As part of his postdoctoral studies, Švábenský worked at prestigious institutions in the US, France, the Philippines, and Japan. He specialises in educational data mining and cybersecurity training.
His father, a computer graphic designer, introduced him to computer science when he was a child. “Computers have always interested me – first and foremost, of course, the games, which I learned to play before I even started school. But I also enjoyed learning how computers worked from my father,” he recalls. His natural curiosity and knack for mathematics led him first to programming, and then to studying at the MU Faculty of Informatics, where he developed a particular interest in cybersecurity.
Martin Ukrop, his friend and academic role model, also played an important role. Thanks to his recommendations and the supportive environment at the faculty, he was able to get involved in research as an undergraduate. He later did an internship in the United States, which opened the door for him to the University of Pennsylvania. “It’s great that someone from a lesser-known country or university gets the opportunity. Ryan Baker, whose research group I joined, explained that he wasn’t interested in the university’s position in the rankings; rather, he was looking for someone who would strengthen the group,” he says, describing his path to his first postdoctoral position.
Further experiences abroad followed at the Sorbonne in France and Kyushu University in Japan. Japan had long been both a dream destination and a great challenge for him. “My Japanese is relatively poor, and I struggled with this fact for the entire 15 months there. In Europe, you could get by with just English for quite a while, but in Japan, that’s not enough,” he explains. Despite the language barrier, he gained valuable insights from his collaboration with Professor Atsushi Shimada, who is the second most frequently cited expert in this field in Japan.
Švábenský believes that his experience of living abroad was essential for his professional career. “It significantly boosted my confidence to realise that what I learned about doing research at CYBERSEC at the Faculty of Informatics is competitive on a global level. Even though we are from a small country – Czechoslovakia, if you will – we are not inferior in any way,” he emphasises. He sees the value of expert knowledge and publications, as well as of building networks of contacts and personal development.
Švábenský advises young researchers to be persistent and open to gaining international experience. “I have experi-enced far more failure and rejections than success. Naturally, you mainly present success to the outside world, but it doesn’t happen every time,” he points out.
He is currently back at the Faculty of Informatics, where his research is supported by the Czech Science Foundation. His project investigates biases in machine learning models used in education and aims to uncover systematic errors that can significantly affect the results of analyses. “I hope this will lead other researchers to pay more attention to the assumptions and properties of the methods used, and also describe them more accurately in their articles,” explains Švábenský.
In his free time, he enjoys exercise, personal development and travelling. Although he has travelled extensively around the world, there is one place holds a special spot in his heart. “Nothing can beat Japan,” he says with a smile.
You can read the full interview at the website of the Faculty of Informatics.