Introductory word
Dear colleagues, dear students,
on Wednesday, March 31, the Academic Senate of Palacký University will decide who shall lead the local university in the following four years. Twenty-four senators will choose the new rector from four candidates – Martin Kudláček from the Faculty of Physical Culture, Jiří Lach from the Faculty of Arts, Tomáš Opatrný from the Faculty of Science, and Martin Procházka from the Faculty of Health Sciences. Due to strict measures connected to Covid-19 pandemic the meeting may be attended by the senators and candidates only.
Candidates for the position of rector will present themselves to the members of academia on March 24 through a public online presentation. You may follow it live at stream, if you wish to actively participate in the debate and ask candidates some questions, please register at ZOOM. More information available here.
Science and Research
GA CR - announcement of public tenders - new deadlines
GA CR has announced calls for project proposals in the following categories: Standard Projects, Junior Star, International Bilateral Projects and LA Grants - GACR Evaluation Agency, GACR Partner Agency, and newly POSTDOC INDIVIDUAL FELLOWSHIP INCOMING and POSTDOC INDIVIDUAL FELLOWSHIP OUTGOING. More information here.
The deadline for submitting project annotation, breakdown of the research team, budget and possible co-financing together with the signed green shirt for the proposer and co-proposer is April 12 by 12:00 pm to Miriam Delongová. The deadline for submitting the finalized project proposal is April 15 by 12:00 pm at miriam.delongova@upol.cz.
TA CR - Trend
TA CR has announced a call for proposals for the TREND program. An affidavit will be sent. Faculty deadline is April 23. Prior to the submission of the project proposal, the consent of the Dean and the secretary of the faculty with the submission of the project is required. In case of any questions, please contact Mrs. Silvia Šavrňáková (silvie.savrnakova@upol.cz), who will send the form for consent, provide additional information and secure signatures on the application form.
TA CR - QuantERA II Call 2021
TA CR has announced a call for projects to the QuantERA program. An affidavit will be provided. The faculty deadline is May 7. Prior to the submission of the project proposal, the consent of the dean and secretary of the faculty with the submission of the project is required. In case of any questions, please contact Mrs. Silvia Šavrňáková (silvie.savrnakova@upol.cz), who will send the form for consent, provide additional information and secure signatures on the application form.
TA CR - M-ERA.NET 3 Call 2021: International call in the field of materials research and innovation
TA CR has announced a call for proposals for the M-ERA.NET 3 Call 2021 program. A solemn declaration will be provided. Faculty deadline is June 10. Prior to the submission of the project proposal, the consent of the dean and secretary of the faculty with the submission of the project is required. In case of any questions, please contact Mrs. Silvia Šavrňáková (silvie.savrnakova@upol.cz), who will send the form for consent, provide additional information and secure signatures on the application form.
IMPAKT and SECTECH programs
The Ministry of the Interior has announced two public tenders in the area of security research:
- IMPAKT program - the competition is thematically focused on artificial intelligence as a means of increasing the capabilities of security forces to perform tasks in ensuring the security of the state and its citizens.
- The SECTECH program is thematically limited mainly to technological fields such as robotics, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, nanotechnology or photonics. Businesses or research organizations can only apply in cooperation with a business partner. The maximum amount of total support for one project must not exceed CZK 40 million and the duration of implementation must be a maximum of 24 months. With regard to the extraordinary situation, it is also possible to submit projects responding to the current pandemic situation to the public tender, provided that they meet the conditions set out in the tender documentation
The results will be published on October 31. More information including faculty deadlines is available at https://www.prf.upol.cz/en/employees/research/.
Czech-French research projects
The Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports has announced a call for proposals for joint Czech-French research projects with a solution period of 2022–2023. Detailed information can be found on the provider's website. An affidavit will be prepared for those interested. Contact person: Miriam Delongová (miriam.delongova@upol.cz). Faculty deadline: June 25, 2021.
