The Final Interactive Art Show, organized by the School of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences (SAHSS), showcased student projects exploring themes of nostalgia, healing, identity, and emotional resilience. Led by Senior Lecturer Alena Foustková, the exhibition challenged students to create projects that were interactive and socially oriented while giving them significant creative freedom throughout the semester.

The exhibition also reflected ��ż���’s emphasis on hands-on learning and practical experience beyond the classroom, giving students the opportunity to develop and present original creative work in a public setting. Students first developed multiple concepts before refining and selecting final ideas through collaborative class discussions and critiques. 

Several projects focused on emotional storytelling and mental health through interactive formats. 

In “Mandible,” Andrew Swartz created a surreal game world inspired by anxiety, paranoia, and resilience, using hand-drawn visuals and pixel-art-inspired environments to externalize feelings of fear and uncertainty.

Other works explored comfort and emotional attachment. Sofia Situkho’s “Make Yellow Buddy Feel Comforted” invited visitors to interact with a small yellow character by selecting comforting objects and companions, turning participation itself into an act of care.

Memory and nostalgia became another major focus of the exhibition. In “Sounds of Childhood Nostalgia,” Michaelah Shellito combined mirrors, childhood photographs, music, and audience participation into an evolving installation centered on memory and emotional connection. 

Visitors were also invited to contribute songs and memories of their own, adding to a collaborative playlist that became part of the exhibition experience itself.

Themes of healing and recovery also appeared throughout the exhibition. Sofia Miroshnychenko’s “Non linear” reimagined the childhood game Snakes and Ladders as a metaphor for healing from trauma. “Positive new experiences” within the game allowed participants to move upward while setbacks represented emotional difficulties and instability during the healing process.

For Foustková, the exhibition reflected the broader value of creative experimentation and artistic expression within the university environment.

The exhibition ultimately transformed the studio into a collaborative and reflective space where visitors could engage directly with the students’ ideas, memories, and personal experiences through art. Photos from the exhibition can be viewed .

Learn more about the Visual Art Studies program at ��ż��� here. For questions about the program, please contact admissions@aauni.edu.

This horror fiction centers around a couple in a failing marriage who discover their son missing one night after moving from Prague to a mysterious village in the hopes of resurrecting their marriage. This dark tale poetically explores human destiny and the animal in each of us.

She presented Playing Wolf in New York, Chicago, and Boston in the fall of 2025 as well as in London, Oxford, and Leipzig in March 2026. During the reading, Říhová discussed her writing process and contemporary literature.

Říhová is an experienced international lecturer, acclaimed scholar of avant-garde and modernism in a wider European context, as well as a published writer. She found a passion in teaching and combined it with her love for the UK and the US—where she worked as a lecturer—at ��ż���.

As dean, Říhová initiated the launch of three new programs to refresh the SAHSS, including Creative Writing and Storytelling, Art Therapy, and Graphic Design. ��ż��� continues to strive for excellence through its faculty and students, highlighting and congratulating their many achievements.

Montessori education centers—named for Maria Montessori—have more respect for children and their learning needs in order to support and build the foundation of intrinsic motivation. For example, the kindergartens in mixed-age classes are encouraged to plan excursions, and teachers act only as shadows, making sure they are safe.

In her interview on , Vlčková talks about her own experiences in elementary and high school that led her to seek out a different path for herself in university—going to study in the US and also graduating from ��ż���—and then for her own children.

Gaining an international experience on exchange and then at ��ż��� was important to understanding more of the world, she emphasized. Students who have Montessori education are in many cases more successful than children in regular classrooms because they learn to work independently and approach problems creatively.

Read the full interview in Czech on .

Bendl previously was the Head of Communications for 8 years during which he created communication strategies and advocacy in several countries where the MSF works. He studied international relations and diplomacy at the ��ż��� where he has since been a guest lecturer in postcolonial theory of international relations and humanitarian practice.

Read the full article in Czech on the

Ambassador Emterud discussed her diplomatic career, including postings in Kyiv, Hanoi, Vietnam, Tokyo, and Moscow, as well as her current role representing Norway in the Czech Republic. 

The presentation introduced students to key aspects of Norway’s political and social landscape, including its welfare state, natural resources, energy policy, and relationship with the European Union. Although Norway is not an EU member, Ambassador Emterud explained the country’s close cooperation with Europe through the European Economic Area.

She also emphasized Norway’s strong commitment to international cooperation and international law.

