Ondřej Kučera
Mgr. Ondřej Kučera (1976) studied Chinese and English Philology and Political Science at the Philosophical Faculty of Palacký University in Olomouc, and Chinese Language, Administration and Law at Taipei University (Taiwan Shifan Daxue). He is now completing his doctoral studies in General Linguistics and Theory of Communication at the PU Philosophical Faculty.
During and shortly after his studies, he worked as an assistant in a notary office and as an interpreter and translator for the Ministry of Interior of the Czech Republic. Gradually he began to work with the newly established Department of Asian Studies, where he became an assistant professor specializing in modern Chinese history and politics, semiotics of Chinese culture, and Chinese lexicology. After being Secretary of the Department, he is now the head of the Chinese section.
He is the author and principal investigator of several European grant projects focused on the development of Chinese and Asian studies at the national level (CHINET platform). Ondřej co-founded the Confucius Academy in Olomouc, serving as Deputy Director in its beginnings (now a board member). He is the founder and long-term Chair of the Czech-Chinese Society, Olomouc Office, and a founding member of the Olomouc Japan Club. He is a member of the European Association of Chinese Studies and the European Association of Taiwan Studies. As a student he participated in an expedition around East and Southeast Asia, one output of which was the exhibition Yellow Dust on My Shoes, held in VMO. In recent years, Ondřej took a research fellowship at Central China Normal University in Wu-Chan (Huazhong Shifan Daxue). His research consistently focuses on the role of the word in power discourse, methods of the organization of power and its enforcement, and on the word as a cultural artefact and a tool of intercultural communication.
His interests include Asian cuisine, growing Asian plants in the Czech climate, badminton, and modern architecture (functionalism, minimalism, Asian influences). He is a long-term member of the Zlín Astronomical Society.
Over time, Ondřej was a member and Vice-Chair of the Academic Senate of the PU Philosophical Faculty, and a member of the PU Legislative Committee. From 2010 to 2014, he served as Vice-Dean for the Organization and Development of the Philosophical Faculty. He implemented and enforced a number of organizational changes and development activities (operating savings of 30%, establishment of the Technical Department, establishment of Research Development Fund, establishment of the UPLIFT language school, reorganization of the Administration and Service Centre, etc). Ondřej was involved in the transformation of the funding model and application of effective and motivational multi-source funding of the faculty, participated in commenting the amended Higher Education Act and the methodology of HE funding.
He is the principal investigator of the project Operational Programme Research and Development for Innovation for the reconstruction and establishment of the Center for Doctoral Studies of the Philosophical Faculty, buildings 12 and 14, Křížkovského St.
For Ondřej, the position of Vice President for Organization and Development brings the challenge of strategic and effective development of Palacky University, while trying to awaken a community spirit and pride in this institution in all its employees, enabling it to face the complex challenges of our times, and helping to connect it with the town and region organizationally, spatially, and in terms of the atmosphere.
