News from the dormitories and canteens

• New menu arrangement in the canteens
  From September, navigating the canteen menu will be easier. Meals from the following categories will always appear in the same position: 1. Czech and international cuisine; 2. FIT meals; 3. meat-free meals; 4. low-cost meals.

   

• Nutritional information on meals now also available in WebKredit and MobilKredit 2
  Would you like to choose your canteen meal according to both your taste and your current needs? It is now easier to do so. WebKredit and MobilKredit 2 now provide nutritional information for individual meals, including energy value and the amounts of fat, carbohydrates and protein. This gives you a better idea of a meal’s composition before ordering and lets you choose according to your preferences and needs. Find out more on the Accommodation and Dining Services website.

   

• New AlzaBox in Neředín: In addition to the previously announced AlzaBox at Envelopa, you can now also find an AlzaBox next to the UP canteen in Neředín.

   

• The Neředín canteen will reopen on 1 September (Mon–Fri, 11:00–14:00).

   

• The Křížkovského canteen will be closed on Thursday, 3 September 2026 due to a university event.

Seminar for managers to introduce selected areas of HR management with an emphasis on their application at UP

The seminar aims to familiarise managers with their responsibilities and key areas of management, including recruitment, onboarding, adaptation and remuneration. It will also introduce flexible forms of employment, both at UP and elsewhere, as well as ways of dealing with conflict situations such as complaints and options for fostering social safety in the workplace.

The seminar will be led by Markéta Šupplerová, Head of the Human Resources Management Department at the UP Rector’s Office, and Jitka Šindlerová, Head of the UP Legal Department. Registration is required to attend.

Survey extended: Help us improve the working environment at UP

What is it like for you to work at Palacký University? What works well, and where do you see room for improvement? You now have an opportunity to help shape the university’s next Equal Opportunities Plan. Complete the anonymous survey, whose results will provide one of the main sources of information for the university’s future approach to equal opportunities and the working environment. The survey takes approximately 10 minutes to complete, and the deadline has been extended to 8 September 2026. Further details are available in the article.

Focus groups addressing the same topic will also take place in September. They will be led by an external company and the results will be processed anonymously. If you are interested, register as academic staff, managers, people caring for children or another close person, non-academic staff, international employees at UP, or doctoral students and junior researchers.

Comments on the Draft UP Statute can be submitted until Tuesday, 1 September

The Draft Statute of Palacký University Olomouc has been submitted to the Chair of the UP Academic Senate for discussion at the September meeting of the UP Academic Senate. The relevant supporting materials are available for inspection at the Office of the UP Academic Senate, in the UPShare document repository, or from members of the UP Academic Senate. Comments must be submitted to the Office of the UP Academic Senate via the completed online form by 23:59 on 1 September 2026.

New issue of the UP Project Service bulletin + Open Day

How can artificial intelligence help people with mental health difficulties? We introduce the CLIMMAID project, which is developing an application featuring a “consultant chatbot”. The International Visegrad Fund will soon open the third round of funding for projects involving the V4 countries. Find out more in the latest issue (in Czech).

And mark 17 September in your calendar – the UP Project Service Open Day will take place on that date!

VOLUNTEERING

Registration is open: Choose your volunteering opportunity

After the holidays, UP employees will once again have the chance to devote one working day to meaningful help for others. The fourth edition of the Employee Volunteer Day (in Czech) will take place on Thursday, 24 September – a total of fourteen opportunities have been prepared, some are filling up quickly, so don't forget to register in time.

If you register to take part in Employee Volunteer Day activities, employees of the Rectorate, the Library, the Publishing House, CVT, ASC, VTP, the UP Project Service, the UP Accommodation and Catering Administration, and the UP Student Support Centre for Students with Specific Needs are granted rector's leave (in Czech). The release of employees of the faculties and the UP university institute is decided by the dean of the faculty and the director of the university institute.

CLUBS

Sign your children up for a science or audio club

In the previous newsletter, we invited you and your children to the Fort Science science clubs (in Czech), where children can experiment, construct, create, work with modern technologies and look for answers to questions that interest them under the guidance of experienced instructors. A few places are still available, and UP employees can take advantage of a 10% discount.

The Sluchátko (in Czech) theatre and audio club, which has been running since 2015 and cooperates with UP, will also reopen in September for children in Years 2 to 4 of primary school. The club will meet every Thursday from 15:00 to 16:30 at Svatoplukova Primary School. It focuses on all forms of listening, audio, radio, podcasting, spoken-word skills and theatrical improvisation. You can register your children via this link. (in Czech)

Read to be ready! Reading clubs for children and young people return to the British Centre in September

English reading clubs for children and young people will continue for their seventh year from the end of September. There will be two clubs for younger schoolchildren and two for older readers (lower-secondary pupils and younger secondary-school students). The reading clubs are primarily intended for children of UP employees, but every registered child may bring a friend who does not need to have any connection with UP. Registration is available here; more information is available on the British Centre website (in Czech).

