Dear colleagues, dear students,

some of you may have already had the chance to start their lessons this winter semester on the ground floor of building 47. We are happy to announce that the lecture rooms have been completely furnished by modern interior equipment and audio-visual technology. FreshUP bistro located in this building is opening for a trial period from December 1 with opening hours Mon-Fri 7:30 am to 2:30 pm.

We strongly believe that the epidemiological situation will improve to the extent that teaching here can fully take place in the upcoming semester. 

Jan Říha
Vice-dean for study matters

The Ministry of Industry and Trade has announced a new call for the Czech Rise Up 2.0 program - Research against COVID-19
Funding will be provided for relevant research on vaccines, medical products and devices, medical facilities, hospital and medical equipment, disinfectants and medical protective equipment, including process innovations for the efficient production of these products in the Czech Republic, more here. Internal receipt of applications for support can be sent by December 15, 2020. Contact person: Silvie Šavrňáková, e-mail: silvie.savrnakova@upol.cz.

TAČR - Instructions for filling in project reports
The Technology Agency of the Czech Republic has published instructions for filling in the interim and final reports on project solution. After filling in the interim / final report in the ISTA system, it is necessary to generate a confirmation of the electronic submission of the report and then send it via the recipient's data box to the subsidy provider's data box.

Send the generated confirmation to Ivana Saitzová to ivana.saitzova@upol.cz with sufficient time before deadline. Without pairing the electronic message and confirmation of the sent DS, the message will be considered as not submitted.

Announcement of 12th year of the student grant competition (IGA)
Rector of Palacký University Olomouc has announced the 12th year of the Student Grant Competition (IGA) at UP. The aim of this competition is to support projects implemented by students of doctoral or Master degree programs and funded from specific university research fund. The solver of the project may be a student of the doctoral study program, with UP being the training workplace or with an academic worker of UP being the supervisor. Applications must be submitted by January 18, 2021, 5:00 pm, and only electronically, via UP OBD portal: https://obd.upol.cz/. The rules of the competition are set by internal provision of UP - Principles of the student grant competition at UP Olomouc. Detailed information about the competition here. Contact person: Ivana Saitzová, e-mail: ivana.saitzova@upol.cz.

The upcoming meeting of the Academic Senate will take place on Wednesday, December 16 at 1:00 pm. Deadline for sending relevant documents if December 1.

Opening hours of the Study department
Study department has fully re-opened according to its standard opening hours. 

Study plans for academic year 2020/2021
Lists of lectures (study plans) for academic year 2020/2021 are available at https://www.prf.upol.cz/en/students/current-students/.

Applications for credit recognition
Applications for recognition of subjects, duly completed and confirmed by the department, must be submitted to the study department by the end of December.

Scholarships
Do not forget to submit the scholarships to be paid out in January 2021 during December 2020. These scholarships will be recognized next year.

Graduation ceremonies of Bachelor and Master study programs
Graduations of Bachelor and follow-up Master studies have been canceled for the time being, but it is planned that they will take place in February, resp. July term (depending on the epidemiological situation). Applicants who have previously registered for the graduation will be informed by e-mail. Graduates can pick up their diplomas at the study department (contact your study assistant by e-mail).

Operation of the Study department in December
The Study department will be closed during the Christmas holidays from December 22, 2020 to January 3, 2021. Starting January 4, 2021, normal opening hours apply.

Mail room
On December 22, the mail room in the main faculty building will be open from 9:00 to 10:00 and in Holice from 10:30 to 11:30. Mailboxes with ordinary and registered mail will last be checked in Envelopa at 11:45 and in Holice at 11:15. Mail delivered after this deadline will not be sent until January 4, 2021.

Operation of the Economic department
Please deliver the tax documents for advances and the final invoices to the advance invoices to the economic department immediately, no later than by Friday December 18.

Deliver cash receipts, travel orders, payments on account, etc. on an ongoing basis, but no later than by December 18. After this date, proper accounting in 2020 can no longer be guaranteed. It is also necessary to settle all advances for travel orders executed in 2020. Return any cash deposit to the cashier by Wednesday, December 16.

Unspent funds at the end of the year for ongoing projects of targeted support R&D (GA CR, TA CR)

For all projects, it is necessary to follow the contracts and tender documents for contracts. If the contracts allow it, it is possible to use the transfer to FÚUP. In the current specific situation, follow the instructions of grant providers on their website on the issue of unspent funds, information on changes and adjustments to the implementation of projects in 2020 at GAČR and TAČR can be found on Science and Research website.

HR and payroll department
The following documents must be submitted to the Faculty's HR and Payroll Department no later than by noon on Friday, December 11, 2020:

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

• proposals for employment contracts effective from January 1, 2021

• proposals for changes in job and salary classification effective from January 1, 2021 (with the exception of proposals for employees who are planned to participate in the project, for which it is expected to receive a decision on the allocation of subsidies in later days

• applications for extension of employment contracts ending in this calendar year

• DPP and DPČ effective from January 1, 2021

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

• planned holidays (assigned to SAP by the workplace), documents on support in caring for a family member

• proposals for the payment of extraordinary bonuses

• statements for the payment of DPP and DPČ for the month of December 2020! Please pay extra attention when entering, no check will be performed.

In the event of an employee's illness or taking care of a family member after December 11, report the changes to the payroll accounting office immediately, but no later than December 31, 2020. Print out attendance only after the final check and closing of attendance at the payroll accountant, i.e. on Monday 4 January 2021.

Send requests for the calculation of project payroll costs to both payroll accountants simultaneously via e-mail. Requests will be processed and submitted back for possible last adjustments by December 18. Additional wage adjustments to projects will be possible by December 21, 2020.

The HR and payroll department will be open to employees until December 22, after the New Year from January 4, 2021. If you do not need to consult anything in person and you just want to submit documents, we would very much appreciate you using the internal mailbox no. 6 on the ground floor by the reception desk to hand over documents.

Tax returns will be signed from January 13, 2021 according to the schedule that employees will receive by bulk e-mail in the Czech and English version. The Financial Administration uses exclusively tax declarations 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 personnel and payroll department within its own capacity.

Operation of the Faculty before the end of the year
The main Faculty building and the buildings in Holice campus will be closed from December 23 to January 3, 2021. The buildings will be guarded by an external security service. Report any faults and defects to its employees, who will then pass the information on to the emergency facility management.

The VLD building - 17. listopadu 50 and SLO building - 17. listpadu 50a will be closed from December 23 to January 3, 2021. Entry during this period will only be possible on employee cards.

Sustainable Advent
Sustainable Palacký has prepared an Advent calendar for you in the spirit of sustainability! Every day, a small gift will be prepared for you. You can look forward to posts not only focused on the topic of sustainability, packaging, but also various instructions, tips and gadgets. To receive gifts, just like the page of Sustainable Palacký and watch FB event Sustainable Advent. (https://www.facebook.com/events/1263014167393513/).