Mgr. Ondřej Benda
Ondřej Benda Is a management specialist, whose varied career has included working as Political Editor at The Prague Post, and in the personnel department of Český Mobil, where he was responsible for internal company communication and shaping organisational culture. Before joining NEWTON, he worked at the Masaryk Institute of Advanced Studies at the Czech Technical University in Prague. He now teaches a number of management courses at NEWTON, alongside running his own consultancy business.
What is the most interesting thing you are working on at the moment?
Currently, I’m immersed in a full teaching curriculum, including Management, Crisis Management and Strategic Management, and that’s taking up pretty much all of my time!
What is your favourite part of your role at NEWTON?
I love teaching — I’ve lived all over the world, including spending my teenage years at an Indian international school in Jakarta, Indonesia, and later studying in Australia, so I understand the difficulties many students face when they wish to study away from their home country. For me, the best thing is seeing students develop and grow their abilities, so that by the time they graduate they have everything they need to achieve success, and maybe even to change the world!
What does your research focus on right now?
My most recent research has focussed on people’s habits — specifically the ways in which people can let go of the negative habits and build positive ones.
Tell us one interesting thing about yourself – either an interesting hobby, or experience you have had and would like to share.
I love history, and I’m working on a project to put together a medieval reenactment group, representing a medieval nobleman with a wife and a retinue. This is a semi-commercial long-term project that includes horses, a small group of reenactors, and research into medieval history including material and spiritual culture. it’s a big project, and keeps me busy during the summer!