International and non-university matters
Study offer - Russian Federation
We would like to inform you about the offer of studies in Bachelor and Master degree programs at universities and colleges of the Russian Federation:
- Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO): Czech citizens are offered 2 places for free study in a Bachelor / Master degree program starting in the academic year 2021/2022. The free study offer only applies to programs in the Russian language. Applications should be submitted to the address of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic (to the hands of Mgr. Ivana Ryšková) by April 16.
- Free study at selected Russian universities: The Russian Center for Science and Culture in Prague informs about the possibility of free study in Bachelor and Master degree programs.
Applications should be submitted through the registration system by April 15. More information is provided by the Russian Center for Science and Culture in Prague. Basic information on the requirements for applicants and instructions for submitting an application can also be found on the DZS/AIA website.
DAAD scholarship in Germany
We would like to draw your attention to the approaching deadline for submitting applications for a DAAD scholarship to Germany and to the Online seminar for applicants for these scholarships. As of April 30, doctoral students, graduates of master degree programs, postdoctoral students, and university teachers may apply for DAAD scholarships for stays beginning between December 2021 and May 2021.
- Doctoral students and Master degree program graduates can apply for a scholarship for short stays of 1 to 6 months. The amount of the scholarship is EUR 861 per month for graduates and EUR 1,200 per month for doctoral and postdoctoral students.
- University teachers and researchers can apply for a scholarship for research stays (1 to 3 months), for work stays in the fields of architecture and the arts and (1 to 3 months) or to apply for support for a bilateral exchange (7 days to 3 months). The amount of the scholarship is EUR 2,000 per month for assistants and associate professors and EUR 2,150 per month for professors.
- Former scholarship holders can apply for new invitations lasting 1 to 3 months. The scholarship can be obtained once every 3 years. The amount of the scholarship is EUR 2,000 per month for assistants and associate professors and EUR 2,150 per month for professors.
Applications must be submitted to DAAD portal by April 30. You can access the portal via the links above on the DAAD website. The list of required documents can also be found on the DAAD website and varies according to the scholarship offer (see Application Process). After uploading the documentation, a PDF document (Application Summary) is generated in the DAAD portal, which is submitted in printed form no later than 1 working day after the closing date to the seat of the Academic Information Agency, House of Foreign Cooperation, Na Poříčí 1035/4, 110 00 Prague 1.
The applicant shall attach the completed Proposal for Sending / Application for Scholarship to the printed document. This form is needed by the Czech party. Applicants for these scholarships are cordially invited to an Online Seminar on Thursday, April 1 from 10:00 am. We will organize the seminar together with DAAD Information Point Prague. You can register until March 30 using the registration form.
Academic Senat
The upcoming meeting of the Academic Senate of the Faculty of Science will take place on April 7. Detailed information as well as documents for the meeting will be announced at https://www.prf.upol.cz/o-fakulte/fakultni-organy/akademicky-senat/.
Study matters
Opening hours of the study department
The study department is fully open according to its standard office hours. Preferably, however, use the online form of communication with the study department, as only part of the staff will be present in the office.
Student trips abroad
We would like to inform the departments that all student trips abroad must be reported to Mrs. Gronychová. Otherwise, the trip will not be recorded in the STAG system and will not be displayed on the Diploma Supplement.
Schedule of the academic year
The schedule for academic year 2021/2022 can be found on this website.
Research topics for students of physics, computer science or mathematics
The Group of Particle and Astroparticle Physics of the Joint Laboratory of Optics UP and FZÚ AVČR will present the topics of research and possible bachelor's or master's theses on Friday, March 26 at 1:30 pm via Zoom seminar. The group deals with analysis of data from the ATLAS experiment in CERN laboratory, construction and simulations of detectors in particle and astroparticle physics, e.g. in the study of fluorescence and Cherenkov signals from atmospheric cosmic ray showers, but also electronics or statistical data processing, signal differentiation from background, correction spectra and by measuring the properties of particles. The topics of their research will be presented by the students of the group themselves. If you have any questions, please contact Jiří Kvita (jiri.kvita@upol.cz). Topics of works here.
