Tomas Bata University in Zlín

Open discussion about careers in research and talent development

On February 2, 2026, another thematic workshop was held at the Faculty of Management and Economics of TBU in Zlín as part of the preparations for obtaining the HR Excellence in Research Award. The meeting, dedicated to Pillar 4 – Research Careers and Talent Development, was attended by 19 academic staff and doctoral students.

The participants worked in four discussion groups and gradually addressed the four key principles of this pillar:

• appreciation of diverse careers in research,
• professional development and counselling,
• continuous professional development,
• supervision and mentoring.

The discussion took the form of structured rotations, which enabled capturing diverse experiences across roles (AP, PhD), workplaces, and career stages and formulating both diagnostic conclusions and specific measure proposals.

The main diagnostic conclusions of the discussion include:

• The career paths of doctoral students and junior academic staff are significantly influenced by their involvement in projects and teaching, the activity of their supervisors, and the stability of career progression rules. The options for choosing career paths are perceived as limited, and the setting of working hours plays an important role.
• Career development and counselling are not systematically anchored at the faculty and are largely based on personal initiative, informal networks, and the approach of individual managers or supervisors.
• Although the range of development activities on offer is relatively wide, their use is low, mainly due to high workloads and unequal access to information and funding, especially among doctoral students.
• In the area of supervision and mentoring, experiences vary significantly across workplaces. The quality of leadership often depends on individuals, and there is a lack of uniform standards, systematic support for supervisors, and clear procedures for resolving problematic situations.

Among the proposed measures discussed at the workshop are, for example:

• strengthening the involvement of doctoral students and junior academic staff in projects and teaching,
• continuing and developing activities such as MasterMind and Writing Challenge,
• better sharing of information about career opportunities and projects,
• more systematic support for pedagogical and professional development,
• gradual establishment of mentoring and clearer definition of the role of supervisors and managers.

More information about the course and conclusions can be found here.

The outputs from the workshop will be used to prepare a GAP analysis and the HR Excellence in Research Award Action Plan.

We would like to thank all participants for their openness, active involvement, and sharing of experiences.