Project records and evaluation of project proposals

From now on, the faculty's Department of Project Support (DPS) will maintain records of all project applications and projects (incl. those in which the faculty is a co-investigator) in their entirety.

Due to RVO evaluations, evaluations of project applications for international projects, GA ČR and TA CR will also be recorded.

We ask all project investigators and future applicants for project proposals to cooperate in submitting the necessary documents.

Mgr. Ľubica Korcanová - GA ČR
Ing. Tea Pokorná – international projects, TAČR

Project request forms (košilky)

Starting in April 2026, projects will be accepted only if they include the following request forms:

• green request form (košilka) – consent to submit a project application
• yellow request form (košilka) (Project report signature request form) – interim/final/other reports
• yellow request form (košilka) (Signature request form) – for affidavits and other documents

Please submit the forms in a timely manner to ensure that all necessary signatures are obtained (in accordance with the faculty’s applicable deadlines or 7 days prior to the submission deadline).

AGENDA – TA ČR, Ministry of Industry and Trade, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Culture, Ministry of the Interior, Ministry of the Environment, UP Junior Grants will be overseen for the time being by Ing. Tea Pokorná and Mgr. Ľubica Korcanová.

Project investigators should send their requests to tea.pokorna@upol.cz and lubica.korcanova@upol.cz.

Towards an ERC Advanced Grant  – Online Workshop

An online workshop focused on preparing proposals for the ERC Advanced Grants will take place on 29 April 2026, from 10:00 to 13:00 (online). The event is organized by the network of national ERC contact points (mERCury) and is intended for researchers considering submitting a project to the ERC Advanced Grant. The workshop will guide participants through the entire process—from formulating a truly groundbreaking research idea to understanding the European Research Council’s (ERC) evaluation process. Registration is open until 25 April 2026. Further information and the registration link can be found here. This is a valuable opportunity for anyone who wants to better understand the ERC’s expectations and improve the quality of their project proposals.

Neuron Expedition 2026

The Neuron Foundation is now opening the next round of funding for the Neuron Expedition 2026. We have once again set aside up to 1,000,000 CZK for scientific field research. This unique call for proposals is open until 17 April 2026, to research teams regardless of their field of study, and the research may take place anywhere in the world. Neuron Expeditions have already discovered the world’s largest thermal lake, a lost Mayan city, and have set out in search of uakari monkeys, elephants, crocodiles, and the intoxicating ayahuasca. The Neuron Foundation’s Expedition Council will then evaluate the projects in May and select the best one.

L'Oréal-UNESCO – For Women in Science

The prestigious L'Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science talent program is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. On 1 February the competition officially opened for applications, offering talented female scientists an opportunity to advance their careers and promote their scientific achievements.

• Award: An expert jury will select three laureates, each of whom will receive 200,000 CZK to be used at their discretion to support their scientific careers in the Czech Republic.
• Supported fields of science: The program is open to female scientists in the fields of life and environmental sciences, physical sciences, formal sciences (mathematics, computer science), and engineering.
• Application deadline: Applications may be submitted exclusively online by 30 April 2026

Eligibility criteria:

• Completed doctoral studies.
• Age 40 or younger (as of the deadline).
• Czech citizenship or foreign citizenship with verifiable involvement in Czech science for a period of at least one year.

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.

Co-financing of trips and internships abroad

If the primary source does not cover all the necessary costs, it is possible to apply for additional funding for student internships abroad (lasting at least one month) or employee trips abroad. Send the completed and signed application form (for students, for employees) by internal mail to Waleria Kmentová (Student Affairs Office) or its scan to waleria.kmentova@upol.cz. Czech versions of the forms can be found in the Czech version of the Newsletter.
After each co-financed mobility, it is necessary to provide a brief description of its course and 5 photographs.

JSPS Postdoctoral Fellowship for Overseas Researchers

The Czech Academy of Sciences announces a call for applications for JSPS Postdoctoral Fellowship for Overseas Researchers programme in cooperation with the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS). An application can be submitted for a 12-24 month stay in Japan, starting no later than 30 November 2026.

