Dear colleagues, dear students,

under the auspices of the Dean Martin Kubala the Faculty of Science organizes a Christmas collection called „Nature for the children from Klokánek“ (Příroda dětem z Klokánku). The proceeds are for children from the Klokánek in Olomouc, a facility of the Endangered Children Fund. As in the previous year, you can contribute to the transparent account 2501674563/2010 from November 22 to December 13, 2021.

“The Christmas collection for children from Klokánek is being organized by the Faculty of Science for the thirteenth time. I am grateful for the slightest help to children who cannot grow up in a complete family. Thank you to all employees and students who join the collection,” said Dean Martin Kubala.

Klokánek is a project of the Endangered Children Fund, which aims to offer children temporary family care until they can return to their families or until the situation is resolved. In accordance with international and Czech legal standards, a child who is at risk of abuse or neglect is considered to be endangered. Helping children at risk is a key activity of the Endangered Children Fund.

Interreg CENTRAL EUROPE
The 1st call Interreg CENTRAL EUROPE is opened from November 15, 2021. More information and conditions for submitting applications for this call can be found on the website Projety PřF/Aktuality (in Czech).

Visegrad funds
Applications for the Visegrad fund can be submitted until February 1, 2022 (until 12:00). More information on individual types of grants can be found on the website PřF/Projekty/Projekty EU/ (in Czech). The application system opens 20 days before the deadline. The faculty deadline is on January 25, 2022.

National Recovery Plan for Universities
The National Recovery Plan (NRP) plans to finance the component “Adapting the capacity and focus of school programs – Transformation of higher education institutions with the aim of adapting to new forms of learning and responding to the changing needs of the labor market in post-covid renewal”. The aim of the reform is to increase the capacity of universities and to adapt the structure of study programs to new trends and changing labor market needs, especially in connection with development in digital technologies. The forms and content of higher education will be transformed within the National Recovery Plan. These processes will accelerate the transition of universities to new, especially digital forms of teaching. Thanks to investments in information systems and technologies, it will be possible to increase the share of blended learning or distance learning at universities. Great emphasis will also be placed on improving the qualifications of academic staff in the use of information technology. More information on NRP can be found on the website PřF/Projekty/Národní operační programy/Národní plán obnovy (in Czech). The call announcement is scheduled for November 30, 2021.

Overview of EU funds
European funds in the Czech Republic for 2021-2027 (in Czech) – on twenty pages the Ministry for Regional Development presents calls, investment opportunities and possibilities, which will be in the next EU’s septennate.

Werner von Siemens Award
Czech branch of Siemens will once again award the best students, scientists and teachers in technical and natural sciences. Applications for the 24th year of the prestigious Werner von Siemens Award can be submitted until November 30, 2021 at www.cenasiemens.cz (in Czech). The aim of the competition is to reward the authors of the best student and scientific works and university teachers. Works focusing on all technical fields and natural sciences are awarded. A total of CZK 900,000 is prepared for this year’s winners in eight categories; financially rewarded can be not only students but also their supervisors. More information can be found here (in Czech).

IGA - student grant competition
The Rector of Palacký University in Olomouc announces the 13th year of the student grant competition. The aim is to support projects implemented by students of Doctoral or Master’s degree programs financed by funds for specific university research. The project solver can be a doctoral student or an academic staff member, and UP is a training facility. Other members of the research team may be doctoral or master’s degree students or academic, scientific, research and development staff. More on the DPS FS website (in Czech).

Scholarships BTHA – Bavaria
The deadline for submitting applications for scholarships from the Czech-Bavarian University Agency (BTHA) for a one-year study stay in Bavaria is approaching. The BTHA scholarship is intended to finance a Master’s or Doctoral degree at a Bavarian public university and can be extended for a maximum of 3 years. The scholarship can also be awarded for a one-year study stay in Bavaria as part of a doctoral study at a Czech public university.

Brief information on scholarships and applications can be found on our website (in Czech) and in the enclosed BTHA leaflet, detailed information and application forms are available on the BTHA website (in Czech). Given that full-time teaching at Bavarian universities is again possible in the winter semester of 2021/22, it is expected that full-time teaching will be regular in the next academic year 2022/23. The deadline for submitting scholarship applications for the academic year 2022/23 is December 1, 2021.

In case of any questions (in Czech, German or English), you can contact the BTHA Scholarship Programs Officer, Mrs. Martina Guttenberger, e-mail: guttenberger@btha.cz.

