As of January 1, 2023, Ing. Libor Hájek is newly assigned to the Department of Project Support of the Faculty of Science. For the departments interested, he will provide administrative and contractual support and support during negotiations in cooperation with the commercial sphere, especially in the preparation and implementation of contract research orders, licensing negotiations, obtaining possible subsidy support for such cooperation (innovation vouchers and other suitable programs such as OP TAK) or in obtaining subsidy support for commercially promising S&R results (e.g. proof-of-concept projects). You can also contact him in matters concerning the administration of intellectual or industrial property of new S&R results in accordance with the Palacký University guidelines.

New transformative agreements will allow publishing without open access fees

Since the beginning of this year, new possibilities of publishing scientific articles in open access in journals of prestigious foreign publishing houses have opened up for corresponding authors from UP. The so-called Read & Publish contracts, negotiated within the national consortium CzechElib, allow unlimited and free publication in the journals of the Royal Society of Chemistry, Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press and IOP Publishing. Significant discounts or a limited number of so-called APC vouchers are negotiated with other publishers. For more information and instructions on how to publish, please visit the UP Library's Open Science pages.

Entering results into the OBD

Critical data for the allocation of the research organization development grant per faculty workplace for 2023 can only be entered into the OBD database until February 15 at 24:00. Results entered later will not be taken into account for the 2023 budget. Results must be entered continuously and carefully (e.g. surnames of Czech co-authors should be entered with diacritics along with their first name, reference should be made to the full text of the article and not just the abstract, etc.). The completeness and accuracy of the records in RIV is the university's calling card.

The Czech Science Foundation (GA CR) – Call for submitting Slovenian-Czech projects

GA CR announces a call for submission of projects based on the principle of Lead Agency evaluation with the expected start of the solution in 2023. The call concerns projects financed in cooperation with the Slovenian agency Javna agencija za raziskovalno dejavnost Republike Slovenije (ARRS) within the Weave initiative. In this call, the Slovenian agency ARRS acts as the Lead Agency, i.e. it evaluates project proposals from a scientific point of view, and GA CR takes over the results of the evaluation process. Projects are for a maximum of three years, the GA CR allows for a project duration of 24 or 36 months.

More information can be found on the DPS Projects website; in case of interest, please contact Mgr. Ľubica Korcanová (lubica.korcanova@upol.cz).

The Czech Science Foundation (GA CR) – Call for submitting Luxembourg-Czech projects

GA CR announces a call for submission of projects based on the principle of Lead Agency evaluation with the expected start of the solution in 2024. The call concerns projects financed in cooperation with the Luxembourg National Research Fund (FNR) within the Weave initiative. In this call, the Luxembourg FNR acts as the Lead Agency, i.e. it evaluates project proposals from a scientific point of view, and GA CR takes over the results of the evaluation process. Projects are for a maximum of three years, the GA CR allows for a project duration of 24 or 36 months.

More information can be found on the DPS Projects website; in case of interest, please contact Mgr. Ľubica Korcanová (lubica.korcanova@upol.cz).

The Czech Science Foundation (GA CR) – Czech scientists to work with US on cybersecurity

The Czech Science Foundation (GA CR) has succeeded in expanding its cooperation with the most important US grant agency, the National Science Foundation (NSF). This will allow scientists from both countries to work together on scientific projects in the field of cybersecurity. It is expected that several million Czech crowns a year will be used to support this topic. The agencies will share the costs of the individual projects – the Czech part of the project will be funded by GA CR and the American by NSF.

GA CR – Competition Plan for 2023

As every year, the GA CR will launch the Standard Projects competition for all researchers. In addition, there will be international calls for joint projects from at least two countries and competitions for young researchers JUNIOR STAR and POSTDOC INDIVIDUAL FELLOWSHIP. There will be a one-year break for the EXPRO competition, which will be re-launched in 2024.

The competitions will be launched around mid-February – as there will be only minor changes to the award documents, scientists can already start thinking about their research projects.

For more information on the individual types of competitions, please visit the DPS Projects website or contact Mgr. Ľubica Korcanová (lubica.korcanova@upol.cz).

MEYS – Announcement of the public tender in the INTER-EXCELLENCE II program, IN-INTERCOST-LUC23 SUBPROGRAM

The Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports (MEYS) has announced a public tender in research, development and innovation LUC23 in the program I-E II, sub-program INTER-COST. The intention of LUC23 is to select research projects linked to the COST events of the international COST program, in the category of basic research, industrial research and experimental development, focusing on all scientific areas. The duration of supported projects must be at least 20 months and, at the same time, must not exceed the duration of the relevant COST event. Projects can be solved until December 31, 2026 at the latest. The period, in which it is possible to submit project proposals, begins on December 15, 2022 and ends on February 6, 2023 (faculty deadline: February 1, 2023). More information can be found on the DPS Projects website (in Czech), or contact Ing. Tea Pokorná (tea.pokorna@upol.cz).

Enter the competition for the Rudolf Lukeš Prize for 2023

The Experientia Foundation, in cooperation with the Czech Chemical Society, supports the prestigious Rudolf Lukeš Prize for outstanding chemists with a personal award in the amount of 100,000 CZK (approximately 4000 USD). Applications for the Rudolf Lukeš Prize can be submitted by scientists of any age currently working at one of the Czech scientific institutions. Applicants must submit a collection of work completed over the past five years for consideration in the contest. Applications must be submitted in English as a pdf file sent electronically to the Society’s head office (lukes.award@csvts.cz). The deadline for applications is March 31, 2023.

