For seven weeks, Michal Botek exchanged his home Faculty of Physical Culture at Palacký University Olomouc for the University of Canberra in Australia. He accepted an invitation from local professor Andrew McKune and participated in both teaching and research work. During this time, he managed to establish numerous new connections with global experts, and he also gained inspiration for his own lectures.
Michal Botek has been collaborating with Andrew McKune on topics related to exercise physiology for over twelve years. In addition to professional articles, their cooperation resulted in a co-authored monograph Heart Rate Variability in Training Process (original in Czech language), Professor McKune had a chance to visit FPC PU as a guest, and Assistant Professor Botek has already travelled to Australia twice before. However, this third stay was the longest and most intensive.
"Professor McKune prepared a packed programme for me, which among others included assisting with his practical teaching in the laboratories. With this, he managed to surprise me right at the beginning of my stay. I never imagined I would have the opportunity to share my knowledge and experience in exercise physiology with students at the University of Canberra and at the same time broaden my own horizons. In Australia, I have mainly presented my work at conferences so far, where there's not as much interaction as in a class with students, where over those seven weeks, you really have a chance to build some relationships," said Michal Botek.
He also had the chance to observe other instructors' lessons, where he was impressed by the professionalism at the university, as well as the level of integration between theoretical and practical parts of teaching. "For example, in our practical classes of exercise physiology, we mainly use non-invasive methods to assess the body's response to exercise, because only qualified healthcare personnel are allowed to work with blood, even capillary blood. In Australia, however, students practice capillary blood sampling on themselves to assess indicators such as lactate or glucose, and at the same time learn the basic rules of what the measured values mean and how they can change through training or controlled physical activity. Theoretical information is immediately practically applied by the students," he explained.
"Another inspiring piece of information was the existence of the position of a movement therapist, who is a respected part of secondary prevention, where a graduated specialist assists a doctor in prescribing physical activity, for example, for patients with non-communicable civilization diseases. Students in the classes focus on topics such as setting up appropriate exercise regimens for people with obesity or type 2 diabetes. Australians place a great emphasis on a healthy lifestyle and are well aware that exercise can prolong and improve their quality of life. I was in awe of how many people of all generations get up early to exercise before work or school," added the associate professor of the Department of Natural Sciences in Kinanthropology in Olomouc.
During his stay in Australia, he also engaged in research work and established connections with potential research partners. The main topic was the use of molecular hydrogen, which Michal Botek and his colleagues at FPC PU have been researching, particularly in athletes, for about eight years. He had an opportunity to present the results of his work at a workshop organized for the Functional Food and Nutrition Research group, which includes young scientists from not only Australia but also the USA, India, and China, who study the effects of various foods and bioactive substances on the functioning of the body, including health benefits or recovery acceleration. The workshop on the benefits of molecular hydrogen resulted in a joint plan to extend the research of its effects to the general population in the context of health promotion.
"We greatly value the opportunity to establish scientific collaboration with the Australian group. I am very pleased that we could bring them an interesting topic and demonstrate our expertise, as we've mostly travelled to foreign universities to 'only' gain experience. Immediately after I returned to the Czech Republic, I received an interesting offer of collaboration from colleagues in Australia with their partners in Italy, who were intrigued by the effects of molecular hydrogen in the context of health promotion and proposed collaboration, possibly even student internships," revealed Michal Botek, adding that he also had the chance to meet many prominent figures in his field.
"We were offered help with directing the further research on the effects of molecular hydrogen and publication outputs by, among others, Professor David Pyne, a legend in exercise physiology and one of the most cited scientists in the field, who found our results with hydrogen in elite fin swimmers exciting. Thanks to a small recommendation from Professor Tanner, who is one of the authors of the book of standards for exercise physiology testing, I was also able to visit the laboratories of the Australian Institute of Sport, which an ordinary person wouldn't be able to access. It's like their national treasure."
Michal Botek sees the intensive seven weeks in Australia as an interesting, inspiring, and motivating experience for further work. "I believe that Professor McKune and I managed to do a lot of good work together. Since my return, we have been regularly meeting online and developing our ideas and established connections," he concluded.