Summer school
Loschmidt Laboratories plans to hold a Summer School of Protein Engineering from June 28-30. The summer school is intended for high school and university students (1st - 2nd year) with an interest in biology, biochemistry, bioinformatics and biotechnology. Students will learn the basic theoretical principles of protein engineering and try out computer design, construction and characterization of proteins on practical tasks. Attendance in the summer school is fully paid by organizers. In case you are interested, fill in an application at https://loschmidt.chemi.muni.cz/school/ and send it by March 31, 2021. More information can be found here.
Faculty operation
Employee testing
Based on measures, from 17th March employees can only be present in their offices, laboratories and other UP premises if they were tested for COVID-19 with a negative result in last 7 days. Compulsory testing does not apply to employees who:
- perform work outside the UP premises, or have a home office agreement with their employer;
- have undergone COVID-19 disease and it has not been longer than 90 days since their first positive test. It has to be proven by a laboratory confirmation.
- own a COVID-19 vaccination certificate (issued by the Ministry of Health, CZ) confirming complete vaccination performed at least 14 days ago, and moreover they do not show any symptoms of COVID-19 infection;
- were provided testing at any other official testing place and can prove it by a confirmation.
All documents (points 2 – 4) should be submitted and registered at their relevant workplace (department, etc.).
COMPULSORY TESTING of employees who perform work at their workplace will take place:
- March 24, 8:00 – 11:00 a.m.
- March 25, 9:00 – 12:00 a.m.
The testing will take place in the main building of the Faculty of Science, 17.listopadu 12, in the reading room on the 6th floor. The room number is 6.022 and can be found behind the buffet B6. The area is large enough and well ventilated to comply with all regulations.
To make a reservation please use exclusively the following link https://rezervace.upol.cz/Akce/povinne-testovani-zamestnancu-prf-up-antigennimi-testy/144?u=true. In case the capacity is not sufficient, we will add more.
The test results are available within 15 minutes from collecting the sample. Employees tested positive for COVID-19 will receive a phone call with information about how to proceed. Employees tested negative will be informed via email on the same day. An official confirmation about the test result will be sent by email, but only ON REQUEST for capacity reasons (you can request it during testing).
The tests used are antigenic test (which are paid for by the health insurance company). The testing will be provided by a general practitioner MUDr. Iva Javůrková with her team of nurses and medical students. They exclusively use test sets approved by the Ministry of Health of the Czech Republic. The doctor ensures the registration of all tests and their results in the central ISIN register, the Ministry of Health, CZ.
We kindly ask all employees from buildings 17. listopadu 7, 12, 50, and 50a, U botanické zahrady 920 to use testing at Envelopa, where we will have a sufficient capacity. In exceptional cases, they can use testing in Holice, which will take place on Monday, or other UP premises. Employees from Holice can use the testing capacity at Envelopa, but they need to register using the link above. Testing also takes place at the workplaces of the Faculty of Science in Holice. The next date is scheduled for Monday, March 29, from 8:00 to 12:00.
We suppose we will perform further testing on the same days and same times the following week. You will be informed by a mass email.
Miscellaneous
Rural Landscape conference
The issue of the environment in rural areas will be addressed by the multidisciplinary conference Rural Landscape, which is organized by the Department of Development and Environmental Studies of the Faculty of Science together with the Czech Society for Landscape Ecology on April 29-30. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the conference is likely to take place online. You can find more information on the website http://www.iale.cz/en/.
Fort Science has started registration for summer camps
Summer holidays are the perfect time for a variety of adventures. How about trying out daily camps in Fort Science? The camps will take place from July 12 to August 20. Registration is already running on the website. The selection of summer daily camps organized by Fort Science can be found here.