(This content has been translated automatically.)

Dear employees,

Welcome to the last UP newsletter of the year. We would like to wish you a successful and peaceful end of the year, during which we commemorated together 450 years since the founding of the university of Olomouc. As the countdown on the celebration page suggests, only one week and one day remain until the exact anniversary of the day when Emperor Maximilian II granted the Olomouc College of the Society of Jesus graduation rights.

In 2024, our newsletter will accompany you through the university world every 14 days. The first edition will appear in your mailboxes on Wednesday, January 10. The distribution schedule and newsletter archive can be found on the website.

WHAT'S GOING ON AT UP?

At the last management meeting on Wednesday 6 December, the report on the international evaluation of science and research at UP was discussed. The UP Scientific Council also met. Read the full summary (in Czech) (after logging in the UP Portal), we will prepare another one for you in 2024. 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.

At this year's Rector's Advent meeting with the staff, you will not only find alcoholic and non-alcoholic punches and small refreshments from the Accommodation and dining of UP. For example, the premiere of a student film about UP, which shows it in a symbolic 450 seconds, has been added to the afternoon's programme. You will also be able to take light of Bethlehem or small gifts. Colleagues from the Division for International Cooperation will be available on site to guide you through the Advent afternoon and to keep you company if needed. The updated programme of the meeting can be found in the university calendar.

Canteens and FreshUPs: changed opening hours from Monday 18 December. We will be closed from December 22, 2023 to January 1, 2024. The changes will be in effect for some locations until the start of the summer semester. Read more here.

UP Library: from 18 December, the opening hours of the Armoury and its branches will be adjusted, and the library will be closed over the Christmas holidays until the end of the year. You can also take advantage of the opportunity to borrow presentation books at home! Read more here.

UPoint Information Centre and UP Shop: Special opening on Saturday 16 December from 10 am to 4 pm. Gift vouchers valid until the end of 2023 will be redeemable no later than Friday 22 December 2023. The UPoint store will be closed from 23 December 2023 to 7 January 2024.

Academic Sports Centre UP: The opening hours of the Akademik Fitness gym and sauna as well as the schedule of sports classes in the period 8 January – 9 February 2024 can be found on the centre's website. (in Czech)

VUP Book Shop and Print Shop: Books will be available for the last time on December 21, and the print shop will be open until December 19. Read more here. (in Czech)

INVITATIONS

Mark the date of the UP Representation Ball in your calendars now, which you can look forward to on Friday 23 February 2024 at the NH Collection Congress Olomouc Hotel. Martin Kumžák's Moondance Orchestra, well known to viewers of the StarDance TV competition, will play for dancing and listening. We will be guided through the ball by the moderator, actress and singer Natálie Tichánková, a member of the Moravian Theatre Olomouc drama troupe. Tickets will be on sale in January at smsticket.cz – please keep an eye on the seller's website and ples.upol.cz.

On Friday, 5 January, the Three Kings (or Three Wise Men) will make a short stop at Palacký University during their journey on horseback through Olomouc. Come and meet them at 9:40 am in the Rector's Office Courtyard (Křížkovského 8). Afterwards, the carolers will ride on horseback to the city centre to the Olomouc City Hall. The Three Kings Collection is the largest charity fundraising event in the Czech Republic.

Thanks to the University's partnership with Nextbike, you can use shared bikes on more convenient terms (in Czech) all year round – even in winter, when it's a good idea to follow a few rules for safe riding (in Czech). There are currently 200 bikes available for hire in Olomouc, which can be parked in more than 155 stations, often in close proximity to university buildings. Prospective students can also make use of the shared bikes during UP's open days (in Czech), when a free half-hour ride around the university city is offered.

NEW STANDARDS

• Statutes of the International Festival of Popular Science Films Academia Film Olomouc

  This internal standard, effective from 11 December 2023, is intended for all employees involved in the preparation and implementation of the International Festival of Popular Science Film Academia film Olomouc and related events. It defines the purpose and objective of the festival and its organisational matters, which are also schematically expressed in the organigram, which forms Annex 2; the Organisational Regulations of the AFO, which form Annex 1, then regulate the activities carried out by the relevant persons and bodies in the preparation and implementation of the AFO and related events and the management links between the individual persons and bodies.
  
  

   

   

• Organisational security of salary payments in 2024 at UP

  This internal standard, effective from 14 December 2023, is intended for all UP employees. It contains the rules for the processing of documents for salary payments and the schedule of salary payments in 2024.

  
  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

Supporting women scientists working in the Czech Republic and recognising their important work is the aim of the L'Oréal – UNESCO Talent Programme for Women in Science. Women scientists wishing to apply must meet the following criteria: age up to and including 40 years and a Ph.D. in physical sciences, formal sciences, engineering sciences and technology, life sciences and chemical sciences. This year, a financial award of CZK 600,000 will be distributed among the three female scientists. The rules and conditions are at prozenyvevede.cz. The deadline for applications is 31 December.