ZUZANA POLÁKOVÁ   Role: Head of the Strategic Department  Area: Education, Public Sector Employer: Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports   What can I help my mentee with? strategic planning  creating conceptual documents formulating problems and finding solutions

Zuzana studied social and cultural anthropology, which gave her a certain world view and way of thinking about society and otherness within it. Already during her studies she was involved in several applied projects, for example, she participated in field research on the topic of perceptions of safety in excluded localities. She has learned to see difference as an asset and an opportunity to enrich whatever work one does. After her studies, she went to Peru for a few months and upon her return she joined an event company that organizes large scientific and medical congresses. After two years, she continued her further studies in public and social policy and joined the Strategic Department of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, where she became head of the department three years later. 

She is now in charge of a team of 11 people. The department's most important responsibility is formulating strategic and development priorities for the higher education sector. In cooperation with universities, they use methodological, legislative and financial tools to implement these priorities for higher education in the future so that all universities  are included in them. For example, a strategic plan or various development programmes can be mentioned as specific tools. 

Zuzana is happy to help her mentees learn the principles of strategic planning - from formulating goals and allocating certain tools to achieve them, to evaluating the impact of solutions. "Basically, the same techniques are used in whatever strategy or development activity you formulate, both within science and research, or perhaps in a company." 

Another area in which Zuzana will be happy to share her experiences or, conversely, listen to them, is the position of a young woman in leadership. In this role, she sometimes finds herself in situations where she is confronted with the gender and age perspective of her peers. "We have an awful lot of insecurities. It's important to learn not to be afraid to express insecurities or ask for help. It puts you in a vulnerable position, but I've come to understand that it's an especially important skill for someone where you can't tell at first glance that they have it in them and that it's the only way to develop and do your job well."