Dear colleagues,

this year, a total of 49 GACR project proposals were prepared at the Faculty of Science. These are 37 standard, 2 international, 6 junior projects, 2 Expro projects and 2 international projects using the Lead Agency principle. On this occasion, I would like to thank all those involved in the preparation of the projects, whether as proposers, co-proposers or team members. My gratitude goes not only to those who apply for grant projects of GA CR, but to all those who seek project support in various grant competitions. I wish you all success and support that will enable you to realize your ideas.

On behalf of the management of the Faculty of Science

Karel Lemr

ERA-NET Workshop Aquatic Pollutants & JPI Water

Technology Agency of the Czech Republic invites you to the AquaticPollutants & JPI Water Workshop.

Objectives of the workshop are the following:

• to present priorities of the Czech Republic and JPI Water Works in the field of water research
• to encourage Czech research community to participate in international co-fund challenge AquaticPollutant
• to introduce the application process for these ERA-NET co-fund calls, present conditions for Czech candidates in the call and provide further information make the application process as simple as possible
• to provide potential applicants with the opportunity to meet JPI Water Coordinator and AquaticPollutants and personally discuss the topic.

The seminar will take place at the Ministry of Environment in Prague on Wednesday, June 19, 2019 from 10:00 am. After the morning session, we will be available for your questions and consultations.

Please register for this seminar using this form, no later than Monday, June 17, 2019. (room capacity is limited, so registration may be terminated earlier). An invitation with a detailed program will be sent with the approaching workshop date.

For questions or details about the seminar please contact: michaela.kriklanova@tacr.cz.

Study opportunities in Russia

The House of Foreign Cooperation would like to offer two study positions of the Diplomatic Academy of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation:

- study of bachelor and master degree programs

- study of doctoral study program

This is a study offer for foreign students and it is free of charge. Application deadline is May 10 (Bachelor and Master study programs) and May 30 (Doctoral study programs) to the above mentioned contact at the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports. For more information, please contact Sabine Borovanská, M.A., e-mail: sabine.borovanska@dzs.cz.

Postdoc support - new call for applications
It is still possible to submit applications for postdoc support this year since some postdocs are currently unable to enroll. For more information, contact Mgr. Waleria Słowiková (waleria.slowikova@upol.cz) as soon as possible.

Completion of studies before Final state examination
We would like to inform third-year students of Bachelor study programs and second-year students of Master study programs that they are obliged to close the year before taking the Final state examination at least three weeks before the date of the examination or final thesis defense. Closing the year needs to be done personally at the Study department.

Graduation ceremonies of Doctoral students
Graduation ceremonies of graduates of Doctoral programs will take place during May - June. All concerned graduates will be contacted by their study referent via email.

Badatel project
Badatel project aims to give talented high school students the opportunity to develop their knowledge and apply their creative potential under the leadership of top scientists. It is an interesting opportunity for students to try to present their own research work. The conference will take place on Thursday, May 16, at the Stronghold of Knowledge. You can sign up at https://badat.upol.cz/konference/konference-mladych-prirodovedcu/.

Dean's Award
We would like to remind you of the approaching deadline for submitting applications to the Student Scientific Competition for the Dean's Award. Registration ends on Thursday, April 25!

Students of Bachelor, Master and Doctoral programs can apply for the 16th year announced by the Dean of the Faculty of Science at http://svoc.prf.upol.cz/registrace/ with their final thesis or other scientific work.

Defense of the registered papers will take place on the May 2 in the main Faculty building, according to a set schedule that will be published on the website. The lecture part will be divided into sections (Mathematics and Informatics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Ecology, Earth Sciences, Didactics of Natural Sciences) and these further into individual categories (bachelor, master, doctoral). There will be one joint supplementary poster section.

Not only the authors of the works and their trainers, but also other students and employees who want to get acquainted with the competition are cordially invited to the awards ceremony, which is scheduled for 4:00 pm in the auditorium of the Faculty of Science. Winners will receive scholarships and other prizes. These are provided by the Faculty of Science and partners of the event. All information about this event, including the prizes for the winners, is continuously updated at http://svoc.prf.upol.cz/.

UP Crowd
UP Crowd members participated in last week´s visit of astronaut Andrew Feustel and also presented their association at "Window into Practice" - meeting of potential employers at the Faculty of Science. On April 23 (Coffee Library, 6:00 pm), there will be a lecture from the Science Café Olomouc series. The guest will be Josef Kuře from the Institute of Medical Ethics, LF MUNI with his lecture called Man 2.0 on Human Improvement. On April 24 UP Crowd is going to visit an elementary school in Žďárná with its successful project "Trips into the micro-world". More information about UP Crowd, its activities and events can be found at https://www.facebook.com/UPCrowdOL/.

Main entrance closure
In connection with the ongoing construction work on the 4th floor of the Faculty main building and unexpected technical problems, the closure of the main entrance has been extended until Friday, April 26, 2019. You can use the door from the back of the building (direction away from the rails) to enter. Employees also have access to the garage entrance.

Closing of library and study room
Due to furniture repairs, the study room and the library at the Faculty of Science will be closed on May 3.

Akademia Film Olomouc
The International Festival of Popular-Scientific Films Academia Film Olomouc has again prepared a selection of the best from the world of science. The festival brings closer mysteries of our planet and the universe, as well as introduces fundamental shifts in scientific discoveries through factual films, documentaries and discussions, lectures or panel debates with guests from science and film industry. The most important guests include the evolutionary biologist and well-known advocate of atheism Richard Dawkins, physicist and science promoter Lawrence M. Krauss, philosopher of artificial intelligence Susan Schneider, American volcanologist Kayla Iacovino, professor of robotics from Osaka Hiroshi Ishiguro or British biologist and filmmaker Nigel Marven. This year's 54th festival will be held from 23 to 28 April 2019. For more information, visit www.afo.cz.

Amendment of remuneration during sickness leave and social security

Following the Law no. 32/2019 with effect from 1 July 2019:

• there will be a termination of the waiting period (which lasts from 1st to 3rd day of sickness leave, during which employee will not receive any remuneration, currently remuneration is paid from 4th day of sickess); as of July 1 2019 remuneration will be paid already from the first day of sickess leave

• from the same day there will be a reduction in the social security rate paid by employer from 25% to 24,8% of assessment base as a compensation for termination of the waiting period and thereby an increased burden on the employer while paying the remuneration during his employees' sickess leave