Dean's Awards

In an electronic vote, students voted for their favourite teacher at the Faculty of Science in five disciplines:

• Mathematics and Computer Science – RNDr. Martin Trnečka, Ph.D.
• Physics – Mgr. Lukáš Richterek, Ph.D.
• Chemistry – Mgr. Petr Antal, Ph.D.
• Biology and Ecology – RNDr. Alois Čelechovský, Ph.D.
• Earth Sciences – doc. RNDr. Irena Smolová, Ph.D.

The overall winner has become doc. RNDr. Irena Smolová, Ph.D. The voting results and the results of the Dean's Award for authors developing a scientific field can be found here.

TA CR - QuantERA III Call 2025

The international QuantERA III Call 2025 focused on quantum technology research is open. The deadline for project proposals is on 5 December 2025, 17:00.

Topics:

• Quantum Phenomena and Resources (basic research)
• Applied Quantum Science (applied research)

Faculty deadline: 28. November 2025. More on the provider's website.

Ministry of Health and Czech Health Research Council announced transnational calls:

The call for randomised interventional clinical trials by the ERA4Health partnership (Fostering a European Research Area for Health): 'Investigator Initiated Clinical Trials in Cardiovascular, Autoimmune and Metabolic diseases (Trials4Health 2026)' - call details.

First joint transnational EUP OH AMR Partnership Call (European Partnership on One Health Antimicrobial Resistance): 'Treatments and adherence to treatment protocols (OH-TREAT)' - call details.

If case of interest, please contact lubica.korcanova@upol.cz.

Werner von Siemens Award

There are only few days left until the deadline for applications for the 28th Werner von Siemens Award for students, researchers, and educators in technical and natural sciences (including medicine, IT, etc.). You can apply at www.cenasiemens.cz by 30 November 2025, at the latest.

Science Popularization Award

Science communication is now an integral part of the third role of the university, and its importance continues to grow. The university is therefore introducing a new Rector's Award for Popularizing Science and Communication with the Public, intended for scientific and academic staff and doctoral students. You can nominate your candidates until 28 November 2025.

Mandatory reporting of mobilities

Every mobility, regardless of the source of funding and regardless of whether the student will receive credits for that, must be reported at least one month before its start to Mgr. Marie Raková at marie.rakova@upol.cz from the International section of the Student Affairs Office. Outgoing mobilities are primarily reported by students, incoming mobilities by the department. Details can be found on the faculty website.

Records of foreign guests

It is the responsibility of the department to register foreign guests. If you have international guests visiting your department, enter their information in the Portal as follows:

• click on "All Applications" in your Portal
• click on the "Guest Admission" tile
• press the "+New" button and fill out the newly opened form.

This procedure does not apply to student internships - these are reported as incoming mobility.

Mobility scholarship

A student who goes on any mobility abroad for 30 days or more (study stay, research internship, work placement, summer school, etc.), can apply for a scholarship of CZK 5,000 for each mobility. The request must be submitted before departure. Details here.

Barrande Fellowship Programme 2026

The exchange programme for students between the Czech Republic and France, jointly organized by the French Institute in Prague and the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, is primarily intended for doctoral students. It offers the opportunity to undertake a professional stay at a partner institution and thus support international cooperation in research.

An online information meeting will be held on 26 November 2025, to present the conditions of participation, financing, and scope of the programme. Those interested in participating can submit applications until 29 January 2026. Detailed information is available on the French Institue's website.

Fulbright scholarship

The Fulbright Postgraduate Scholarship is intended for study or research at the Master's or Ph.D. level in the United States for all fields except clinical medicine and MBA and LLM programs. You can apply until 1 February 2026 for research projects, and you must arrange for an appropriate invitation letter from the USA. Details here.

Merill Program

The RUP Office for Mobility offers students the opportunity to study in the United States at partner institutions Coe College and Moravian University. The program is primarily intended for Bachelor's degree students who want to gain experience in a foreign academic environment and improve their language and professional skills.

Applications can be submitted until 8 December 2025. Details here.

The regular meeting of the Academic Senate FS UP will take place on 17 December 2025 at 13:00 in the conference room of the Dean's Office. Detailed information and materials as well as the link to the stream will be available at the given time of the meeting on the senate website (in Czech).

