Yesterday, the Academic Senate elected Martin Klimánek as the new rector of Mendel University in Brno. He will replace Jan Mareš at the head of the university from 31 March 2026. Klimánek and the current rector Jan Mareš were both eligible for the position of 35th rector, but Martin Klimánek was elected in the first round, winning 24 votes from 31 senators present.
One of the main priorities of the new rector is the implementation of the strategic plan and the sustainability strategy, which the university has set out this year.
“We live in a very turbulent time, where universities represent a pillar of education, stability, but also development, and it is our mission to create a responsible and sustainable environment within our society and to communicate our goals openly,” Klimánek said. “Missions involving quality education, innovative research and social development mean a lot of work, we have to responsibly approach individual visions for each of ourselves.”
Martin Klimánek was born in Brno in July 1977. He graduated from the Matyáš Lerch Grammar School in Brno and then joined what was then the Mendel University of Agriculture and Forestry, in the field of Forest Engineering. While studying he worked for the Institute for Forest Management, and subsequently for the company dealing with the processing of forest management plans for forest owners.
He specializes in applied geoinformatics in precision forestry and supporting spatial decision-making. He later worked more with digital terrain modeling and topographical modelling, spatial data infrastructure and position-oriented services, forestry thematic cartography and the application of unmanned aerospace systems in forestry planning.
Based on his theses, the new rector intends to devote his efforts not only to sustainability, but also to the transfer of knowledge, digitization, cybersecurity, and staff wellbeing. “I will involve responsible and sustainable development strategies in the university and increase our institutional resilience and security of campuses and colleges,” he said.
He has been fully active at the university since 2003, completed his Ph.D. studies in 2006, and was subsequently appointed as the head of the Institute of Geoinformation Technologies of the LDF MENDELU. In 2013 he was appointed as a professor in the field of forest management and has been vice-rector since 2014, in three terms of office. First of all, he was in charge of pedagogical activities, then later office strategy, development and purpose-built facilities, and sustainability.
