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.

Werner von Siemens Award

Publishing your research is essential in today’s academic world – and those who don’t publish almost don’t exist. Students, teachers, and researchers in technical, natural science, and medical fields can apply for the Werner von Siemens Award (in Czech). Nominate yourself or someone else by 30 November. Nominators of winners receive 10,000 CZK, and the total prize pool is 1,000,000 CZK. Apply or nominate here. (in Czech).

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.

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.

Fulbright scholarships for students, researchers, and lecturers to visit the USA for the 2026/2027 Academic Year

Applications for the 2026/2027 academic year are now open for all of the programs listed below:

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 for either the full program or a research stay of 4-9 months. There are two application deadlines (1 September for degree only and 1 February for research projects), and you must arrange for an appropriate invitation letter from the USA. The condition is a completed bachelor's degree by the deadline and good knowledge of English. Details here.

Scholarship in Bavaria

Applications are currently being accepted for scholarships for a one-year study stay in Bavaria, with the possibility of extension to a maximum of 3 years. The scholarship is intended to finance follow-up master's or doctoral studies at a Bavarian public university. The scholarship can also be awarded for a one-year study stay in Bavaria as part of doctoral studies at a Czech public university.

The deadline for submitting scholarship applications for the 2026/27 academic year is 1 December 2025. Further information is available on the website.

EMBL PhD Symposium

The 27th EMBL PhD Symposium is scheduled to take place from 25 to 27 November 2025, bringing together early career researchers and leading scientists for keynote lectures, panel discussions, and networking at EMBL Heidelberg (also available virtually). The event promotes scientific dialogue and exchange across the life sciences. Full details and registration information are available at this link.

Merill Program 2026-2027

The RUP Office for Mobility announces a selection procedure for semester study stays at partner schools in the USA in the 2026/2027 academic year. Interested students (except for students of the Faculty of Medicine) can contact Mgr. Zuzana Hamdanieh at zuzana.hamdanieh@upol.cz from the RUP Office for Mobility. Applications with attachments in English (motivation essay, CV, overview of academic results, recommendation) can be submitted in person or sent by email or post to the address (Vodární 6, 779 00 Olomouc) no later than Monday, 8 December 2025.

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).

Erasmus Info Day for FS UP students

Are you thinking about going abroad for a study or internship with the Erasmus+ program? Would you like to know how to apply, how the selection process works, and everything else you need to know before and after going abroad to a university or institution?

Then come to the Erasmus Info Day! It will take place on 18 November 2025, from 15:00 to 16:30 in the big meeting room of the Dean's Office on the 6th floor.

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

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.

Exhibition - Photographic Atlas of Plants of the Czech Republic

An exhibition dedicated to the upcoming encyclopedic publication, Photographic Atlas of Plants of the Czech Republic, is on display at the Fort Science from 3 to 28 November 2025. The publication will present all the wild plants of our country in a single volume.

The exhibition provides an insight into the creation of this extensive project, on which a team of 20 botanists and more than 170 photographers have been working since 2018. The atlas will offer over 9,000 photographs of approximately 3,200 plant species, supplemented with detailed information and maps of their distribution.

The exhibition can be visited during the opening hours of the Fort Science.

Exhibition - When We Say Weeds

They are not welcome in gardens, yet they have their place in nature. The exhibition "When We Say Weeds" at the Botanical Garden of the UP Faculty of Science shows that even plants that we usually consider undesirable can be remarkable, useful, and full of interesting stories. The exhibition was prepared by the head of the Botanical Garden, Václav Dvořák, who seeks to challenge established ideas about weeds and present them in a new light.

The exhibition opening will take place on 11 November 2025, at 17:00. The exhibition itself will run from 11 November 2025 to 30 January 2026.

Open Day

Important information about studies and a rich accompanying programme will be offered to interested students during the Palacký University Open Day on Friday 28 November 2025. From 8:00 to 14:00 it will be possible to see the university premises of most faculties, dormitories, canteen and other departments. A special bus line will take you there free of charge.

PosPos

All faculty staff, doctoral students and seniors of the faculty are cordially invited to the “Post-Semester Gathering” (= PosPos). We will say goodbye to the winter semester on Thursday, 9 December from 12:00 in the main building of the Faculty of Science. You can look forward to delicious refreshments and live music.

The next faculty Newsletter will be published on Monday, 24 November 2025.