REMINDER: Academics must inform UP about another employment relationship

The obligation to inform the university about other employment relationships at other defined institutions is imposed on all academic staff at UP by the Higher Education Act. An academic staff member who newly signs an employment contract with UP is required to submit this information within 1 month of starting employment. Which institutions this applies to and where to fill in the online form can be found in UP Internal News.

Take advantage of the children’s group at discounted prices 

A new employee benefit of Palacký University helps parents balance work and family life. The children’s group Baby Resort offers professional childcare from the age of 1 year. UP employees can take advantage of a discounted price, an individual approach, a smaller group, and flexible attendance — an ideal solution for parents’ peace of mind and children’s satisfaction. Come and see the environment and get acquainted with the group’s programme on the open day on Monday 11/5/2026, 9:00–10:30, or on Wednesday 13/5/2026, 14:30–16:30. More can be found on the poster. (in Czech)

LECTURES AND COURSES

Michael Londesborough: The Power of Boron

Are borane compounds the ideal fuel for proton-boron fusion? At a time when the world is urgently seeking clean, safe, and affordable energy sources, nuclear fusion remains one of the greatest scientific promises. Among the many candidates competing for the role of the fuel of the future, an unexpected player is now coming to the fore: the remarkable family of boranes! The lecture will be held in English and is organized by the UP Chemical Society. It takes place on 11 May at 13:15 in the Faculty of Science auditorium (2.001) at Envelopa. Booking a seat is not mandatory, but recommended.

VOLUNTEERING

Run for Memory of Nations: a call for volunteers and an interfaculty competition 

The organizers of the Run for Memory of Nations (in Czech) are looking for physically fit volunteers who could help on the race day (Saturday 23 May) during the morning hours with preparing the course and the facilities for runners. If interested, please contact the UP Volunteer Centre.

At the same time, we would like to remind you that this year an interfaculty competition will take place for the first time. Students and staff can register with a 30% discount by entering the discount code PARTNER30. The proceeds from the entry fee will be donated to the recording of the memories of a witness associated with UP.

SCIENCE COMMUNICATION

Do you want your science to be heard?

Prepare with us for the prestigious science popularization competitions Falling Walls and FameLab. Let’s send this year’s future winner to the final round again. Come to the information meeting on 11 May at 15:00 at the UP Career Centre and learn more! You will be guided through the preparation by science communicator Vendula Lužná and coach Kartin Stark. Details can be found in the UP Events Calendar (in Czech).

Present your research at the Science Fair

The Veletrh vědy – Science Fair (in Czech)is the biggest celebration of science in our country, and you can be part of it! Do you want to present to tens of thousands of curious visitors what you are researching? For this year’s expedition (4–6 June), UP is offering the last few places for enthusiastic students and other scientists who would like to join the presentation of the university and their work. For more information, contact UP science popularizer Vendula Lužná by 12 May (vendula.luzna@upol.cz).

INVITATIONS

Choose your discipline for Sports Day, some are already full

Next Wednesday, on 13 May, we will meet at sports fields or excursions as part of the UP Sports Day. Some sports are already fully booked, but you can still sign up for example for nohejbal, nordic walking, indoor cycling, circuit training, tennis, American football, baseball, or the chess tournament. Without mandatory registration, you can run through Olomouc parks, cycle through the city, or spend the afternoon at Letňák with the PřesBar Expedition. If you go out to exercise individually, don’t forget to send a photo and compete.

After the morning sports, come to the Morava River to cheer on the final races of the premiere university dragon boat race and enjoy the social afternoon in the Envelopa dormitories area. A detailed offer of Sports Day can be found on the website.

Safety literacy in a university environment

If you are interested in the issue of the security of soft targets in higher education, do not miss the conference organized on 28 May by the Faculty of Physical Culture of UP. It will offer space for discussion and sharing experiences in this area; among the speakers will be, among others, Eva Lehečková, dean of the Faculty of Arts of Charles University, where a tragic shooting attack occurred in December 2023, as well as experts on a range of security issues. Participation is free, you just need to register. The full programme and registration are available on the website. (in Czech)

Fantastic mycology and fascination with plants in the UP Botanical Garden

An exhibition of paintings by the Italian author Paolo Dalponte (in Czech) opens a dialogue about the shared passion of Czechs and Italians, which surprisingly is mushrooms. You can visit it until the end of June in the Botanical Garden of the Faculty of Science. On Plant Fascination Day (20 May), you can then look forward to an all-day programme on the theme of magical plants — between science and mythology.

A Czech academic initiative to save dolphins and whales

Employees and students of the UP Faculty of Law have launched the Czech Academic Initiative to Save Dolphins and Whales. This activity, which arose from the teaching of European law and from testing the tools of European Union law in practice, resulted in an appeal addressed to European institutions to save these exceptional animals. Even though commercial hunting of these animals has been banned since 1986, their killing on the basis of various exemptions still continues. Therefore, the initiative urgently calls for the immediate abolition of all exemptions and for the unconditional and unqualified cessation of whale and dolphin hunting. You can join the initiative, which is supported by the UP leadership, by adding your signature on the special website.

NEW STANDARDS

• Rules of the competition for awarding UP Junior Grants
  This amendment to an internal UP regulation, effective from 1 May 2026, (in Czech) is intended for persons carrying out activities related to the competition for awarding UP Junior Grants and presents an updated and more precise wording of the existing internal normative regulation, while preserving the basic concept of supporting young academic and scientific staff in developing their creative work; the main substantive changes lie especially in the clarification of the rules for awarding Junior Grants, above all in defining the usual number of grants awarded in one field of science and in setting the maximum permissible number of grants within one field of science in a given call, while also making partial clarifications of the provisions concerning the competition conditions, the funding structure, and the responsibility of the principal investigator, with the aim of increasing transparency and the uniform application of the rules.
  
  

• Setting fees for acts associated with habilitation proceedings and proceedings for appointment as professor at UP – amendment no. 2
  This amendment to an internal UP regulation, effective from 6 May 2026, (in Czech) is intended primarily for applicants in habilitation proceedings and proceedings for appointment as professor at UP, as well as UP employees professionally assigned to the science and research departments of the faculties, vice-deans for science and research, and deans of faculties that have been granted accreditation for this type of proceeding. The subject of this amendment is a change in the amount of the fee for acts associated with habilitation proceedings at UP.
  
  All UP standards, including the ineffective ones, divided by UP units, with the possibility of filtering and searching in them can be found by students and employees of UP after logging in to files.upol.cz.

COMPETITION

Free registration for Run for Memory of Nations

Every participant of the Run for Memory of Nations (in Czech) can dedicate their run to someone whose story they want to commemorate. If you would like to win a code for free registration, write to us by Wednesday 13 May at soutez@upol.cz, telling us who you would like to run for this year.