The deadline for applications is 30 April 2026. The documentation is available on the CAS website in the section Academic Public - International Affairs – News and includes the instructions for applicants, the application form, and the instructions on how to complete the application. All documents must be in English or Japanese. The results of the selection procedure will be available in late June/July 2026.

Course for teachers in Amsterdam: How to develop soft skills in students using the LOUIS tool

How can you help students develop additional skills—such as information literacy, creativity, and teamwork—while teaching any subject? For several years now, the LOUIS educational tool, developed as part of the Aurora network, has been helping teachers with this. Learn how to use it at the next course, which will take place in June 2026 in Amsterdam. You can register until 2 April.

The five-day workshop, in the form of a BIP (Blended Intensive Program), will be held at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam from 1–5 June 2026, and will be supplemented by two online sessions. During the workshop, you will learn to clearly articulate the outcomes you want to achieve with your students during the semester, design meaningful assignments with clear instructions, and create assessment criteria. The entire program is designed to provide teachers with practical tools to improve teaching and student assessment, with an emphasis on developing competencies relevant to today’s society. Details can be found here.

NYCU scholarship opportunity

National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University (NYCU) in Taiwan is offering the ICDF Taiwan–Europe Scholarship for the Fall 2026 intake of its Master’s program in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. The scholarship is open to students from six European countries, including the Czech Republic. The application period runs from 27 February to 15 April 2026 (11:59 PM, Taiwan Time) and the application fee is waived for this admission round. The program is supported by the International Cooperation and Development Fund (TaiwanICDF). Admission results are expected to be announced in mid-to-late May 2026. Interested applicants can find more details about the scholarship, program, and application process on the official website or in the attached poster.

Growing Togetger in Europe

The Ústí Region Volunteer Center offers students the opportunity to gain valuable international experience through a one-year volunteer internship in Saxony. In cooperation with our partners, we are implementing the Growing Together in Europe project, which is an official cross-border program under the Interreg Czech Republic–Saxony initiative, funded by the European Union. The program enables participants from the Czech Republic to complete a volunteer internship abroad, develop their language skills, and receive a certified certificate confirming their participation.

Candidate Nominations to the Academic Senate FS UP

The deadline for nominating candidates for the Academic Senate of the UP Faculty of Science is already this Wednesday, 25 March 2026. The Academic Senate is a key self-governing body of the faculty that significantly influences its operations—it approves internal regulations, the faculty budget, and strategic documents, and also participates in the election of the dean. It is therefore important that active and motivated members of the academic community across all disciplines be represented on the Senate.

We therefore welcome nominations for candidates from among faculty members and students who are interested in contributing to the future direction of the faculty. At the same time, we remind you that, according to the election rules, representation of individual academic departments must be ensured. We would therefore appreciate it if nominations came from across the entire faculty. More information here.

Elections to the FS UP Academic Senate

New representatives of the academic staff and students have been elected for the UP Faculty of Science.

The academic staff will be represented by:

• prof. RNDr. Tomáš Opatrný, Ph.D., from the Department of Optics
• assoc. prof. RNDr. Vladan Ondřej, Ph.D., from the Department of Botany

The student representative is:

• Mgr. Stela Levická, a student in the Optics and Optoelectronics programme

Seventy candidates from across all faculties ran for the role of university senator. Voter turnout across the entire Palacký University was 20.05%. Voter turnout varied by faculty, with the highest turnout at the Faculty of Law (30.20%), followed by the Sts Cyril and Methodius Faculty of Theology (28.36%), the Faculty of Health Sciences (19.39%), the Faculty of Physical Culture (17.75%), the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry (17.02%), the Faculty of Science (16.34%), the Faculty of Arts (15.68%), and the Faculty of Education (15.66%). More information here.

Window into Practice

A chance for students to meet potential employers! The UP Faculty of Science, in collaboration with the Career Center, is hosting the "Window into Practice" job fair on 7 April 2026, from 10:00 to 15:00 on its campus. Students will have the opportunity to meet and talk in person with representatives from various companies, compare job offers, gain valuable advice and information, and, above all, make contacts that will increase their chances of success in the job market.

