Dear colleagues, dear students,

allow me to thank all the employees, students and supporters of the Faculty of Science and the University for their cooperation, efforts and patience in solving the problems we face. I would like to wish the Faculty of Science further development in 2022. As faculty management, we will continue to strive to build a pleasant working environment at the faculty, in which employees and students will find space for creative and free work. The goal is to make them feel good here, because if they do, they will also do better work.

I wish you beautiful, undisturbed Christmas holidays and good health, good spirit and wise decisions in all the situations that await us in the coming year.

Martin Kubala

Dean

Personnel change at DPS

Miriam Delongová from the Department of Project Support (DPS) starts her maternity leave on January 1, 2022. From the new year her agenda – projects of the Ministry of Eduaction, Youth and Sports, Ministry of Health, GA ČR, Junior Grants UP and Horizon Europe – will be taken over by Dr. Marika Svrčková (marika.svrckova@upol.cz), extension 4022.

Additional call for nominations for members of GA ČR evaluation panels

The Czech Science Foundation announces an additional call for proposals for candidates to the evaluation panels of the GA ČR. Proposals are submitted to the following evaluation panels:

• P203 - Nuclear and particle physics, astronomy and astrophysics - specialization astrophysics
• P401 - Philosophy, theology, religion - specialization logic, theology, religion
• P405 - Archeology and older history (until 1780) - specialization in medieval history
• P410 - Modern history (since 1780) and ethnology - specialization in ethnology
• P501 - Plant physiology and genetics, phytopathology
• P502 - Animal physiology and genetics, veterinary medicine
• P503 - Food industry, ecotoxicology and environmental chemistry
• P504 - Landscape care, forestry and soil biology, ecosystem ecology
• P505 - Ecology of animals and plants
• P506 - Botany and zoology

Proposals for members of the evaluation panels can be submitted on the GA ČR form (in Czech) by legal and natural persons working in the field of science and research from among prominent experts who have achieved convincing results in basic research. The submitted nominations must contain a list of all the candidate's workplaces and the employer's statement that he agrees with the nomination and is ready to release the candidate for the panel meeting or other advisory bodies of the GA ČR presidency, which may result from panel membership. In order to avoid conflicts of interest in project evaluation, GA ČR is forced to give preference to candidates with a smaller number of affiliates.

Proposals to the evaluation panels for the upcoming term of office beginning on April 1, 2022 must be sent together with the signed "košilka" form (in Czech) to the employee of the Department of Project Support, Dr. Marika Svrčková (marika.svrckova@upol.cz) no later than January 26, 2022.

MEYS – bilateral projects in the Czech Republic – Bavaria

The Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports (MEYS) has announced a public tender in research, development and innovation LUABA22 – bilateral projects Czech Republic – Bavaria. The intention of LUABA22 is to select Czech-Bavarian joint research projects in the category of basic research, industrial research and experimental development with a solution period of max. 30 months in the following priority areas of common interest:

• Information and communication sciences
• Engineering and technology with emphasis on Industry 4.0 and the use of 5th generation (5G) technologies in specialization: Electronics, electrotechnics, information engineering
• Engineering and technology in specialization: Material research, Nanotechnology
• Medical and healthcare sciences
• Social sciences
• Humanities and arts

The bilateral plan of the project presupposes the simultaneous submission of the Czech and Bavarian parts of the joint project in the Czech Republic and Bavaria, respectively, in compliance with the specific conditions of the provider concerned.

The project proposal must be processed in the information system of the programme INTER-EXCELLENCE - ISIX (in Czech). Those interested in submitting this grant should contact the Department of Project Support employee Dr. Marika Svrčková (marika.svrckova@upol.cz). No later than January 24, 2022, it is necessary to submit a “zelená košilka” form (in Czech) together with the project proposal containing at least the name of the project, an abstract, a composition of the research team and a budget. No later than January 25, 2022, after the project is closed, two documents must be sent to marika.svrckova@upol.cz before submission:

1. PROJECT PROPOSAL part 1. – SIGNATURE PAGE
2. PROJECT PROPOSAL part 2. – PROJECT PROPOSAL in PDF

All information on the call can be found on the provider's website (in Czech), contact person: Dr. Marika Svrčková (marika.svrckova@upol.cz).

