Dear colleagues, dear students,

due to the deteriorating epidemic situation not only in the Olomouc Region, but also in the whole Czech Republic, it is necessary to strictly adhere to the anti-epidemic measures set at Palacký University.

From today (until further notice) it is mandatory to wear respiratory protective equipment (respirator or similar facial protection) throughout the indoor premises of the university i.e. faculties, dormitories, canteens, or when attending congresses, educational events and examinations in full-time form. All current information concerning teaching and examinations at Palacký University can be found at upol.cz/en/covid-19/. If necessary, public test sites can be used.

Scholarly Board
The meeting of the Scholarly Board of the Faculty of Science UP will take place in the meeting room of the Dean’s Office on Wednesday November 3, 2021 from 10:00.

MSCA – financial and legal aspects
The Technology Center of the Czech Academy of Sciences (CAS) organizes an online seminar dedicated to the financial and legal aspects of Marie Skłodowska-Curie (MSCA) events. The seminar, which will take place online on November 30, 2021 from 9:00 to 13:00, will cover the following topics:

• information on the MSCA sub-schemes supported by Horizon Europe
• the specifics of the unit costs used in these actions
• how to correctly set up a contract with a researcher
• what to look out for in a consortium or partnership agreement
• how to deal with ethical issues

Marie Skłodowska-Curie events support excellent research and innovation and equip researchers at all stages of their careers with new knowledge and skills through cross-border mobility and opportunities in different sectors and disciplines.

Participation in these projects is a challenge both for researchers, for whom it represents an important step in their professional careers, and for the hosting institution, which must properly grasp the administrative, financial and legal aspects of the projects. More information about the seminar and a link to registration can be found on the website of the TC CAS (in Czech). The preliminary program is available here (in Czech).

Contact person: Miriam Delongová (miriam.delongova@upol.cz).

TA ČR - GAMA2: Proof-of-Concept (PoC)
The GAMA 2 TA ČR programme is focused on the applied research and experimental development and innovation. The coordinator of these projects at Palacký University in Olomouc is Science and Technology Park. The programme is intended for employees and Ph.D. students who want to apply the results of their research in practice and use the potential of their idea.

The PoC seminar will take place on October 20, 2021 at 13:00, more information on the VTP UP website (in Czech). Applications will close on November 1, 2021. Thereafter, applications will be evaluated and submitted to the Commercialization Council. Selected projects can be started from December 1, 2021. All documents required for submitting the application can be found on the VTP UP website (in Czech).

DZS - EEA Norway grants: Institutional Cooperation Projects (Outcome) 1
Dům zahraniční spolupráce (DZS) has announced the 4th call for applications for a grant to support institutional cooperation projects under the Education program. The projects are intended to strengthen cooperation between Czech institutions and institutions from donor countries at all levels of education. More on the provider's website. The faculty deadline is February 7, 2021.

Aurora Alliance
Palacký University in Olomouc has joined the prestigious international Aurora Alliance, which brings together selected universities across Europe. They intensively focus on research and at the same time pay great attention to the topics of sustainable development. The overall vision is to use our academic excellence in education and research to influence societal change. On October 18, 2021, the Open Day Aurora Alliance was held at Faculty of Education UP. At the beginning, this community of universities was introduced by the rector prof. Martin Procházka together with other Vice-Rectors. This was followed by presentations by the rectorate’s International Relations Office. More information can be found at the Aurora European Universities Alliance. Individual presentations from the Open Day Aurora Alliance will be published on the faculty’s projects website (in Czech).

AIA: Scholarships under international agreements | Quota allocation
The Academic Information Agency (AIA) informs about the offers of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports (MEYS) concerning scholarship stays abroad on the basis of international agreements for students and academics of public universities, as well as about internship opportunities and seminars for German and French language teachers.

The quota allocation shows scholarship places allocated to selected public universities. Only those interested from the given university can apply for these positions. The dates are as follows:

01. 12. 2021 – Russia: Study stays for Bachelor and Master study programmes – 2 places
01. 12. 2021 – Russia: Summer Russian language course in 2022 – 2 places
15. 12. 2021 – China: Study stays for students of sinology – 6 places + 1 substitute
13. 01. 2022 – Malta: Summer English language courses in 2022 – 1 place
15. 03. 2022 – China: China: Summer Chinese language courses for teachers of Chinese in 2022 – 2 places + 1 substitute

Information are also available on the website (in Czech).

UN volunteers
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, together with the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) Program, has announced tenders for nine UN Young Volunteers positions for 2022. Link to the website for more information can be found here (in Czech). Registration for volunteers is possible until November 7, 2021.

The meeting of the Academic Senate FS UP will take place on October 27, 2021 at 13:00. Detailed information and materials for the senate are published on the website https://www.prf.upol.cz/o-fakulte/fakultni-organy/akademicky-senat/ (in Czech).

Plans of study for academic year 2021/2022
The lists of courses (plans of study) for the academic year 2021/2022 can be found on the faculty websites.

Online confirmation of study
You can print your confirmation of study online directly from your Portal.

Ombudsman
On the initiative of student senators of the Academic Senate of the Faculty of Science UP, elections for the student rights defender (i.e. ombudsman) were announced. The ombudsman will act as an advisor, mediator or negotiator between students and teachers (e. g. in case of harassment or disagreements between students and teachers).