Official documents from the university or faculty in STAG

Dean's decision on the award of a scholarship, a request to supplement an appeal, or the Rector's decision on a student's appeal against a fee. The delivery method for these and other university and faculty documents has changed since November. They are now only available to students in electronic form in STAG.

Official documents are now delivered to Palacký University students exclusively electronically and can be found after logging into STAG in the section My study > Viewing files. In order for students to be informed about the delivery of a document, it is important to set up notifications in STAG, in the section My study > Bell (picture) > Delivery settings > Documents, delivery, document service.

Study confirmation

Follow this guide to generate the study confirmation with an electronic seal yourself.

Student Affairs Office

The Student Affairs Office is open for students only during the office hours. Please, do not enter the office outside of office hours.

UP Rector’s Award

Every year, the Rector of Palacký University grants several awards. Currently, UP students can submit their achievements by 14 November in two Rector’s Award categories (in Czech): The Rector’s Award for the best bachelor’s and master’s theses and sports performances, The Rector’s Award for the best final theses focused on sustainability. Nominations are also still open for the Rector’s Honourable Mention for Ph.D. students for a scholarly article (in Czech). A new award for the popularization of science and communication with the public has also been announced. The deadline for submissions is 30 November.

Start your scientific career abroad with the Experientia Foundation

Would you like to start your career in a prestigious laboratory anywhere in the world and work on your own project alongside leading chemists? The Experientia Foundation is now accepting applications for scholarships for international internships for young scientists under the age of 35 who have completed or are about to complete their PhD studies and have their own original project in the field of organic, bioorganic, or medicinal chemistry. Be inspired by the stories of successful scholarship recipients who have fulfilled their scientific dreams with us and traveled to places such as the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology in Japan, the Weizmann Institute in Israel, or Yale University in the USA. The deadline for applications is 15 March 2026. For more information, visit the website.

Start a research group with a start-up grant of CZK 9 million

The Experientia Foundation announces another year of competition for a three-year start-up grant for young scientists in the field of organic, bioorganic, or medicinal chemistry, now worth CZK 9 million. Research groups supported by the Experientia Foundation have already been established at the Faculty of Science of Charles University in Prague, the University of Chemistry and Technology, the Faculty of Science of Palacký University in Olomouc, and the Faculty of Science of Masaryk University in Brno. If you have completed your PhD within the last seven years and have at least one year of experience abroad, send us your project to compete for the opportunity to establish your own research group. This year, the Experientia Foundation is increasing its grant by CZK 200,000 per year, which means that your research group will receive CZK 2.2 million in support each year. You will receive an additional CZK 800,000 per year from your host institution. The deadline for applications is 15 March 2026. More information can be found on the website.

Days off granted by the Dean and Rector

22. 12. 2025 – day off granted by the Dean
23. 12. 2025 – day off granted by the Rector
29. 12. 2025 – day off granted by the Dean
30. - 31. 12. 2025 – days off granted by the Rector
2. 1. 2026 – days off granted by the Dean

Secretariat of the Dean and faculty's Secretary

The Secretariat of the Dean and the faculty's Secretary accepts documents for signature until 15 December 2025.

File service – operation during POSPOS

On 9 December 2025 the file service at the Envelopa campus will be open from 9:00 to 10:00, and in Holice campus from 10:00 to 11:00. Outbound mail will be collected by 11:00.

File service – end of the year operation

On 19 December 2025 the file service at Envelopa will be open from 9:00 to 10:00, and in Holice from 10:30 to 11:30. Regular and registered mail will be last picked up from the mailboxes at Envelopa at 11:45 and at Holice at 11:15. Mail delivered after this deadline will not be sent until 5 January 2026.

Faculty operation before the end of the year

The main building (Envelopa) and the buildings in the Holice campus will be closed from 20 December 2025 to 4 January 2026. The buildings will be guarded by an external security service. Report any accidents and defects to the service staff, who will then pass them on to the building management emergency service.

The VLD building (17. listopadu 50) and the SLO building (17. listopadu 50a) will be closed from 20 December 2025 to 4 January 2026. During this period, entry will only be allowed on employee cards.