Election of the Dean
Until November 16, 2021, members of the academic community could nominate a candidate for the position of Dean of the Faculty of Science of Palacký University in Olomouc for the period from February 1, 2022 to January 31, 2026. According to the published list of candidates, the only nominated candidate became the current dean doc. RNDr. Martin Kubala, Ph.D. The list of candidates was published by the Academic Senate of the UP Faculty of Science. The public performance of doc. Martin Kubala will take place on Tuesday, December 7, 2021. The election of the Dean will take place on Wednesday, December 15, 2021. More information can be found on this website of the Faculty of Science (in Czech).

Meeting of the Academic Senate
The meeting of the Academic Senate FS UP will take place on December 15, 2021 at 13:00 in the big meeting room at the Dean’s Office. 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).

Ombudsman
The election of an ombudsman (student rights defender) is currently taking place at the Faculty of Science. Until 23:59 on November 22, you have the opportunity to vote for a couple who should protect students' rights in the future. The link to the survey was sent to students by e-mail.

The following pairs were nominated for the election:

• doc. RNDr. Taťjana Nevěčná, CSc., and doc. RNDr. Roman Kubínek, CSc. (candidates profile, interview with the candidates; both in Czech)
• RNDr. Ivana Fellnerová, Ph.D., and RNDr. Rostislav Vodák, Ph.D. (candidates profile, interview with the candidates; both in Czech)

Based on the results of the survey, the winning pair will be proposed for approval to the Academic Senate of the UP Faculty of Science. More information on the ombudsman's elections can be found at https://www.prf.upol.cz/ombudsman/ (in Czech).

Scholarships at the end of the year
Scholarship applications, which have to be reimbursed in 2021, must be submitted by November 30. Applications submitted in December will be settled on January 10, and therefore already in 2022.

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.

Graduation ceremony of Doctoral students
The graduation of doctoral graduates will take place on December 16, 2021 in the auditorium of the Faculty of Education. Time of the ceremony will be specified.

International Higher Education Teacher Award
Do you know about an inspiring teacher from your area? Try to nominate them for the award for the best teacher, announced by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports (MEYS) within the Profformance project. The International Higher Education Teacher Award 2021/2022 wants to recognize educational achievements at universities involved in partner countries (Austria, Croatia, Czechia, Georgia, Hungary and Serbia) and gradually create a database of best shared practices from these achievements. Nominations are accepted until December 15, 2021.

File service – operation
On December 22, 2020, the file service at Envelopa will be open from 9:00 to 10:00 and in Holice from 10:30 to 11:30. Regular and registered mail will be last picked up from the mailboxes at Envelopa at 11:45 and at Holice at 11:15. Mail delivered after this deadline will not be sent until January 2, 2022.

Faculty operation before the end of the year
The main building (Envelopa) and the buildings in the Holice complex will be closed from December 23, 2021 to January 2, 2022. The buildings will be guarded by an external security service. Report any accidents and defects to the service staff, who will then pass them on to the building management emergency service.

The VLD building (17. listopadu 50) and the SLO building (17. listopadu 50a) will be closed from December 23, 2021 to January 2, 2022. During this period, entry will only be allowed on employee cards.

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.

Operation of the Economic Department
Please, deliver the tax documents for the advances and the final invoices for the advance invoices to the Economic Department immediately, but no later than Friday, December 17.

Cash documents, travel orders, payments on account, etc. deliver on an ongoing basis, but no later than December 17. After this date, proper posting in the calendar year 2021 can no longer be guaranteed. It is also necessary to settle all advances for travel orders executed in 2021.

Return the cash deposit to the Cashier by Wednesday, December 15.

Unspent funds at the end of the year for ongoing Science and Research targeted support projects (GA ČR, TA ČR other SR).
For all projects, it is necessary to follow the contracts and tender documents for the contracts. If the contracts allow it, it is possible to use the transfer to the FÚ UP.

Playful sustainable future
Are you interested in how a university can contribute to sustainable development and social responsibility? Do you know what sustainable development is all about? Come and try it for yourself on Tuesday, November 23, from 14:00 to 17:00, when you will be able to play a strategy card game or build a puzzle during the afternoon. The game afternoon will be followed by a special Pub Quiz, again on the topic of sustainable development. It starts at 19:00 in the nearby restaurant Kozlovna. Details here (in Czech).

The next faculty Newsletter will be published on Monday, December 6, 2021.