MENDEL news 5/2024 (eng)

5-24

The

Employee Newsletter of Mendel University in Brno

105th anniversary celebrations continue

On 21 September, the gates of Mendel University will be opened for further celebrations of the 105th anniversary of its founding. You can look forward to a wealth of events, including an alumni reunion, concerts, a food festival, an open house at the Botanical Garden and Arboretum including a butterfly exhibition, and a tasting of beer and wine produced by the University. Come and meet up with classmates and teachers, or just have a nice day at the MENDELU campus. More information on our websites. We look forward to seeing you there!

MENDELU highlights

This year’s SJWP winner is student from Litovel

The third iteration of the national round of the Stockholm Junior Water Prize was won by Tadeáš Fryčák from Jan Opletal Gymnasium in Litovel for his Root Tracker program, which automatically processes data related to plant root system growth. Biologists at Palacký University have been using it since January 2023 to save them several hours of manual labour per day. The jury recognized his project as being the most original and having great prospects. This was the first year the People’s Choice Award was given. It went to Zuzana Urbanová for her work on microplastics in Brno. The final round of the competition in Stockholm will include a written work, an online interview, and a poster presentation. The winner will receive 15,000 USD, a trophy, and a diploma. Every year the SJWP brings together secondary school students interested in water and sustainability from more than 30 countries. The Czech Republic has been taking part in the competition since 2022, and the Czech national round is coordinated by Mendel University in Brno.

Breathtaking finish at dragon boat races

As part of Mendel University in Brno’s 105th anniversary celebrations, incredibly suspenseful dragon boat races were held at the Brno Reservoir on 10 May. Ten teams made up of University employees took each other on as spectators watched. The final 150 m race was a truly breathtaking event; the winner was decided by just a few centimetres. In the end, the bronze was taken home by the crew of the Eisgrub, the silver by the Agronauts, and the gold by the Forest Arrows. But these races weren’t just about who was fastest. There were prizes for creativity and team spirit. The Worst Swimmers Prize went to the Scared Snails. The Best Chant Award and the highly coveted Fashion Police Award were won by the Stars of the Titanic. The Fair Play Rector’s Award went to Vladimir Hrubý from the Winning Boat. Congratulations to everyone who took part in the race, whether they won or just paddled with honour! You can see photos from the event here Ahoy!

Tour of Hotel International, a new partner organization

Mendel University has signed a cooperation agreement with Hotel International located on Husova Street in Brno. Guests of the University are entitled to discounts on accommodation at the hotel. We would like to invite all employees involved in organizing meetings or arranging accommodations to a tour of Hotel International on 21 June at 12:00. A tasting of selected foods from the hotel restaurant will be included. Register for the tour here The hotel can be used for business lunches, catering services, renting conference rooms, or accommodations.

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MENDELU highlights

PLAN FOR DEVELOPING EUROPEAN AGROFORESTRY

FORMULATED AT MENDELU

Leading world experts on agroforestry met at Mendel University. During the Seventh European Agroforestry Conference, which was held from 28 to 31 May, a Proclamation of Visions and Goals in the Development of European Agroforestry for the Next Five Years was drawn up. Conference has 396 participants from 43 countries all around the world.

Mendel Festival

Gregor Johann Mendel’s birthday will be celebrated on 20 July at the Augustinian Abbey on Mendel Square in Brno. Come and find out who Mendel’s Facebook friends would have been, refresh in your mind how genes combine, and check out how the apiary works. Creatively inclined visitors will have the opportunity to paint a portrait of Mendel. MENDELU will set up several stations where you can learn fascinating facts about his life and his contributions to research that changed the world. The event is family friendly, and entry is free! You can find more information at www.mendelje.cz

Europe Day in Mongolia

In cooperation with the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Ulaanbaatar, Study in Czechia, and the Delegation of the European Union to Mongolia, on Europe Day we set up a stand, where we presented Czech universities, especially MENDELU, as an interesting opportunity for Mongolian students to study abroad. We also presented Czech forestry projects and our cooperation with the Mongolian Walking Association. The event, which was held on 11 May 2024, attracted many visitors who expressed interest in studying in the Czech Republic. Visitors could also play a game involving visiting all four Czech stands, which brought even more people see us.

EURORURAL 2024 Conference

The Eurorural conference will take place from September 2 to 5, 2024. This year's theme is "European Countryside and Deglobalization." Applications and information

Ceremonial opening of playground and gazebo at Hrášek

On Wednesday, 15 May 2024, following a Mother’s Day concert at Hrášek nursery school, a new playground featuring a rubber surface, many play elements, and a gazebo was opened. The gazebo, which includes storage room, will serve as an outdoor teaching space and allow children to spend time outdoors in a stimulating, aesthetic environment.

SUSTAINABLE MENDELU

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MENDELU highlights

Information from the Library: MENDELU citation style template added to EndNote

A Mendel University of Brno or Library Recommends citation style template has been created for the EndNote citation manager. For more information, visit the Library’s website.