Human Resources and Payroll Department

The faculty’s Human Resources (HR) and Payroll Department notifies that
THE FOLLOWING DOCUMENTS MUST BE SUBMITTED NO LATER THAN ON WEDNESDAY 10 December 2025:

To the HR department (Mrs. Veronika Caletková, Mgr. Veronika Vašková), please, submit:

• proposals for concluding an employment relationship (employment contract) effective from 1 January 2026
• proposals for changes in job and salary classification effective from 1 January 2026 (exceptions may be proposals for employees for whom participation in a project is planned, for which a decision on the allocation of a subsidy is expected to be received later)
• applications for extensions of employment contracts ending in December this year
• ACJ (DPP) and APW (DPČ) effective from 5 January 2026 (with the exception of Fort Science, which operates from the beginning of the year).

To the payroll department (Mrs. Libuše Pěčková, Mrs. Ivona Kristková), please, submit:

• statements for payment of ACJ (DPP) and APW (DPČ) from project funds for December 2025 (except for projects until 12 December)
• the transfer of the data on days off of employees involved in projects will only be possible in SAP on 11 December – i.e. after the system has been opened (except for projects until 12 December).

A group email will be sent out to all employees on requests to transfer untaken days off/vacation to the following year with a statement from the Head of Department on the appropriate form (Portal - Electronic forms - Other forms). The transfers should only happen in exceptional circumstances; days off are taken in the year in which the right to it arose. Requests must be made after the December days off have been entered into the system for proper balance export.

In the event of an employee's illness or treatment of a family member after 12 December, report the changes to the payroll accounting office immediately (to ivona.kristkova@upol.cz and libuse.peckova@upol.cz), but no later than 31 December 2025.

Requests for the calculation of project payroll costs should be sent to both payroll accountants simultaneously via e-mail (ivona.kristkova@upol.cz, libuse.peckova@upol.cz). Requests will be processed and submitted back for possible consideration of the latest adjustments no later than 12 December. Additional salary adjustments within the projects will be possible until 18 December.

The HR and Payroll Department will be open for employees until 19 December 11:00, after the New Year from 5 January. If personal consultation is not necessary, use internal mail to hand over documents to the department – box no. 6 on the 1st floor in the corridor behind the gatehouse. Thank you for respecting this guideline.
The tax returns will be signed by the employees with the assistance of the payroll accountants on dates selected in the reservation system. Employees will receive detailed instructions in Czech and English at the beginning of January. The Financial Administration uses forms for tax return exclusively in the Czech language, foreign employees will have an English translation of the form available only for basic orientation. A personal consultation to sign the tax return in English will be provided by the Human Resources and Payroll Department within its own capacity.

Operation of the Economic Department

Please, deliver the tax documents for the advances and the final invoices for the advance invoices to the Economic Department immediately, but no later than Friday, 12 December.

Cash documents, travel orders, payments on account, etc. deliver electronically on an ongoing basis, but no later than 16 December. After this date, proper posting in the calendar year 2025 can no longer be guaranteed. It is also necessary to settle all advances for travel orders executed in 2025.

Return the cash deposit to the Cashier by Friday, 12 December.

Submit the documents for issuing invoices for the month of November (DUZP November) in electronic form by 12 December. After this date, posting in November 2025 cannot be guaranteed.

Christmas collection

This year, employees and students can make a financial donation for the children from Klokánek as a part of the annual faculty's Christmas collection, which is organized under the auspices of the Dean Martin Kubala. The seventeenth year of the collection takes place from 24 November to 17 December 2025. You can contribute to the transparent account 2501674563/2010 or through a QR code.

Maker Faire

A space for all enthusiasts of innovation, science, and technology, and DIYers – that's Maker Faire festival, which will take place on Saturday, 29 November at the Flora Olomouc Exhibition Center. The Faculty of Science will be there on Saturday, from 10 a.m. in Pavilion A at the Flora Exhibition Center. There will be science shows, interactive installations, workshops, and job offers in the hi-tech field. Visitors can look forward to demonstrations of robotics, 3D printing, programming, and laser technologies.

Punch with the Rector

UP Rector Michael Kohajda invites all employees to a traditional informal pre-Christmas meeting over punch. The event will take place on Tuesday, 16 December from 1 p.m. in the courtyard of the Faculty of Arts (Křížkovského 10). The program will include a performance by the Ateneo chamber mixed choir, a Christmas workshop, and other accompanying programs. Further information and the program will be specified

This year's last Newsletter will be published on Monday, 8 December 2025.

In the first half of 2026, the Newsletter will be published on the following dates:

12 January | 26 January | 9. February | 23. February | 9. March | 23. March | 7. April | 20. April | 4. May | 18. May | 1. June | 15. June