Interdisciplinary meeting of young researchers and students

In 2023, the Czech Chemical Society and the Czech Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, in cooperation with the general partner Merck Life Science spol. s r.o. and other sponsors, will hold the traditional Interdisciplinary Meeting of Young Researchers and Students in Chemistry, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and Biomaterials. The event is open to scientists under 35 years of age across the disciplines listed below:

• Date of the event: 15. – 18. 5. 2023
• Place: Hotel Devět skal, Milovy
• Conference sections:
  • Bioscience & Molecular Biology (proteomics, genomics, synthetic biology etc.)
  • Materials Science for Life (biomaterials, polymer chemistry, biosensors etc.)
  • Advanced Analytics in Life Science (separation techniques, mass spectrometry etc.)
  • Organic Chemistry & Catalysis (synthesis, medicinal chemistry etc.)

Application deadline is January 31, 2023. More information can be found here.

Preparation and reporting of mobilities

All students going on study stays and internships abroad must inform the international section of the Study Affairs Office of the Faculty of Science UP about their intention to go and the beginning and end of their trip.

We also ask all lecturers who intend to go abroad within the Erasmus+ programme to contact the international section of the Study Affairs Office of the Faculty of Science first

Information about foreign students who will come for an internship and about foreign experts who will come as part of Erasmus+ must be sent to the international office in advance by the department to which they are to come.

Contact: Dana Gronychová (dana.gronychova@upol.cz).

2023 Barrande Fellowship Programme

The French Institute in Prague, the French Embassy in the Czech Republic and the Czech Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports (MSMT) announce the launch of the Barrande Fellowship Programme for 2023, the exchange mobility programme for Ph.D. students between the Czech Republic and France. The programme offers scholarships to support short research stays and studies under dual supervision (cotutelles). The application deadline is February 12, 2023. More information and registration can be found on this website.

The regular meeting of the Academic Senate FS UP will take place on February 1, 2023 at 13:00 in the meeting room of the Dean's Office. Detailed information and materials as well as the link to the stream will be available on the senate website (in Czech).

Fischer scholarship holder's seminar
Vice-Dean for International Relations prof. Dušek, cordially invites you to the seminar for Fischer scholars. The event will be held on Tuesday, February 7, at 9:00 a.m. in the Big Conference Room, Dean's Office (room 6.014) on the 6^th floor of the Faculty of Science. The attendance of the Fischer scholarship holders and their supervisors is requested, however, all the other faculty employees and students are welcome too.

Student evaluation of the winter semester

Rate the currently ending semester in the student evaluations! You can vote from anywhere using an interactive online form. Evaluations are anonymous, so feel free to express your praise or constructive comments until February 13, 2023.

Registration of courses for summer semester 2022/2023

Registration of courses for the summer semester of the academic year 2022/2023 for Bachelor's, Master's and Doctoral study programmes for students of the Faculty of Science takes place from January 17 to February 20, 2023. Go to Portal – STAG – My study – Pre-registration. Detailed schedule here.

State doctoral examination and dissertation defense

When submitting your dissertation or application for the state doctoral examination, adhere to the requirements and deadlines listed on the website in the section for Doctoral Study. Keep in mind that it needs to be done at least 3 months in advance.

Plans of study for academic year 2022/2023

The lists of courses (plans of study) for the academic year 2022/2023 can be found on the faculty websites.

Online confirmation of study

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

English language courses

The Department of Foreign Languages at the Faculty of Science offers English courses for the employees and PhD students of the Faculty of Science in the summer semester 2022/23. The complete list of courses is here.

Enter the competition for the Rudolf Lukeš Prize for 2023

The Experientia Foundation, in cooperation with the Czech Chemical Society, supports the prestigious Rudolf Lukeš Prize for outstanding chemists with a personal award in the amount of 100,000 CZK (approximately 4000 USD). Applications for the Rudolf Lukeš Prize can be submitted by scientists of any age currently working at one of the Czech scientific institutions. Applicants must submit a collection of work completed over the past five years for consideration in the contest. Applications must be submitted in English as a pdf file sent electronically to the Society’s head office (lukes.award@csvts.cz). The deadline for applications is March 31, 2023.

Via Chimica Prize

The Experientia Foundation in cooperation with the Learned Society of the Czech Republic is launching the second year of the Via Chimica competition for young talents in the field on chemistry. The competition for 50,000 CZK is open to students of Czech universities in Bachelor's or Master's studies with their original student work. Applications are open until February 15.

UP Academic week

The Palacký University Academic Week annually commemorates the re-establishment of Palacký University Olomouc in 1946, when on February 21 the bells of all Olomouc churches rang out in honour of this event. The University regularly organises a number of cultural, scientific and social activities on this date, to which the public is also invited. This year also marks the 450th anniversary of the founding of the university in Olomouc.

Donate Blood with the Rector

Are you a regular blood donor or thinking about donating? As part of the UP Academic Week, which will take place from February 13 to 17, you can take part in the 12th annual Donate Blood with the Rector challenge. It will take place at the Transfusion Department of the Olomouc University Hospital. First-time blood or blood plasma donors are especially welcome. Just register by February 7 at daruj@upol.cz. All donors registered in this way can look forward to a small gift. The Donate Blood with the Rector challenge as well as the long-running competition "Roll up your sleeves" will be launched on Monday morning directly at the Transfusion Department by the Rector of the University Martin Procházka and the President of the Czech Red Cross Marek Jukl.

School of Archeometry

The aim of the second year of the School of Archeometry, which will take place in the Fort Science on February 2 and 3, is to connect the sciences and humanities. Interdisciplinary meetings of scientists are organized by the departments of analytical chemistry and geology, the Olomouc Archaeological Center, the National Heritage Institute and the Fort Science. The detailed program can be found here.

The next faculty Newsletter will be published on Monday, February 6, 2023.