MENDEL news 7/2023 (eng)

The Employee Newsletter of Mendel University in Brno

MENDELU vs MUNI

The Brno round of the University Basketball League will take place on 15 November, when Mendel University in Brno will challenge Masaryk University. The match is certain to be a thrilling one for fans of both schools. The whole day will be full of events. A fan parade will be held before the game. As part of the pre-game ritual, the rectors of both universities will shoot the ball. Once the match ends, the festivities will continue at a student after-party.

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Roundtable: How are working conditions and opportunities for professional development at MENDELU?

We cordially invite all MENDELU employees to another roundtable in a series of talks related to the HR Award. This time, we will be discussing working conditions and professional development. The event will take place on 18 October 2023 from 10:00 to 12:00 in E23.

Welcome Week

Welcome Week was held at Mendel University in Brno from 11 to 16 September. The International Relations Office warmly welcomed nearly 200 incoming students. The week was kicked off with a speech delivered by the director of the office, Lukáš Kala, after which Bohdana Cechová provided attendees with practical information about studying at MENDELU.

Roundtable for beginning researchers

How can we support beginning researchers start their careers successfully? We invite all studying and working PhD students to a roundtable, where we will discuss their experiences, needs, and suggestions about the working environment at MENDELU. The roundtable will take place on 1 November 2023 from 10:00 to 12:00 in E23.

New general practitioner in Trávníky Street

General practitioner Dr. Tomáš Znojemský has taken over Dr. Cechová’s (HOUSE MEDICAL) former office in Trávníky Street. He is currently accepting new patients. Contact and further information. Dr. Znojemský does not provide occupational medical services for the University. This means we still send employees in Brno for occupational physical exams to the Military Hospital Brno. For more information, visit here,

Open Science Week 2023 is just around the corner!

Czech institutions offer you the best of Open Science, Research Data Management, Open Access and Citizen Science. You can look forward not only to Czech but also to international speakers, practical demonstrations, experience sharing and lively discussions. You can join in person or online! Just choose your topic and location: Prague, Ostrava, Brno, Liberec or Olomouc (16-20 October). On Tuesday in Ostrava, Vice-Dean Ing. Pavlína Pancová Šimková, Ph.D.

We invite you to the programme in Brno:

Do you know how not to get lost in the jungle of Open Science and Law?

Join us in Brno on Wednesday, 18 October at 9.30 am. The event is co-organized by MENDELU, MU and BUT.

Lectures:

• The opening speech will be given by the Vice-Rector for Creative Activities doc. Mgr. Mgr. Soňa Hermanová, Ph.D.

• Open Science and Commercialization of Scientific Results

• Licensing of software and datasets

• Secure handling of sensitive data from a scientist‘s perspective

• Re-use of publication outputs and research data

We look forward to seeing you at the BUT Rector‘s Office or via ZOOM. Registration here. Your Open Science Centre

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MENDELU highlights

SUSTAINABLE MENDELU

MENDELU highlights

Employee survey: How has the working environment at MENDELU improved?

MENDELU students help clean up Czechia

Every year, students taking the Social Responsibility of Organizations course offered by the Faculty of Business and Economics take part in the Clean Up Czechia event. It is coordinated with the environmental department of the local town hall of the BrnoNorth district, which recommends areas near the University that could be cleaned up.

This year, students cleaned up around the garages in Barvy Street in Lesná and around the children’s playground Na Vyhlídce. Students got to try out first-hand what corporate volunteering is like and at the same time did a lot of work to help nature. They collected a total of 700 kg of waste.

The University nursery school has a new playground

In May 2023, Hrášek, the University nursery school, was completely renovated, and a modern multifunctional playground was built. The children are enjoying their new play area to the fullest.

MENDELU for secondary schools in VIDA!

