Dear colleagues,
Dear students,
The Christmas season is approaching, and with it the close of the year 2025—a period traditionally marked by the warmth of family gatherings, the spirit of goodwill, the exchange of gifts, and moments of joy and tranquillity. It is also a moment for reflecting on the year now drawing to a close and for looking ahead to the coming year with hope and expectations.
The past year has been one of success for our university. We continued to provide high-quality education to our students and managed to secure resources to accommodate an increased number of admitted applicants. We advanced the quality of education in the clinical, preclinical, and hygiene fields, as well as in the areas of animal welfare and animal health, and entered a new era in the development of teaching and learning activities through the use of artificial intelligence. Doctoral students received a significant increase in their scholarships. We organised a wide range of unique events that strengthened the sense of belonging among both students and staff, and we met on several occasions to reflect on the exceptional character of our university. In lifelong learning, we opened new programmes and courses, in creative and scholarly activity, we successfully completed a demanding international evaluation of the university’s scientific and research work. In terms of personnel development, we made progress in establishing systemisation, implementing a new career framework, and fulfilling a new salary regulation, and created numerous opportunities for staff to further enhance their competences and deepened the quality system in the university’s key activities. We successfully concluded university development projects, and the university’s financial management will close the year positively, with a slight surplus. We strengthened cooperation with practising veterinarians as well as with the State Veterinary Administration, and in many other areas, we succeeded in reinforcing the university’s foundations and creating the conditions necessary for its further development in the coming period.
Next year will be a year of change for our university. The newly elected rector will assume office, together with a new leadership team, bringing with them new trends that will significantly influence the university’s activities. The newly elected dean of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and the newly elected dean of the Faculty of Veterinary Hygiene and Ecology will also begin their terms, accompanied by new faculty leadership and new impulses for further progress in faculty activities. With the appointment of a new Minister of Education, Youth and Sports, it is likely that the strategic direction of higher education—as well as the funding of universities and related investment policies—will change. Our university’s new role as chair of the group of Central European veterinary schools within EAEVE will open new opportunities to strengthen our international standing. Through the implementation of major projects, the university’s equipment—especially for teaching—will be significantly modernised. During this period, we will gradually approach preparations for institutional accreditation and begin our preparations for international accreditation. It can be expected that the quality of the academic environment at the university will continue to rise, and that the entire university—particularly in its educational and scholarly activities—will undergo a positive transformation.
Dear colleagues,
Dear students,
In the coming days, we will enter the Christmas season. I would like to extend my warmest wishes for a joyful and peaceful holiday period, filled with the fulfilment of cherished Christmas traditions, serenity and smiles in the company of your families, and enjoyable gatherings with friends and acquaintances. Above all, I wish you good health, a positive spirit, joy, and satisfaction in all your endeavours, both during the Christmas season, in the final days of 2025, and throughout the entire year 2026.
Prof. Alois Nečas, MVDr., Ph.D., MBA
Rector of the University of Veterinary Sciences Brno