networks like Instagram and Facebook. My colleague Martina Šlesingerová has followed up on this and, among other activities, took on the publication of a new periodical, the Newsletter. She has been a great asset to the center overall. We also established the Welcome Centre International Club, which organizes Language Café on campus. We organize Czech language classes and every week three groups attend lessons at the Welcome Centre. We have started recording profiles of our international researchers about their work and life. Another significant advancement is that our university has become part of the European EURAXESS network, thus joining 600 service centers operating in 42 countries and 15 centers in the Czech Republic. CZU is now part of the national EURAXESS Czech Republic centre, which actively cooperates with the European Commission as a support platform for organizations and research centers. The EURAXESS Service Centre operates within the CZU Welcome Center, making it easier for our international researchers to access various services and activities.
You established the Welcome Centre during the pandemic. How did you handle the sudden "post-COVID influx"?
The range of services provided by the Welcome Centre naturally expanded after the pandemic ended, along with the “influx” to this department, where I was alone at that time. But everything was managed thanks to the help of the interns. Throughout the Centre's existence, I have been fortunate to welcome friendly students from abroad who came here to gain experience through the Erasmus+ program. Unfortunately, time inevitably passes, and the students' stay at the university and their help in the centre were always just temporary fixes. However, the centre continues to progress, and I am now very pleased that we have been able to hire two colleagues on a part-time basis. Together, we strive to meet the needs of everyone who seeks our assistance in various areas. Our colleagues jokingly refer to us as the Welcome Centre as “jack of all trades”. We provide services in legal matters, accommodation, translation; we also function as a travel agency, psychological and family counseling, catering, moving services, babysitting, graphic design and marketing studio, and so on.
What are the biggest challenges that foreigners in the Czech Republic face?
As it is often the case with longer stays abroad, the biggest challenge is integration into society. Understanding the local culture, established stereotypes, and mindset of the people. Generally, government offices, healthcare facilities, or insurance company branches are places even locals try to visit only when it is absolutely necessary. So, imagine what might be going through the minds of people from abroad when they have to visit some of these places. Currently, it is unthinkable for our international employee to handle anything by themselves, whether it concerns residence permits, handling tax domicile, vehicle registration or technical inspection, driver's license changes, insurance for family members, doctor or healthcare facility visits where English is not spoken. The biggest issue is undoubtedly the language barrier and understanding Czech mentality.
What unusual or bizarre situations you had to handle while taking care of international academics?
My colleagues and I find ourselves in unusual, unexpected, or strange situations every day. We can never fully prepare for all extraordinary situations. For example, visits to the Ministry of the Interior, when a researcher has to come with me personally, can turn into a scene straight out of an American crime series. I've had researchers who carried with them a bag of white powder (powdered sugar ˘) or forks and knives and these were found during a security check before entering the building. Visits to healthcare facilities are among the more challenging tasks, where after an eight-hour wait at the emergency room, you receive a recommendation from a passing healthcare worker that my researcher, who is visibly unwell, should feign unconsciousness so they might finally proceed with the examination. My dear colleagues gave me an English-Czech medical dictionary for my birthday, which was a great success and became an essential part of my gear. But there are also lighter moments, like when a researcher, while waiting for the endlessly long technical inspection and emissions test of a vehicle, introduced us to the fascinating world of botany and the uses of plants found in the small patch of greenery there.
The purpose of the centre is to make it easier for international academics to integrate into campus life. How is it going? Do you see any challenges?
Our university is moving in a good direction, and academics have positive experiences integrating into the CZU community. I would like to thank all our colleagues for smiling at our international employees and for helping them. They appreciate it very much. However, we still face many challenges. One major obstacle I see is when information is provided only in Czech, such as in campus dining facilities. Even our international students, who make up a significant part of the CZU family, would surely appreciate the kind of assistance we provide to our employees.
You help foreigners solve practical problems of life in the Czech Republic, but you also organize a lot of interesting activities for them. What have you already managed to do, and what has been the most successful?
I ended our last interview with a wish that I would love to finally meet the wonderful people I met during the pandemics only via regular MS Teams meetings, or, in better cases, during meetings with restricted number of people in the group. Since then, a lot has changed. After the isolation ended, there was a great hunger for human contact and discovering the Czech Republic. For our researchers and international students, the pandemic period was particularly challenging, as they couldn’t even visit their families abroad. As soon as it was possible, I started organizing joint trips around Prague and the surrounding areas, excursions to Český Krumlov, Jindřichův Hradec, Telč, Kutná Hora, the beautiful Tisa rocks, Plzeň... We organized visits to our facilities in Kostelec nad Černými lesy, a two-day trip to Moravia, to the Valtice-Lednice region, and to Mendel University in Brno. For the second year in a row, our international employees from over 60 countries did not miss the Christmas visit to the Polabské Ethnographic Museum in Přerov nad Labem. They enjoyed a concert at the Rudolfinum or watched The Bartered Bride at the National Theatre. We organized many cultural and educational events, introduced them to Czech traditions at a Christmas party, which was a great success. Our trips also took us to neighbouring Saxony. The trip to Dresden and the Bastei rock bridge had such high demand that we had to divide it into two groups. We also organized several seminars, where we covered topics such as tax issues or job searching in the Czech Republic. At the Welcome Center, we also offer Czech language courses, and we host the popular Language Café.
In the spring, we organized a guided tour through the Prague Royal Gardens for researchers, their families, and international doctoral students, and we visited Karlovy Vary and Loket Castle together. In the summer, the group visited Karlštejn Castle and its surroundings, we explored the underground in the Koněprusy Caves and visited Beroun. We celebrated the end of summer at the Suchdol Community Garden, where each participant brought a variety of traditional dishes, we introduced each other to various national dances, and competed in sports games. Late September was dedicated to a weekend trip to northern Bohemia, where we introduced our employees and their families to CZU's recreational center in Janov nad Nisou, visited the beautiful Museum of Glass and Jewelry in Jablonec nad Nisou, admired the beauty of Bedřichov and its surroundings, the botanical garden in Liberec, and the picturesque Ještěd.
How do people appreciate your help?
It's interesting to hear the stories of researchers who worked at CZU before the Welcome Center was established when they felt lost and confused in the Czech Republic. Everyone greatly appreciates our help. We have formed long-term friendships during their stay, and I am still in touch with some of those who have already moved on to their next research positions. It is very touching when researchers and their families invite us to their homes, make personal gifts, or when the parents of our younger researchers visit and express their gratitude that the Welcome Centre exists.
What do you enjoy most about working for the Welcome Centre?
What I enjoy most is that it's meaningful and varied work. I am happy to see how the center is progressing and that the effort put in is bearing fruit. It is much harder for our international employees to come to the Czech Republic than to an English-speaking country. They arrive with expectations and concerns. They want to get to know the culture of the country they chose during the challenging decision of where to conduct their scientific research. We strive to ensure they are satisfied and can focus on science and research. This undoubtedly contributes to increasing CZU's respect abroad. I am happy that we were able to help several expectant mothers with doctor and authority visits, and it was a great reward when they came to show us their little ones – our youngest CZU scientists. And I am also happy when colleagues from other Czech and foreign universities contact us to show them how to establish such a Welcome Centre.
Interview by: Lenka Prokopová
Translation: Alena Gentile