Graduation ceremony

The graduation ceremony of the Bachelor study programme Petroleum Engineering will most likely take place on 2 July 2026. After successfully passing the final exams, students may register for the graduation ceremony with their student affairs officer (waleria.kmentova@upol.cz).

Electronic issuance of decisions

Decisions issued by the Student Affairs Office are now distributed electronically only (including scholarships, etc.). You can find them in your Portal, in the 'Viewing files' section. You can also set up notifications alerting you to new documents.

Final state examination registration

Students of Bachelor and Master study programmes who wish to take their final exams or defend their theses during the summer semester of this academic year and have not registered for the final exam courses in STAG should contact their student affairs officer immediately. If they do not have the final exam courses registered in STAG, they will not be offered exam dates.

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.

Student Scientific Competition – Dean's Award

Are you a student at the UP Faculty of Science working on an interesting research project? Enter the student scientific competition, which will take place on 7 May 2026, and get the chance to present your findings to the academic community.

The competition is open to students in bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral programmes. You may submit not only your final theses but also other scientific or research projects of which you are the author. Contestants must register in the appropriate category based on their level of study. The thesis supervisor may be an academic staff member of Palacký University or an expert from another institution.

You may submit and subsequently present your work in Czech, Slovak, or English language. For classified projects, participation must be consulted in advance with the competition’s scientific committee. Registration deadline: 30 April 2026. Details are available on the website.

Don’t hesitate to take advantage of this opportunity to gain valuable experience in presenting research, receive expert feedback, and make new contacts.

Call for proposals to support student projects

The Palacký University Endowment Fund announces the 11th call for proposals to support student projects, which is open from 9 February to 8 May 2026. This year, students in master's and doctoral programs can apply for a financial contribution of up to CZK 200,000 to carry out their own scientific research or artistic project. Details can be found on the website.

Rudolf Lukeš Prize

The mission of the award, which comes with a grant of 100,000 CZK, is to highlight the best scientists and their achievements. Applications are open until 31 March.

You can submit an outstanding collection of original works in the field published in the last 5 years in prestigious international journals to the competition, which is announced annually by the Expert Group on Organic, Bioorganic, and Pharmaceutical Chemistry of the Czech Chemical Society in cooperation with the Experientia Foundation. For more information, visit the Experientia Foundation website.

Career Day

Join us for Career Day at Palacký University on Wednesday, 8 April 2026 ‐ a full-day event offering workshops, discussions, and career advice to help you explore your future path. The programme also includes activities in English, organized in cooperation with the UP Welcome Office. Find out more details at this website.

Czech Easter Celebration

Join us for a delightful cultural event where you’ll get to experience the charm and richness of Czech Easter traditions. Enjoy a variety of traditional Czech Easter treats, including sweet pastries and savory delights. There will also be music, craft stations, and opportunities to try your hand at some of the most beloved Czech holiday activities. The Celebration will take place on 1 April 2026 at Vodární 6 from 17:00. Details here.

Take advantage of a unique opportunity to invite an inspiring personality to UP

The entire university community now has a unique opportunity to invite an interesting guest to UP, i.e., to nominate a speaker for the lecture honoring Prof. PhDr. Josef Ludvík Fischer in the fall of 2026. Any student or employee at UP may submit a proposal for a candidate; the proposal must include a brief justification. Proposals should be sent to prorektor.veda@upol.cz by 15 May 2026, at the latest.

Bike to Work May Challenge

Take on the May Challenge and try a month powered by yourself. All through May (from 1 to 31 May), get around to work, shopping, visiting friends, or taking your children to school by bike, scooter, skateboard, inline skates, on foot or by running. Now is the perfect time to join the university in this initiative and support both your own fitness and the development of infrastructure for cyclists and pedestrians. Thanks to the Sustainable University initiative, a limited number of free registrations are available again this year for UP students and staff.

Registration is open until the end of April via this website, where participants sign up under the Palacký University name. All you need to do is form a team of 2–5 members (though individuals are also welcome), register by the end of April, and then, throughout May, commute to and from work as regularly as possible by bike, scooter, skateboard, wheelchair, or on foot or by running. These modes can also be combined with public transportation.

The next faculty Newsletter will be published on Tuesday, 7 April 2026.