At the time this newsletter is being sent out, the candidates for the position of rector for the term of office 2025–2029 are being introduced and a discussion between members of the UP academic community and the candidates is also being streamed on the university's YouTube. At the beginning of the year, the candidates' election program theses were published on a special website. You can also find a detailed election schedule and other details on that page. The candidates' presentations before the UP Academic Senate and the first, second and third rounds of elections for the UP Rector candidate will take place on January 22, 2025.

Don't miss out on the best courses or their specific dates! Open the current academic year schedule (in Czech) (in PDF) on page 8 and you will find the dates and times of the start of registration for the summer semester according to your faculty, year, type of study and other criteria.

The 14th annual Donate Blood with the Rector challenge will take place from February 17 to 21 at the transfusion department of the Olomouc University Hospital. Not only regular donors from among the university's students and employees are welcome, but especially first-time donors of blood or blood plasma. Do you want to have your first (or even several) donation as part of our challenge? Then just register by February 10 using the registration form or by e-mail at daruj@upol.cz, where we will arrange a day and time for the donation according to your possibilities and answer any questions you may have related to free blood and blood plasma donation. In addition to feeling good, you can look forward to a hearty breakfast as a reward and small gifts from UPoint and the Olomouc University Hospital.
International students and employees can also participate – however, they must be able to speak Czech and have health insurance with a Czech health insurance company. More at daruj.upol.cz .

For those interested in studying at UP, the UP is hosting its second open day. This time on Saturday – January 25 – it will offer information about studying and a rich accompanying program. From 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., they will be able to see the university premises of most faculties, dormitories, the canteen and other workplaces. The infopoint will be in the Zbrojnice/Armoury courtyard. Invite your friends to Olomouc for the weekend who might be interested in studying at UP, or come and see for yourself what else UP has to offer! Find out more on the Univerzitní město website (in Czech). A few days before that – from January 21 to 23 – UP will also present itself at the Gaudeamus tertiary education fair (in Czech) at the PVA Expo exhibition center in Letňany, Prague.

Do you already have a project underway, or just an idea, and are you looking for a place to start? Try applying for the 16th year of the student grant competition at UP - only until Thursday, January 16! The competition conditions, application instructions, and information about financial limits and priority topics can be found on the website (in Czech).

EDUCATION

Discover the science behind the northern lights in Iceland or gain experience in international business at the prestigious Copenhagen Business School. Focus on water resources and their protection at the confluence of the Rhine and Rur rivers in Duisburg-Essen or study biomedical fields near the golden sands of Tarragona. A semester stay at one of the European universities, which, together with UP, are part of the Aurora university network, will bring you not only study, but also life experience. The duration of the study stay is one semester during the academic year 2025/2026, you can submit your application by January 31, 2025.

Education and personal development play a crucial role in the field of sustainability and social responsibility. For those interested in courses related not only to nature conservation or environmental education, but also to development cooperation, migration, ethics and many other areas, the Sustainable University has therefore prepared a Database of Courses on Sustainability. Each of the selected courses also fulfills one or more of the seventeen Sustainable Development Goals. You can learn more in the article.

INVITATIONS

The University Ball will be truly extraordinary 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, graduates and its supporters. The ball is jointly organized by Palacký University and the UP Endowment Fund, which will celebrate 10 years of its existence in 2025 and whose mission is to support young scientists and artists. The proceeds from the ball will be directed to the UP Endowment Fund.

The ball program on Friday, February 28th will offer musical entertainment by Natália Tichánková & 4GOOD and PANGEA – The Beatles Revival Band, rich refreshments, a raffle and, most importantly, good fun. The evening will be hosted by Czech Television presenter Daniel Stach. You can find out more at ples.upol.cz, and you can buy tickets via SMSticket.

The up Faculty of Arts invites you to the 15th annual PHD EXISTENCE: Czech-Slovak Psychological Conference (not only) about and for doctoral students with the subtitle "...and do you have an ID card?", which will take place on January 27-28 in the premises of the UP ArtS Center (Konvikt). You can still register as a listener, until capacity is reached. You can find more information on the website phdexistence.cz.

NEW STANDARDS

• Procedures and methods of quality assurance at UP – Amendment No. 5
  This amendment to the internal UP standard, effective from December 18, 2024, (in Czech) is intended primarily for academic staff, students and other UP employees. It regulates the calculation and standard of selected quality indicators based on the evaluation of data that the indicators achieve in the long term.
  

   

• Social scholarships at Palacký University in Olomouc for the period January–June 2025 
  This internal standard, effective from January 7, 2025, (in Czech) is intended primarily for students of all faculties of the University of Olomouc and authorized employees of the study department. It specifies the amount of the social scholarship for the period January to June 2025.
  

   

• Rector's leave on January 15, 2025 
  This internal UP standard, effective from January 8, 2025, (in Czech) is intended for all UP employees and students. It allows for watching or participating in the public presentation of candidates for the position of UP rector.
  

   

• Handling complaints and petitions at UP 
  This internal UP standard, which will come into effect on the first working day after the position of ombudsperson at UP is filled, (in Czech) is intended for all UP employees. It sets out the rules for receiving, investigating, handling and recording complaints and petitions addressed to UP bodies.
  

   

• Ombudsperson 
  This internal standard, which will come into effect on the first working day after the date of filling the position of Ombudsperson at UP, (in Czech) is intended primarily for all UP employees. Its subject is to establish the position of Ombudsperson, define the requirements for performing this position, its activities, powers and relationship to other UP bodies and employees.
  

   

• Authorization – scope of powers of the Vice-Rectors, Bursar and Chancellor of UP when representing the Rector of UP and their actions on behalf of UP - Amendment No. 2 
  This amendment to the internal UP standard, effective from January 13, 2025, (in Czech) is intended for all UP employees. It regulates the scope of powers of the Vice-Rector for Internationalization, Legislation and Organization, the Bursar and the Chancellor.
  
  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.
  

COMPETITIONS

Because a person lives not only through work and study, we have a competition for you to win a gift package from the Metropol cinema in Olomouc (free ticket, canvas bag). All you have to do is write us an answer to the competition question by e-mail soutez@upol.cz by Wednesday, January 22nd and a pleasant film experience can be yours. Competition question: The so-called UP Academic Week will take place from February 17th to 23rd. What ceremonial act can we look forward to as part of its program on Wednesday, February 19th?

This year Palacký University is also a partner of the UniBand Contest for student bands, the winner of which will play at most of the Student May Fests ("Majáles") in Moravia. Do you have your own band or do you want to nominate your classmates? Just apply on the website www.unibandcontest.cz by 19 January and your chances of breaking into the world are higher!

Do you read the UP newsletter in English, but somehow like to write in Czech or Slovak at the same time? Try your luck in the 31st annual literary competition for UP students, announced by Rector Martin Procházka. Registration is open until March 2nd and you can participate in three categories: poetry, short story and drama. Students from all faculties can participate with texts in Czech or Slovak. The winners will receive a financial reward of up to 5 thousand crowns. All important information can be found on the website (in Czech). You can also join the competition's Facebook group.