INVITATIONS

Explore the faculty and departmental programme of the alumni gathering 

On Horní náměstí you can look forward to the university-wide programme – music will be performed by the Ateneo Mixed Chamber Choir or Olomouc's New Street Band, founded and partly staffed by our alumni. The highlight of the musical evening will be UP alumnus Marcel Procházka, a successful pop singer, with his current project Marcell & fiedlerski.

In addition, on the gathering website under the coloured tiles you will find links to the programmes of the individual faculties. For example, the Department of English and American Studies of the FF UP cordially invites you to a lute concert by its alumnus Ondřej Jalůvka. It will take place on Saturday, 12 September from 2:30 to 3:45 pm in the FF UP auditorium (Křížkovského 10).

Visit another Element Talks, this time on the theme of the world of gaming

The next event in the Element Talks series is intended for both UP students and employees as well as the general public interested in the topic of gaming. You can expect two perspectives on the gaming industry – from the creative and historical context to the technical and process background of professional game development and publishing. The meeting will take place on Tuesday, 8 September at 6:00 pm at Envelopa Hub; registration is on the VTP UP website. (in Czech)

AFOKINO invites you to Volání vulkánu (Call of the Volcano) 

What do volcanoes, art, archaeology and our civilisation have in common? Come on Thursday, 10 September at 8:00 pm to the Vnitro space at (Riegrova 5) for an AFOKINO screening. The documentary Volání vulkánu: Od popela po archivy a umění (Call of the Volcano: From Ashes to Archives and Art) by director and geologist Clive Oppenheimer will take you on a fascinating journey into the world of volcanoes and show how volcanic activity shaped our planet and human civilisation. The film will be followed by an afterparty with DJ PspkCz. Admission is free.

Join the European Sustainable Development Week at UP

Leave the car at home, swap things you no longer need, go to a film, lecture or workshop. The week kicks off on 22 September with International Car-Free Day. At Zbrojnice, Envelopa and Neředín there will be refreshments, a basic bicycle service and other accompanying programme. In addition, a special free circular tram will run around Olomouc from 6 am to 7 pm, and in the afternoon you can join a group bike ride.

On 23 September the traditional UP Bazaar follows, where clothes, books or household equipment can find new owners – you can bring unwanted items from 7 September onwards. In the following days the programme continues with lectures, workshops and other accompanying events. You can find the complete programme and registration for selected activities on the Sustainable University website.

Spice up the end of summer with our music quiz

The UP Marketing Department, in cooperation with Hospodský kvíz, has prepared another quiz for home, this time on the theme of music. 56 questions full of music clips covering music from the 1950s to the present await you. To launch the quiz you only need a computer, mobile phone or tablet with internet access, or a smart TV. You can find the quiz here. The quiz will be available until 30 September. We wish you a pleasant time with friends, family or colleagues.

NEW STANDARDS

• Rector's leave on 24 September 2026
  This amendment to the UP internal regulation, effective from 7 August 2026, (in Czech) is intended for employees assigned to the Rectorate, the Centre for Computing Technology, the Library, the Publishing House, the Academic Sports Centre, the Science and Technology Park, the Project Service, the UP Accommodation and Catering Administration, and the UP Student Support Centre for Students with Specific Needs. By this the Rector grants rector's leave for active participation in volunteering activities within the Employee Volunteer Day.
  
  

   

• Internal regulation on energy management according to ČSN EN ISO 50001
  This amendment to the UP internal regulation, effective from 1 September 2026, (in Czech) is intended for UP employees. It specifies the requirements for creating, implementing, maintaining and improving an energy management system.
  
  

   

• Repeal of an outdated UP regulation
  This amendment to the UP internal regulation, effective from 18 August 2026, (in Czech) is intended for all UP employees. It repeals a UP internal regulation that is no longer needed.

COMPETITIONS

Competition for a voucher to the UP Press

The new semester is slowly approaching, and with it the time to restock books and study materials. We have therefore prepared a competition for a voucher worth 500 CZK for shopping at the UP Press – Publishing House of Palacký University. How to take part? Simply email us the correct answer to the following question by Wednesday 2 September at soutez@upol.cz: Which programme item will kick off this year's UP Alumni Homecoming? You will find the answer in the programme of the UP Alumni Gathering, which will take place on 11–12 September. Don't forget to put "Vydavatelství UP" in the subject line of your email. One winner will be drawn from the correct answers.

The University Shop and Information Centre UPoint is announcing a clearance sale of university clothing from older collections at a fraction of the original prices.