Breakfast with the Library

The Summer Breakfast in the Library will be held on Wednesday, 5 June 2024, from 8 to 10 o’clock. At this traditional event, we will serve breakfast at all our branches in Brno on Zemědělská Street and Generál Píka Avenue and at the library in Lednice. Come and have your morning cup of coffee in a pleasant environment, find out what’s new at the Library, and ask questions about anything you’re interested in.

Library opening hours in summer

The Library would like to wish all MENDELU employees a nice summer. We would also like to inform you that Library A will be open during the holidays. You can find the opening hours on the Library’s website. The email address knihovna@mendelu.cz will continue to operate, you will be able to return books at book-return bins, and you will still be able to order books and magazines for pick-up at special delivery boxes The full text of certain books and journals are accessible online 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Erasmus+ for staff and students

The International Relations Office is currently accepting applications for the Erasmus+ International Credit Mobility programme, which provides support to students and staff from the Czech Republic to travel to partner countries that are not part of the EU, and vice versa. Countries are grouped into 12 regions, each with its own budget. For more information and how to apply, visit https://international.mendelu.cz/hledame-akademiky-do-tymu-erasmus-mezinarodni-kreditova-mobilita/. Don’t miss this opportunity to be part of an inspiring educational initiative!

What do you know about MENDELU employees?

How many employees work at the University? What’s the make-up of the staff? Take a look at some interesting data, which you will soon be able see in the 2023 annual report.

Number of employees (physical persons) at the entire University including school enterprises and Student Hostels and Canteens Administration (not including contract workers)

Research data management

Do you plan on organizing your research data? Are you getting ready to create a data management plan or a brief description of research data for a grant application?

Are you thinking about how to back up files? Do you need advice on how to find a data repository? You can find detailed information about issues related to research data management on the Open Science Centre website by clicking on the Research Data Management tab.

For practical tips about research data, see the document Information for projects applicants regarding Open Access and Open Science. A Glossary of Open Science Terms has also been created to help you better understand this issue.

Number of employees of the Rector’s Office and Universitywide institutes 257 (14%)

The number of foreign employees has increased slightly. Foreigners currently make up 7 percent of staff today as opposed to 3 percent in 2019. The ageing population is also evident at the University:

If you have any questions, write to open-science@mendelu.cz.

MENDELU Bid Farewell to Vojtěch Adam

On May 30, a farewell ceremony for Professor Vojtěch Adam was held at the Church of Our Lady Help of Christians. He left a message and a wish for the public to donate blood. Donated blood helped him and prolonged his life before he passed away. In this context, we would like to remind you of our longstanding collaboration with St. Anne's University Hospital, which is crucial for this initiative. For more information, please visit www.vojtaadam.cz.

MEDIA HIGHLIGHT

2. MAY – agris.cz – Rok spolupráce MENDELU a Lesů ČR: HERE

2. MAY – Český rozhlas – Řečí peněz: 20 let od vstupu do EU: HERE

9. MAY – Brněnský deník – Výstava IRIS od 2 týdny dříve: HERE

16. MAY – Novinky.cz – Výzkum stromů mongongo v Zambii: HERE

1,896 of which women 936 (49%)

to complete a job) 1,588.6

Number of full-time equivalent workers (including agreements to perform work, but not agreements

The Faculty of AgriSciences has the most employees 422 The Institute of Lifelong Learning has the least 38 The largest age group is 40–49 years old 621

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Education and Accreditation

2024 MENDELU Innovation Grants for study aids

Summary of programme

On 15 March 2024, as part of the Programme for Supporting Strategic Management at MENDELU, the Department for Education announced a second round of calls for applications for MENDELU Innovation Grants to support innovation in study aids. The aim of this grant is to contribute to modernizing and creating new electronic study aids, and thus to contribute to modernizing and improving the educational atmosphere at the University. Applications could be submitted until 16 April 2024. Twenty-six grant applications were submitted from four different parts of the University, 23 of which were selected to receive funding. The total amount of funding granted is 916,000 CZK. The supported projects will be implemented from 20 May until 30 October 2024.

Launch of new ISAK system

In May, the new ISAK internal information system was officially launched. Its main use is managing records related to accredited study programmes. The launch of this system has opened up new possibilities for efficient record-keeping and managing processes related to accreditation. The main advantage of the ISAK system is its intuitive, user-friendly interface, which simplifies working with the system and allows users to easily search for data about accredited study programmes. Thanks to this system, a large part of the accreditation process has now been automated. The system, which is intended primarily for use by study programme guarantors and heads of units and institutes, can be accessed by logging in (using the same credentials as for UIS) at the following address: https://isak.mendelu.cz

Project applications by faculty and study type Faculty Part-time study Full-time study Total Faculty of AgriSciences 3 5 8 Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology 5 2 7 Faculty of Business and Economics 4 2 6 Faculty of Horticulture 2 2 Total 14 9 23

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