The President's discussion with students was initiated by the CTU Student Union, one of the largest student organizations in Central Europe. Petr Pavel was welcomed by the Rector of CTU Vojtěch Petráček, and after a short introduction the participants of the debate could ask their questions from both auditoriums.
The topics were very diverse, ranging from domestic and foreign policy to the meaningfulness of NATO and the EU, the importance of defence, technology and investment to the quality of Czech higher education. The participants of the debate asked the President about his opinion on charging for higher education, for example, and the conversation turned to the need to define what fields of study should be supported in the Czech Republic, how to increase the quality of teaching, or to charging for studies. The President also mentioned that he would gladly accept the offer to have a ride in a racing formula car built by CTU students if the opportunity arose.
President Petr Pavel openly answered questions for more than an hour and clearly enjoyed the debate, as he gave the students more time than originally planned. As a final message to the students, he said: "Don't get frustrated if something ever goes wrong. If it makes sense to you, keep trying."
After the discussion, Rector Petráček said, "The role of the university should be educational, not only professionally, but also socially. I am therefore very pleased that a meeting with the Head of the Czech State took place on our campus."
Markéta Jirmanová, President of the CTU Student Union, added: "I would like to thank the President for accepting our invitation and for his presence to support not only CTU, but also the young generation, which is a carrier of innovation and change."
The debate between President Petr Pavel and CTU students was moderated by Světlana Witowská and Michal Farník, a PhD student at CTU and until recently chairman of the Student Chamber of the Council of Universities.