Mendel University in Brno will present a programme for secondary schools and upper primary schools as part of the Innovator Days at the VIDA! centre. On 16 and 20 October, there will be six lectures with the unifying theme of „Myths and facts about sustainability on earth.“

MENDELU will again fight at rowing races

We invite you to the 8th edition of OSMY BRNO, the traditional rowing race of university eight-women, which will take place on Saturday, October 14, 2023, in Brno-Jundrovo on the river Svratka. These races continue a rich tradition that began in 1937. Come and cheer on our athletes as they compete in the women‘s coxed four, men‘s coxed four, women‘s eight and men‘s eight. You can also look forward to the dragon boat, where the crew consists of representatives of the management and faculties of our university. The MENDELU vs. MUNI dragon boat race will take place as part of the traditional student races on the Svratka River from 2 pm over a distance of 150 meters, but from 10:30 am you can come and cheer on our students in the 4+ women‘s, 4+ men‘s and 8+ mix rowing boats. More information about the races can be found on the official Osmy Brno event page.

As we do every three years, we are currently collecting feedback from employees on the implementation of human resource management strategy in line with the European Charter for Researchers. This survey covers opinions and needs in the areas of ethics and professionalism, staffing, working conditions, and education and development. The findings from the survey will be used for creating a human resource management strategic plan at MENDELU for the 2024–2026 period in line with the rules for awarding the HR Excellence in Research Award and to win this award again. You will be able to find the survey in your inbox from XXX and will have until XXX to fill it in and return it. Your feedback is very valuable. Thank you for your cooperation and for contributing to the growth of our University.

Rector awarded outstanding achievements of students and staff

On Thursday, 21 September 2023, the Rector‘s Awards ceremony took place, which are awarded for significant and extraordinary achievements or contributions of students and employees of Mendel University in Brno. Seven female students, staff and employees received the award.

MEDIA HIGHLIGHT

1 September: Ekolist – Drought tolerance of wheat: HERE

8 September: Quality evaluation of new coneflower varieties: HERE

13 September: Czech Television – ICOLLE: Preventing teacher burn-out: HERE

16 September: – Hyde Park Civilizace - Emmanuele Charpentier: HERE

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From the world of science and research

Training and instructions for degree programme guarantors

The number of responsibilities associated with preparing new degree programmes, and writing self-evaluation and audit reports has been increasing in recent years. This is due to, on the one hand, the requirements of the National Accreditation Bureau for Higher Education, and, on the other, the University’s interest in ensuring the demonstratable functioning of the quality management system. Therefore, the Department of Quality and Risk Management has planned a series of training sessions for degree programme guarantors, which should help them prepare the necessary reports and forms. Participants will attend presentations where they will learn about the broader context of accreditation processes and the quality control of already-accredited programmes, as well as about the most frequent mistakes and how to avoid making them. Degree programme guarantors can download videos of the sessions and the presentations in PDF format in the Školení a návody section of akreditace.mendelu.cz

Nobel Prize winner at MENDELU

In September, our University had the honour of hosting 2020 Nobel Prize winner in chemistry, Professor Emmanuelle Charpentier. On Tuesday, 12 September, she gave a lecture titled “A Research Journey towards the CRISPR-Cas Genome Engineering Technology” in Room Q01, which was full to capacity. The following day, the University bestowed upon her the honorary degree doctor honoris causa. Several offices across the University helped plan her visit. We would like to thank everyone for their cooperation.

MENDELU Ph.D. school

November will mark the start of another year of the MENDELU Ph.D. School! It will be held from 6 to 10 November 2023 and is intended for students not only in their first year of doctoral studies at MENDELU. Participants will learn a lot of useful information about projects, publishing, science popularization, and matters related to employment. Register now! For more information, visit the webpage of the Project Centre

More than 30 project proposals submitted to Environment for Life competition

More than 36 projects were submitted in response to the seventh public call for projects issued by the Czech Technology Agency for the support of environmental applied research, experimental development, and innovation. MENDELU is the coordinator of 24 of them. Sixten projects were submitted by the Faculty of AgriSciences, 12 by the Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology, 4 by the Faculty of Horticulture, and 1 by the Institute of Lifelong Learning. The results should be announced by 31 March 2024. The projects will be implemented from 1 April to 30 June 2024.

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Ing. Soham Basu Výzkumník projektu Ústav ekologie lesa (LDF)