At the management meeting on Wednesday 4 December, the conditions for the announcement of Junior Grants at UP in the coming years were discussed. A meeting is being prepared to thank popularizers of science or to streamline visa issues for foreign students. Read the full summary (in Czech) (after logging in the UP Portal), we will prepare another report for you at the beginning of next year. More detailed information will be subsequently 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.

Canteens and FreshUPs: Changes starting Monday, December 9. We will be completely closed from December 21 to January 5. Read more here.

UP Library: from 16/12, the opening hours at the Armoury/Zbrojnice and library branches will be adjusted, and the library will be closed over the Christmas holidays until the end of the year. Read more here. (in Czech)

UPoint: Special hours will be open on Saturdays, Dec. 14 (1-6 p.m.) and Dec. 21 (9 a.m.-2 p.m.), which will be the last opportunity to redeem gift cards valid through the end of 2024. UPoint will be closed from Dec. 22 to Jan. 6.

Academic sports centre UP: The opening hours of the Academic Fitness gym and sauna as well as the schedule of sports classes from 6 January to 7 February 2024 can be found on the centre's website (in Czech). For a bargain university price of 70 CZK per lesson you can go to karate, zumba, volleyball, badminton or healthy back exercises. There are also various styles of jiu-jitsu on offer, which can be practically used in self-defence.

UP Press Bookshop at Zbrojnice/Armoury: The UP Bookshop will have to replace the floor coverings in the whole shop and the backroom and paint it. From December 16 to (at least) January 17, the shop will be closed, personal collection of orders placed via e-shop or e-mail will be possible on these dates, the e-shop will be open without restrictions. Details can be found on the website (in Czech).

We warmly invite you to a festive gathering full of Czech Christmas traditions, creative workshops, holiday music, and delicious food. It will be a great opportunity to meet friends and experience the magic of the season. If you'd like, we would be thrilled if you could bring a traditional Christmas dish or sweet treat from your country.

Looking forward to seeing you there, Welcome Office, ESN, and PEPA. When: Wednesday, December 18, 2024, from 17:00 Where: Vodární 6, rooms 1.04 and 1.03

Peter, an Erasmus student, beautifully captures the enchanting winter charm of Olomouc in the UP Chronicles. He shares his impressions of the vibrant Christmas markets, rich cultural experiences, and the unforgettable joy of seeing snow for the first time. Through his eyes, the city comes alive as a magical destination that blends tradition and wonder. Explore his inspiring perspective and let his story guide you to your own winter adventures. Read the full article here.

Six candidates are running for the position of Rector of Palacký University for the term 2025–2029. A public presentation of the candidates and a discussion with the academic community will take place on 15 January 2025 at 13:00 in the auditorium of the Faculty of Education (Žižkovo nám. 5). More information here.

Treat yourself or your loved ones to a ticket to the University Ball (in Czech), which will be really special this time. Its theme is the university and its talents, so it will not only be a celebration of the university as an institution, but above all of the people who make up the university community - students, alumni and supporters. The Ball is organised jointly by Palacký University and the UP Endowment Fund, which will celebrate its 10th anniversary in 2025 and whose mission is to support young scientists and artists. Proceeds from the ball will be directed to the UP Endowment Fund.

The program will offer musical entertainment by Natálie Tichánková & 4GOOD and PANGEA – The Beatles Revival Band, rich refreshments, raffle and mainly good fun. The evening will be hosted by Daniel Stach. The representative ball will take place on Friday 28 February 2025 at the NH Collection Congress Olomouc Hotel. Tickets can be bought on SMSticket.

Want to try studying in America? You have a chance. All you have to do is apply for a semester-long study stay at a partner institution within the UP study programme founded thirty years ago by the American philanthropist and friend of Palacký University Charles Merrill. In the academic year 2025/2026 you have the opportunity to study at the following schools: Moravian University, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and Coe College, Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Who the program is for, how to apply if interested, and other details are on the International Office website. Just don't delay too long, as the deadline is February 14. You can also read the experiences of students who have participated in the Merrill program before you.

Do you find it a shame that only a handful of people read your master's thesis? Then don't hesitate and start your publishing career right away at Academia Publishing. You have until 14 February to enter your thesis in the 13th annual student competition (in Czech) - and if you win, your work will be published in book form. In the categories of Life and Chemical Sciences, Life and Non-Life Sciences and Humanities and Social Sciences, not only factual accuracy but also readability and the ability to engage the reader are judged. The application form and the published works can be found on the publisher's website (in Czech).

