Barbora Bühnová has regularly appeared in the Forbes ranking of the most influential women in Czechia. Last year, she ranked 139th thanks to her popularisation of IT education, especially among girls. She led the Association of Industrial Partners of the Faculty of Informatics, which includes thirty companies, and was behind a number of courses on the latest technologies introduced by the Faculty. During the Dies Academicus ceremony in May this year, Barbora Bühnová received the MU Rector’s Award for Volunteering in the Employee category for her selfless activities in non-profit organisations and for her approach to IT education, which enables women, girls and other socially or economically disadvantaged groups in particular to bridge the digital divide both in their personal lives and in the jobs market.
“At the moment I am struggling for words and my thoughts are with Barbora’s family and loved ones. From tomorrow, the Faculty of Informatics will honour her memory at a memorial site that will be set up in front of the Faculty of Informatics,” wrote Dean Jiří Barnat on the Faculty of Informatics website.
Barbora Bühnová has left an indelible mark on research and academia. As Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Informatics, she led cutting-edge research, and as the face of the European Network for Gender Balance in Informatics, which brings together 38 European countries, she worked to increase the representation of women in IT. She also co-founded and served on the board of Czechitas, an organisation that opens up the world of IT to women by inspiring, educating and helping them to improve their career prospects. Over the past ten years, its educational programmes have impacted more than 70,000 women in the Czech Republic.
“Barbora had the gift to inspire, to connect, to truly and selflessly help. Her love of knowledge, her belief in the good and her kindness were ingrained in everything she did, in the culture of Czechitas, in our strategy, in us. She was truly a strong voice for women in technology. She taught many of us our first lines of code, she made many secondary school girls see a future in IT at the IT Summer School and the Czechitas Prize. She taught companies how to manage talent. She has taught the public to see the real value in diversity. She always stood up for those who couldn’t afford quality education. As a leader in Czechitas, she connected and opened eyes where it was most needed,” recalled her colleagues and Czechitas co-founders Dita Formánková and Monika Ptáčníková.
Dean Jiří Barnat, with the permission of the family, has also announced the date of the funeral of this exceptional person who passed away unexpectedly and prematurely. It will take place on Thursday 12 December at 2pm in the Brno Crematorium on Jihlavská Street.