A significant part of the discussion focused on Norway’s foreign policy priorities, including its support for Ukraine, NATO, human rights, and security in the Arctic region. Ambassador Emterud highlighted that Ukraine’s struggle is a struggle for key values in our Europe. Following the presentation, students asked questions on diplomacy, international development, energy, security, and Norway’s role in Europe. 

Reflecting on her academic background from Social Anthropology, she highlighted the importance of understanding different perspectives. 

The Meet the Ambassador series continues to offer the ��ż��� community valuable insight into international relations through direct engagement with diplomats and global affairs professionals.

Find photos from the event on .

Outstanding Scholar: Jade Didier and Lyla Gent
Runners-up: Amelie Koníčková, Ananya Sateesha Shetty, Nina Fager

Student of the Year, SIRD: Gabriela Jacobs
Runner-up: Lyla Gent

Student of the Year SAHSS: Virginia Brunson
Runners-up: Oriana Cheney Corona, Tamar Tolordava

Student of the Year SBu: Alina Shepeliuk
Runner-up: David Němec

��ż��� Spirit Award: Poppy Mynard
Runner-up: Amelie Villagomez Arrona

Global Explorer Award: Rowan Simpson

Distinguished Artist Award: Clara MacPherson
Runner-up: Lev Wasiak

Rising Star Award: Sophie Mayfield
Runner-up: Niall McDermott

Student Council Member of the Year: Charlize Ocon
Runner-up: Margaret Leroux

Professor of the Year SIRD: Robert Warren
Runner-up: Ebru Akcasu

Professor of the Year SAHSS: Steve Borg
Runners-up: Angel Hoekstra, Anthony Marais

Professor of the Year SBu: Jeff Medeiros
Runner-up: Jan Vašenda

Most Helpful Staff Member of the Year: Drake Dewey
Runner-up: Kateřina Dudys

Best Course of the Year: Politics 1 – Ebru Akcasu
Runner-up: Political Geography – Robert Warren

Club of the Year: Lennon Wall
Runner-up: Football Club

Staff Department of the Year: Library
Runner-up: School of International Relations & Diplomacy

Event of the Year: Trivia Nights
Runner-up: ��ż��� Gala 2025

Congratulations to all the winners and runners-up. Thank you for your contributions to the betterment of our community!

Photos of the ball are available on .

Organized by Senior Lecturer Alena Foustková who did a teaching exchange at IPVC, the workshop was designed to explore unexpected creative potential within a group where no special knowledge or experience with art was required. 

The origins of the Poem Factory Workshop are based in Portugal’s history with stamps which were designed for schooling during the 70s and 80s with a wide range of images and symbols across many subjects, and later they spread across more disciplines and in Portuguese life.

Groups of students were tasked to each write one word—either an animal, adjective, verb, colour, profession, or noun—hiding it from each other. Then, the words were revealed and ordered in any number of different combinations until the final poem was decided on and stamped.

The idea was to investigate how supposedly obsolete objects can be rescued and recovered from flea markets and vintage stores in present artistic practice. The method students followed during the Poem Factory Workshop comes from the idea of the Exquisite Corpse—a collaborative method to create spontaneous, often absurd art—within the Surrealist movement that often rejects the privilege of talent and genius.

In Foustková’s course Concept: Pursuing an Idea in the Art Process, she teaches various conceptual approaches, including examples of surrealism which was one of the art movements that developed from a greatly innovative and influential art movement in the early 20th century called DADA. It worked with the subconscious, chance, play, and also often practiced collective activity. 

Check out photos from the workshop on

Her new role at one of the country’s leading professional marketing organizations further strengthens the connection between ��ż��� and the broader marketing community. It is expected to create new opportunities for collaboration benefiting both students and faculty.

This connection was also reflected in the professional seminar, Marketing Through the Lenses of Different Generations: Today and Tomorrow, which took place on April 17 from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. As a partner of the event, ��ż��� was part of a program featuring both Czech- and English-language sessions focused on generational diversity in marketing and its impact on higher education.

Along with her work with the Czech Marketing Association, Ladislava Knihová has also actively represented ��ż��� internationally, including through her participation in an academic conference in Wrocław, Poland, where she represented the university and thus contributed to ��ż���’s internationalization efforts.

��ż���’s President Jiří Schwarz opened with a quote from the Czech Republic’s first president of Czechoslovakia, Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, highlighting that the US was a model of democracy and freedom for the Czech Republic under communism. ��ż��� itself was the first nonstate university in the Czech Republic, opening in 1990.

