In November 2010 I was invited to be a visiting professor by the Department of Political Science, Masaryk University, Brno and the Department of Politics and European Studies, Palacký University, Olomouc, Czech Republic, 21-28 November 2010.I gave talks and a workshop at the conference How to communicate politics in Brno; was interviewed live on Czech TV with fellow conference speaker Aaron Ringel.

 I then gave a further interactive workshop on The Political Marketing Game in Olomouc.

It was a wonderful experience to visit Czech and see how a whole new network in political marketing has emerged under Anna Matuskova’s leadership, and to meet old and new academic colleagues from Europe and the US. Barbora Petrova worked hard to make my visit come about and manage competing demands on my time because of exam markers meetings back in Auckland. We were also given a good tour of Brno. 

In Olomouc I was the sole guest, and well looked after by Eva Lebedova and her doctoral student assistant Hana Hurtikova. The department was very welcoming and it was good to have the opportunity to talk further with academics and students there, and learn more about academic life in the Czech Republic. We also discussed the field of political marketing, research and teaching. Eva already teaches a political marketing course and I shared all the teaching resources I have. Eva and Hana also took me for the most amazing hot chocalate I have ever had.

Further photos of my trip are below.

Olomouc

 

Brno