New methodology for determining fees for studying in a foreign language

With regard to the requirements of the departments, the Dean's Collegium recommended and the Dean of the Faculty of Science of UP decided that fees for studying in a foreign language can be set for any study programme in any amount (it will no longer be necessary to choose from three fixed amounts) if the following conditions are met: for Bachelor’s and Master's degree programmes, the amount must be based on the economic situation and must not be lower than the actual cost of implementing the study programme. The minimum fee in this case is set at 1 700 EUR per academic year. In the case of Doctoral study programmes, the fee per academic year must be higher than or equal to 100 EUR (according to some legal interpretations, the amount cannot be zero).

Requests for changes in the amount of fees must be submitted to Mgr. Waleria Słowiková of the international section of the Student Affairs Office always until the end of April. After approval by the Vice-Dean for International Relations, the list of changes is sent to the International Relations Office at UP rectorate. In the end, the fees are approved by the UP Senate, as they are an annex to the UP Constitution. Students pay the tuition fees valid at the time of their admission to study for the entire period of study (Article 22, paragraph 9 of the UP Constitution).

In all Doctoral study programmes in foreign language, it is recommended to set the lowest possible tuition fee of 100 EUR (it is an amount that the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry has also agreed on with the rectorate). The amount of 100 EUR per student in a Doctoral study programme in foreign language will be charged to the Study Affairs Office of the Faculty of Science UP to cover the administrative costs. If the tuition fee for a Doctoral programme in foreign language will be higher, the difference will be transferred to the relevant department. With regard to the reduction of fees for studying in a foreign language, it will also be necessary to adjust the conditions and reduce the amount of the Fischer scholarship. However, this would only apply to newly awarded scholarships.

Election of a candidate for the Dean of the Faculty of Science

At its meeting on Wednesday, December 15, the Academic Senate of the Faculty of Science of Palacký University in Olomouc elected the current Dean Martin Kubala as a candidate for this position as Head of the Faculty for the period from February 1, 2022 to January 31, 2026. Martin Kubala, who as of January 31, 2022 ends his current four-year term, was the only nominated candidate. In the first round he received 17 out of 19 votes. Rector Martin Procházka will decide on his appointment to the position of Dean of the Faculty of Science UP.

Evaluation of courses

Give us feedback for the winter semester! One of the main tools for evaluating the quality of the educational process is the evaluation of courses. Until February 14, 2022, it is possible to evaluate the quality of teaching at www.eval.upol.cz and thus give feedback to the teacher, the head of the department and the management of the faculty. They all can continuously improve the quality of teaching thanks to the information obtained during the evaluation. Feedback is important not only for improving pedagogical activities, but also contributes to open communication at the faculty and to improving education.

Student Affairs Office operation during Christmas

The Student Affairs Office is last opened on December 22, 2021 (normal opening hours); after Christmas will be reopened on January 3, 2022 (normal opening hours).

International office of the Student Affairs Office - operation during Christmas

From December 17, 2021 to January 2, 2022 the Student Affairs Office for international students is closed.

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

Due to the epidemiological situation, the graduations of doctoral graduates have been postponed to a date that is still unknown.

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 3, 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 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

The Economic Department will be open to employees until December 22, 2021; then it will be open from January 3, 2022.

FreshUp

From Monday, December 20, 2021 the FreshUP bistro is closed. It will reopen from Monday, January 3, 2022.

Christmas collection

Under the auspices of the Dean Martin Kubala the Faculty of Science organized the Christmas collection called „Nature for the children from Klokánek“ (Příroda dětem z Klokánku). The amount of 50,200 CZK was raised within twenty-one days among the employees and students. In addition to the financial amount, the children from the Klokánek in Olomouc, for which the collection was intended, also received fifty tickets to the Fort Science, cheques worth 2,000 CZK and small gifts.

The next faculty Newsletter will be published on January 10, 2022.