News
From Gabon for the Love… to Termites!
Professor Jan Šobotník brings us fresh news from his field campaign - this time from Gabon! Along with his colleagues prof. David Sillam-Dusses a MS.C. Caroline Hoegh-Guldberg, he conducted a fieldwork, and as he puts it, there was plenty to discover. After a few days in the capital city, Libreville—where the team met many interesting people - they explored several forest fragments accessible by taxi from the city. These forests, despite their location, are surprisingly well preserved. Obtaining all the necessary research permits proved to be quite the challenge, but thanks to the team's perseverance - especially prof. David Sillam-Dusses (a professor of ethology from Paris) - they managed to navigate the process successfully. The second part of their stay was spent in Ivindo National Park, near Makokou, at the Ipassa Research Station. There, they learned that the renowned entomologist Pierre-Paul Grassé conducted long-term research at the same station in 1960’s.

Linking agrobiodiversity-sensitive value chains with farming systems sustainability – Empowering poor to manage risk
Vladimír Verner has recently successfully passed the habilitation procedure at the Faculty of Tropical AgriSciences. His research has been dedicated to exploring the potential of integrating value chains that consider the unique characteristics of local plant species with the goal of promoting sustainable farming systems and effective strategies for poverty alleviation.

New Dean of the Faculty of Tropical AgriSciences Elected
On Thursday, 9 January 2025, the election of the Dean of the Faculty of Tropical AgriSciences (FTZ) at the Czech University of Life Sciences Prague took place. The Academic Senate of FTZ elected a new dean in the first round of secret voting for the term 2025–2029. The newly elected dean is the current Vice-Dean for Science and Research, doc. Ing. Hynek Roubík, Ph.D.
He will assume the leadership of the faculty on 25 April 2025, succeeding the current dean, prof. dr. ir. Patrick Van Damme, whose term concludes on the same day.
Official Election Results:
- Ing. Petra Chaloupková, Ph.D., dr. h. c.: 3 votes
- doc. Ing. Hynek Roubík, Ph.D.: 6 votes
- Abstentions: 0 votes
Members of the Academic Community of FTZ may submit objections regarding the election process within 8 days of the announcement by addressing them in writing to the Chair of the Academic Senate of FTZ. The Senate will decide on any objections with finality within one week of their submission.
We thank the members of the Election Committee for ensuring a smooth election process. Congratulations to the newly elected dean, and we wish him a successful term of office!