(This content has been translated automatically.)

„Dear students,

it is a great pleasure to welcome you to the new academic year. I would like to wish you at the beginning of the new academic year every success in your studies and work, a lot of energy for all your daily duties and a lot of enthusiasm and desire to keep exploring, discovering and learning new things. I wish you to experience the joy of interesting meetings with inspiring people with whom you will find it pleasant and meaningful to spend your time," says UP Rector Martin Procházka. Read the full welcome to the new academic year (in Czech), which we are pleased to join.

WHAT'S GOING ON AT UP?

At the last management meeting on Wednesday, September 13, there was talk about the celebration of the 450th anniversary of UP in the USA or the negotiated favourable prices for electricity and gas. The date of the pre-Christmas punch with the Rector was also known. Read the full summary (in Czech) (after logging in in the UP Portal), we will prepare more for you in 14 days. More detailed information will subsequently be available in the minutes of the management meeting in UPShare, as well as in the minutes of other bodies, in UP standards and documents and on other information platforms.

If you already have an ISIC and need a new validation stamp for next year, now is your time! After you have paid the fee in Stag (My Studies > My Details), stop by the Armory concierge desk (1 Bishop Square, next to the Coffee Library entrance) at the times listed here. Bulk dispensing runs until 6 October, after which, in exceptional circumstances, validation cards can be collected during office hours from the ID office. All information about the cards (and FAQs) can be found on the Computer Centre website.

Do you know all the nooks and crannies of the Armoury and can you use the wide range of services offered by the UP Library? The library has prepared excursions (in Czech) for new and existing students at the beginning of October, which will also introduce electronic information resources or a special scanner for convenient scanning of books. For specific dates, sign up in the reservation system (switch to October). 

Do you want to present UP on a roadshow in Czech and Slovak schools? Do you think you can reach new prospective students at Gaudeamus fairs? Would you like to talk about study opportunities in Olomouc at your home high school? Then email us at ondrej.martinek@upol.cz and come to the information meeting at the UP Student Club (courtyard of the Armoury/Zbrojnice) on Thursday 21 September or Monday 2 October at 3 pm. Just if you are studying at least the second year of your Bachelor's degree at one of our faculties and your heart beats for UP!

Smart books, practical books, engaging books. You will find them all in more than a large number on the new e-shop of Palacký University Press. The VUP shop brings thematically diverse specialist literature, popular science books, textbooks and scripts, both from the production of VUP and from the ever-expanding range of other publishers. You can choose from print books, eBooks and titles that VUP will print for you from a single order. You can also take advantage of the free e-book collection. For greater clarity, you can filter books by subject area and other parameters.

In addition, UP employees and students automatically have 10% lower prices on all books when registering and logging in via university e-mail. If you would like to keep up to date with the latest production from the Olomouc university scene once a month, you can subscribe to the VUP newsletter.

COURSES

Would you like to start a business? Do you have an idea or desire to create something new? Sign up for an 8-week programme to gain know-how, motivation and contacts. The ICOK Accelerator is free of charge and workshops take place from 3 October every Tuesday from 4 to 6 pm. The application form (until 26 September) and the programme can be found at inovaceok.cz/akcelerator (in Czech).

INVITATIONS

Do you like to move in an international environment, meet new people and discover new cultures? Do you enjoy organizing trips, preparing parties, taking photos, writing articles or graphics? Join the student organization Erasmus Student Network (ESN UP Olomouc), which takes care of international students of UP and during the semester also prepares a leisure program for them, such as national presentations, Pub Talk, Pub Quiz or trips in the Czech Republic and abroad. Check out the website or email hr@esn.upol.cz.

If you would like to help international students with their first steps in Olomouc and at the university, you can write to our e-mail buddy@esn.upol.cz and become their buddy.

INVITATIONS

Do you have interesting ideas and a desire to work on new projects? At the hackathon, you will work individually or in a team to put together a project within 48 hours that will aim to, for example, optimize bike routes in Olomouc or improve the energy efficiency of UP. You will use open data and the help of experienced mentors. You will then present your solution to an expert jury. The hackathon will take place on 20-22 October, details and registration can be found at hackathon.upol.cz (in Czech).

Want to uncover the secrets of science before the Night of the Scientists? Then don't miss the Pub Quiz special on the Monday before Scientists' Night, 2 October! Compare your knowledge, test the wits of other players and see who fits the Mystery theme best. The usual 56 questions in 5 rounds will be waiting for you, and the top three will win great prizes from the Night of Scientists and Czech universities. The entry fee for the quiz is 100 CZK / person. You can register for the quiz in Olomouc on the FB event.

COMPETITION

Publishing the results of your scientific work and showing them to the world is extremely important in today's competitive environment – and those who do not do so are almost as if they have not done any research. The Werner von Siemens Prize (in Czech) can help students, educators and scientists in engineering, science and medicine to do just that. Help expand the ranks of UP laureates by nominating yourself or someone else by November 30. If the nominee wins, the person who recommended him or her will receive 10,000 CZK. The financial reward is, of course, linked to the awards themselves: 1,000,000 crowns will be distributed among this year's winners. You can apply or nominate someone on the award website (in Czech).