Students always nominate a pair from among the teaching staff (female and male). Candidates for the ombudsman must be members of a teaching staff or professors emeriti who must be from another field of study (mathematics and computer science, chemistry, physics, biology and earth sciences). The nominated candidate cannot hold the position of dean, vice-dean or head of the department. He also cannot be a senator or a member of an Ethics and Disciplinary Committee.

Every student can nominate the ombudsman by midnight on October 31, 2021 by sending a scanned nomination sheet by e-mail to the chairwoman of the student part of the senate, Mgr. Viktorie Nesrstová (viktorie.nesrstova@upol.cz) or by submitting the nomination sheet (in Czech) to the mail box of the Academic Senate on the ground floor of the Faculty of Science (next to the Student Affairs Office) or to specially established ballot boxes. These will be located on the ground floor of the main building of the Faculty of Science (17. listopadu 12) and in the premises of the Faculty of Science in Olomouc – Holice (building no. 47).

During the first week of November, profiles of candidates will be posted after the nominations. An electronic poll will take place in the second week of November, in which students will vote for the couple for the position of ombudsman and his/her deputy. Based on the results, student senators will propose a selected pair of candidates to the Academic Senate of the Faculty of Science for approval. Information on the ombudsman's elections at the FS UP are published on this website (in Czech), which is continuously updated.

Waste sorting
The student initiative Udržitelný Palacký would like to support more options for waste sorting at university dormitories. You can express your opinion by filling in a questionnaire (in Czech).

Personal and Payroll Department
The faculty’s Personal and Payroll Department notifies in advance that the following documents must be submitted no later than 12:00 on Friday, December 10, 2021.

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

• proposals for concluding an employment relationship (employment contract) effective from January 1, 2022
• proposals for changes in job and salary classification effective from January 1, 2022 (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 January 1, 2022

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

• leaves (entered into SAP by the workplace), documents on support in caring for a family member
• requests of employees for transfers of unused leave to the following year with the statement of the head of the workplace (for these requests you will receive separate instructions, the setting of the form in the electronic version available to each employee is under negotiation)
• proposals for the payment of extraordinary bonuses
• statements for payment of ACJ (DPP) and APW (DPČ) for December 2021

It is necessary to pay increased attention when entering the data, no check will be performed. In the event of an employee's illness or treatment of a family member after December 10, report the changes to the payroll accounting office immediately, but no later than December 31, 2021. Attendance should be printed only after the final inspection and closing of attendance at the payroll accounting office, i.e. on Monday, January 3, 2022.

Requests for the calculation of project payroll costs should be sent to both payroll accountants simultaneously via e-mail. Requests will be processed and submitted back for possible consideration of the latest adjustments no later than December 17. Additional salary adjustments within the projects will be possible until December 20, 2021.

The Personal and Payroll Department will be open for employees until December 22, 2021, after the New Year from January 3, 2022. 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 and allowing us to focus on the agenda.

The tax returns will be signed by the employees with the assistance of the payroll accountants from January 10, 2022 on dates selected in the reservation system. Employees will receive detailed instructions in Czech and English at the beginning of December at the latest. 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 Personal and Payroll Department within its own capacity.

Information on taking vacation
All university (FS UP) employees must take vacation in the year in which the right to it arose. Therefore, each employee should take the 2021 vacation by the end of this calendar year. The balance of the vacation to be taken is indicated on the payroll. The vacation taking is managed by the employer, therefore the application for vacation must always be approved by the head of the workplace, who may also order it.

Faculty contest in blood donation
Take part in the second annual Roll up your sleeves! contest in blood donation. Come and donate blood or blood plasma at any blood donation point in the country from October 20 to February 21 and support a good cause and inter-faculty competitive spirit. The contest is mainly about the total volume of blood donated by students and employees of individual faculties and the percentage of donors among students. It is easy to join. After donating blood, you fill in a form, have it validated at the selected blood collection point and then drop it into the collection box. The contest of the faculties will last the entire winter semester, culminating during the traditional Donate Blood with the Rector event, which is an integral part of the UP Academic Days in February. More information here and on the website https://daruj.upol.cz/en/.

Ghost Fort
Interactive games, thematic workshops, chemical experiments, creative workshops and lectures were prepared by the Fort Science, the popularization centre of the Faculty of Science of Palacký University in Olomouc, for an extended weekend from October 28 to 31. In the colourfully decorated exhibitions, visitors will be accompanied by animators from among students disguised as ghosts and spooks. There are also live pets of witches – owls and bats. Children and adults who come in costume will receive a discount on admission. The recommended age is from 6 years. For more information, visit the Fort Science’s website.

The beauty of flying
The beauty of flying from the point of view of science will be the main theme of the event for the whole family, which starts in the Fort Science on November 9 at 10:00. Visitors will see an exhibition of real aircraft engines and smaller aircraft models, they will experience virtual reality or take part in interesting science workshops and chemical experiments. The team of the popularization centre is cooperating on the interactive program with the Honeywell company from the village of Hlubočky near Olomouc, which this year commemorates 70 years since the beginnings of aircraft production in Central Moravia. The exhibition will run until December 12.