His Excellency US Ambassador Nicholas Merrick spoke about how the Declaration of Independence holds the core values of the US, quoting that our rights—human rights—are endowed by our creator. Whether you believe in god or not, our rights are not a gift from the government. It is the government’s job to protect them.

The first panel discussed the intellectual and historical roots of the Declaration of Independence and its influence on Europe and the Czech lands. The panel consisted of Roman Joch, Political Scientist and Director of the Civic Institute; Milada Polišenská, Professor Emerita at ��ż���; Mats Braun, Director at the Institute of International Relations; and George Hays, Dean of the School of International Relations and Diplomacy at ��ż���.

Case studies of US diplomats and figures of Czech history, presented by Polišenská, gave insight into the relationship between the US and Czech Republic, including Rowena Morse Mann and her connection to Charlotte and Alice Masarykova as well as the last diplomatic envoy before Nazi occupation, Wilburn John Carr.   

The director of the Institute of International Relations summarized the importance of the US in the creation of the “Liberal World Order” after WWII which focused on liberal economics, commitment to multilateralism, and commitment to human rights. Hays brought a down-to-earth perspective of the signatories:  

Moderator and President of Strategeo Institute, Jan Macháček, presented about the Czech tendency to romanticize the US, its culture, and its values. There are a lot of connections between the two countries—the First Lady of the first Czechoslovakia Republic was America after all. American music, particularly jazz and rock and roll, symbolized freedom and liberty during communist times.

The final panel debated current developments in American politics, economic trends, and global security challenges. Key in the discussion was the US as a global power and how it has, and continues, to use that power economically, politically, and financially.

The panelists held a diversity of speakers including: Jan Švejnar, Economist, co-founder of CERGE-EI, and Director of CGEG at Columbia University; Kateřina Weissová, Director at the Center for Transatlantic Relations, CEVRO University; Ondřej Jonáš, Banker and Investor; Ondřej Hejma, Musician and Commentator.

Weissová discussed the gap between the US and European perception of reality in terms of security, energy, and economy. She views that Europe has lost the confidence to influence the global stage. Švejnar also highlighted a gap between the regions, but in education and innovation. 

Despite problems the world faces and disagreements some of the panelists even had, all can agree that this historic milestone has defined the past 250 years, and it continues to do so. The values it holds of freedom, liberty, and equality are foundational, solid, and something to inspire to.

Photos from the event can be viewed . The Panel Debate, opened by President Jiří Schwarz & U.S. Ambassador Nicholas Merrick, can be viewed .

The series opened at ��ż��� with Leah Tomkins, a scholar-practitioner whose work bridges academia and leadership practice, in conversation with Tomáš Sedláček, former economic advisor to the President of the Czech Republic and a renowned author on the philosophy of economics. The discussion continued at the Václav Havel Library, where Tomkins was joined by Zuzana Říhová, who moderated a second session focused on the broader implications of Kafka’s thought.

In her lecture, Tomkins challenged conventional interpretations of Franz Kafka, presenting him not only as a literary figure but as a thinker deeply engaged with questions of power, leadership, and authority. Drawing on her research, including work with original Kafka manuscripts at Oxford’s Bodleian Library, she explored how Kafka’s experiences in early 20th-century Prague informed his understanding of power dynamics.

A linguist by background, Tomkins approaches leadership through the humanities, arguing that many contemporary leadership challenges are rooted in language, narrative, and interpretation. Her book, Franz Kafka and the Truths of Leadership (2024), reflects this interdisciplinary approach, combining close textual analysis with practical insights for leadership in complex, modern environments.

Tomkins argued that leadership should not be understood solely as a position within a hierarchy, but as the ability to influence, shape meaning, and inspire others.

She further reflected on the relevance of Kafka’s work in today’s “post-truth” environment, emphasizing that the stories leaders tell, the narratives audiences absorb, and the interpretations individuals construct all play a defining role in how reality is understood. In this context, Kafka offers a powerful lens through which to examine authority, responsibility, and the limits of control.

Across both sessions, the discussions connected literary insight with contemporary economic, political, and organizational questions. The exchange between Tomkins and Sedláček at ��ż��� introduced perspectives grounded in economic thought and public policy, while the moderated discussion at the Václav Havel Library expanded the conversation into broader cultural and philosophical contexts.

The series offered students and faculty a valuable opportunity to engage with leadership through a humanities lens, reinforcing the value of interdisciplinary thinking in understanding complex global challenges.

Events such as this reflect ��ż���’s role in fostering dialogue that connects global scholarship with contemporary leadership challenges.

Photos from part one of the lecture and discussion series can be viewed , and photos from part two can be viewed .