Ondrej Hamuľák, of the UP Faculty of Law, has been given the important academic position of “cooperating professor” at the prestigious Tallinn University of Technology. This member of the UP Department of International and European Law will hold this position for three years, granted by a decision of the rector of the university in Tallinn. Hamuľák has become a full member of the Tallinn Law School professorial board.
Meanwhile, the Olomouc Faculty of Law will remain his main workplace. “The position of cooperating professor does not mean that I’m crossing over to the Tallinn side. It’s more meant to be a bridge, connecting the Estonian and Czech sides of the river,” explained Hamuľák.
The main job Hamuľák will be charged with as Adjunct Professor in EU Strategic Legal Affairs is intensive research into strategic questions in European law –including the constitutional challenges in European law after Brexit, EU measures enforcing the rule of law and basic rights, democratization of EU government, legal aspects of global digital challenges for the EU, and more. “At the same time my task is to connect Central European and Baltic research in the field of law on the level of collaborating in events, projects, and publications,” Hamuľák said. He can advise on internal decisions and strategic planning of Tallinn Law School in the area of research and development. He also received the right to lead doctoral dissertations and research teams in Tallinn.
Receiving such a position at a top European university is not only a recognition of the quality and work approach of Ondrej Hamuľák, but it is also an important signal of the direction of his home faculty. “We congratulate Ondrej Hamuľák on this position. His success is at the same time international recognition of our entire faculty. It is another indicator of how the growing quality of our faculty, made up of students and teachers, is perceived abroad,” said Martin Faix, Vice-Dean of International Relations at the UP Faculty of Law, in appraisal.
Ondrej Hamuľák has been collaborating with the Tallinn Law School since 2009, when he first went there during a lecture stay within the Erasmus mobility programme. “Evidently on the basis of this stay my colleagues in Tallinn came to me with an offer to teach there. For several years I travelled to Tallinn as a guest lecturer in the subjects of EU Law, Human Rights Law, EU Justice and Home Affairs Law. The result was that I was named to the official position of Guest Professor in the years 2016–2018, and to develop further cooperation. As a guest professor I was intensively connected mainly to their research activities. Among these were research questions relating to Brexit and the EU human rights mechanisms,” Hamuľák shared.
He then added that he is very proud of the new position and it has a triple meaning for him. “For me it’s a question of satisfaction, challenge and inspiration. Satisfaction regarding my occasional doubts on the importance of internationalisation in the area of law education and research. A challenge, because Estonia and the University of Tallinn are synonyms for progress, innovation, openness and digitalisation. The University of Tallinn is one big start-up. For an academic coming from a traditional university with Renaissance foundations, this is a completely different and fascinating world, one which I am trying to come to grips with, to embrace, and make use of its other qualities. And finally, it represents a huge inspiration. Inspiration in terms of the theme, inspired to labour efficiency, and the ability to react in a flexible way to the fast-changing world – and mainly the inspiration of other people. I’ve met fantastic colleagues in Tallinn. The atmosphere there is international and thus it offers a rich plurality of approaches and opinions.”