Female and male athletes from the ranks of UP students can apply to the selection procedure of the VICTORIA University Sports Centre, where they can benefit from comprehensive support in the field of study and specific areas of sports training, such as sports psychology, stress testing or physiotherapy care. More detailed information is available on the website. (in Czech)

Christmas is a holiday of peace and purity of mind. The only thing you can have your head full of is books. We approve. To make it easier for you to fill your head or the head of someone close to you with books, UP Publishing has prepared a traditional selection of smart books that will surely not be lost under the tree. They are thinking about lovers of history, art, literature, philosophy and children's readers. And traditionally they also give a Christmas discount code plnahlavaknih. So happy, merry and bookish! (in Czech) See also the UP Press e-shop.

Thanks to UP's cooperation with Galmonez taxi company, you can now take advantage of a 20% discount on rides around Olomouc and the whole Czech Republic and a discounted offer of transport to selected airports. Details can be found on the benefits website. Don't forget to take advantage of the offers of UP and other partners!

Palacký University in Olomouc has decided to strengthen the communication of science and research and has established a new position of science popularizer - Vendula Lužná has become the new science popularizer since October. One of the channels to learn as much as possible about science popularization at the UP will be, among other things, the science popularization newsletter, which will be sent out once a month. You can subscribe to it here. (in Czech)

INVITATIONS

Don't forget to stop by the Armory/Zbrojnice courtyard next Tuesday, December 17, from 2 to 5 pm. You can look forward to alcoholic and non-alcoholic punches and small treats from the Residence Hall Administration, as well as an accompanying program. During the joint meeting, the winner of the autumn run of the interfaculty challenge "Roll up your sleeve" to support free blood donation will be announced at 2:30 p.m., followed by the presentation of the Extraordinary Awards for non-academic employees of UP. The Archbishop of Olomouc, Josef Nuzík, will also honour us with his visit and will bring the Bethlehem Light for the visitors and the university. It will then be available until the end of the week at the Armoury gatehouse. A detailed programme of the Punch with the Rector.

Are you interested in science and its communication? On Wednesday, January 15th at 3:00 pm at the Fortress of Knowledge UNconference - a meeting for scientists and women scientists, communication professionals, journalists, in short, anyone interested in the topic of science communication. The event, organized by SciComHub in cooperation with UP, is a space for sharing experiences and networking across disciplines. You can prepare a short presentation in which you present your communication or research project, a topic that you are interested in, or questions you are currently looking for answers to. The event does not have a limited capacity, you just need to register in the form.

TuSu-band is a group of enthusiastic musicians, in which about 25 (mostly Olomouc) students from different faculties sing or play. Following the bachelor and master thesis of their leader (at the Department of Development and Environmental Studies of the Faculty of Science of UP), which dealt with strategies to help children in developing countries, they decided to contribute to an organization that provides one hot meal a day to children in schools in developing countries. Help them with this and come to the concert at the Archbishop's Palace in Olomouc on 12 January at 3 pm (in Czech). Admission is voluntary and you will be able to taste the nutritious porridge that is served to children in developing countries.

NEW STANDARDS

• Editorial activities of UP
  This UP internal standard, effective from 17 December 2024, (in Czech) is addressed in particular to deans, secretaries, members of editorial committees, editorial officers of UP units, directors of university institutes, authors from among UP employees, employees assigned to the UP, students and employees of UP whose publications are to be included in the UP Editorial Plan, as well as persons responsible for financing these publications. It reflects the real situation of the implementation of editorial activities at UP and sets the basic rules for publishing periodical and non-periodical publications within the UP Editorial Plan, at the same time repealing and replacing internal standards No. B3-14/7-SR "Editorial Activities of Palacký University in Olomouc" and No. B3-14/8-SR "Subject of Editorial Activities of the Palacký University Publishing House in Olomouc".
  
  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

Because no one knows what effect the season full of candy will have, and because a healthy body is supposedly a healthy spirit, we have a competition for vouchers for a one-time entry to Legends Gym and a selection of organic lemonades from the Olomouc brand Bohemsca. All you have to do is email us the answer to the competition question by 18 December to soutez@upol.cz, the lucky draw will smile on you and the workout and drink afterwards are yours. Question: After the New Year, we, or rather the Academic Senate of UP, will have to elect a new rector. When will the presentation of the candidates to the UP AS and the first, second and third rounds of elections take place?