The Future of IT at MUNI: Interview with the Vice-Rector on IT Plans and Challenges

In an interview with Vice-Rector Radim Polčák, we discussed changes in IT at Masaryk University. We discussed how the university is adapting to new needs and how it manages funding and maintaining a high level of IT services. We also touched on the Vice-Rector's view on the importance of the adaptation of the Institute of Computing to the University's strategic plan and the role of IT during crisis situations such as the recent covid-19 pandemic. We also discussed future plans, including the relocation of the Institute of Computer Science and its involvement in research activities and projects such as EOSC-CZ.

What were your vision and goals for IT when you took up the position of Vice-Chancellor for development, legal and information technologies?

First, I needed to get an overview of the IT situation at the university. While I had some understanding of the division of agendas between the Information System and the Department of Computing, the rest was a new world to me. What I brought with me, however, was my expertise in information technology law and my personal relationships with people working in IT at the university. My main focus then was on how to effectively use the data available to us at the university. That was my vision. The other activities that we later initiated were based on the analysis of the current situation that we had done.

How would you assess the current situation? Have the goals and visions for the future changed?

Even in 2024, our goals and vision for IT have not changed fundamentally. However, the covid-19 pandemic has shown us how important functional IT is to an institution's resilience in crisis situations. This experience has also given us a new perspective on the importance of information technology. The main thrust, however, remains the use of technology to fulfill the three main roles of the university, and specific practices may change over time.

Last January, the current director, Jan Mysliveček, took up his post. What were his objectives when he was appointed to this role?

Personally, I wanted the Institute to transform and respond to the changing environment, because the university is changing and the Institute needs to respond to that. This was also the main vision when I was selected among the candidates for the post of Director. We primarily assessed their vision, which was to respond to the strategic vision for the future development of the university.

„However, the covid-19 pandemic has shown us how important functional IT is for an institution's resilience in crisis situations.“

Of course, the successful cooperation and experience with challenging projects of Honza Mysliveček from the past, such as the integration of the Faculty of Pharmacy, was also taken into account.

The current director has only been in the position for a year. Have you been able to evaluate his performance yet?

Although he has only been in office for a year, it is positive that he immediately started to implement the project he came into office with. However, it is too early to assess how successful it has been, as some of the basic lines of transformation will only become apparent in about 10 years.

Could you be specific about where you see the reserves that the IST has? And the changes that you are calling for?

I'm very reticent about this, I have a personal policy of not touching internal management because my role is more political and I don't want to interfere in management processes. I rely on the director to do the right thing and to have my trust.

Let me ask you another question. My question was about the reserves of services that the IST provides to the university - and where do you see the direction we should move in? You said yourself that the University is changing too... so how do you want the Institute to change?

At an operational level, there are of course margins in the efficiency of the services provided by the IST. Whilst we try to look for savings, the policy of the University management is not to increase centralised resources, which limits our ability to respond to rising costs, particularly staff costs.

One of the biggest challenges then is just maintaining the quality of services provided with limited financial resources. As input costs (e.g. licence fees) and fixed costs increase, it becomes difficult to maintain the quality of services. While there is not currently a significant demand for service improvements, it is important to find ways to maintain current service levels with limited resources for staff costs. And this is obviously very problematic because people are the most valuable thing we have - and suddenly we are in a situation where we are unable to increase resources for them as we would like.

The university is also students. How do you evaluate the services that the university offers them through the IST or IS?

I think we provide excellent services here as well. This was confirmed by a relatively recent survey among users. Their feedback has attested to the quality of the services provided, although of course there is potential for further improvement. Rather, it will be a question of maintaining the current range of services at the current quality. This will be a challenge.

And why do you consider it a challenge? Because of the way the world and technology is moving forward?

Because of funding. We are struggling with limited funds and are unable to keep up with the increase in costs to maintain the quality of IT services. Despite this, the University is able to provide higher quality services and systems than other comparable institutions, which creates a politically difficult environment to argue for increased IT funding. However, MUNI already invests relatively more in IT than other Czech universities.

How do you evaluate the involvement of the Institute of Science and Technology in research activities? And if I were to be more specific, we are focusing on the EOSC initiative, where Masaryk University is one of the leaders in the Czech Republic on this topic.

ICS is engaged in the development and research of IT technologies for the needs of Masaryk University and is always involved in research activities. Historically, we have been driven by the need to develop our own solutions because there were no ready-made products on the market that met our specific requirements. Today, we are still engaged in scientific activities, especially in areas where we can transfer research results into practice at the university.

The EOSC-CZ project is then a success for the university and confirms its exceptional position. It provides an opportunity to develop know-how and enhances its reputation, although it requires considerable financial investment, and so MUNI must look for ways to compensate.

ICS is due to move in mid-2024 and this is a major milestone. However, one of the recurring questions on this topic is the actual building for the Institute.

Stably housing the Institute in its own building is our priority, which is in line with the University's general policy to be housed in its own premises. However, this is an unresolved issue for the IST especially due to the investment projects associated with the Faculty of Informatics and the BioPharmaHub, where renovation and construction costs have increased extremely. However, we are planning to participate in the National Investment Programme, which will start to be prepared around 2025/26, with an expected start of investments around 2028. The current solution by moving can bring many benefits to the ICS. Just moving to significantly more comfortable premises can have a positive impact on the working atmosphere and collaboration between colleagues. And hopefully there will be a good coffee machine :)