9. 5. 2023, 10:56

Newsletter for PhD students and Postdocs

Dear PhD students and Postdocs,

We are glad that you have taken the time to read the Early-stage Researchers Newsletter, which will recommend you the Conference on Ethics and Integrity, offer you the opportunity to participate in competitions, enlighten you about the role of the Student Affairs Ombudsman and highlight some of the responsibilities for PhD students. It is not advisable to miss even a single word!

Pay Attention to the Announcement of the Office for Doctoral Studies

We want to remind you of your student obligation to enroll for the next semester. Enrolment will be open from May 23, 2023, through September 17, 2023. With that comes the responsibility to complete the Individual Plan of Study, i.e., complete feedback on term content for the Spring semester and complete term content for the Fall 2023 semester. Feedback for the Spring semester can be completed from May 1, 2023, through August 31, 2023, and term content for the following semester can be completed from June 1, 2023, through September 20, 2023.

All of the above tasks are performed in the IS system and are mandatory for all PhD students.

Obligatory Stays Abroad for PhD Students

The Board of Internal Evaluation MU announced that MU full-time PhD students must undertake at least a one-month internship abroad at a relevant foreign institution. Other forms of involvement in international cooperation can only be accepted in the case of combined studies and only in justified exceptions. For tips and detailed information on how to apply for the mobility programme and stays abroad, visit the website.

The Summer School - Update!

As previously announced in the ESR newsletter, the Summer School for PhD students will be held again this year - only the previously announced date has been slightly postponed, so please pay attention to the new date of the event (from August 27- 31, 2023). Registration for the Summer School will be via MS Forms and available from May 15, 2023, at 15:05. A registration link will be provided on this website.

The Ombudsman for Doctoral Student Affairs

The Ombudsman assists doctoral students with study problems and complaints that have yet to be resolved by other university bodies, no older than one year. Acts independently and impartially and treats all complaints as confidential. In cases in which the Ombudsman is active, he asks questions and seeks appropriate solutions based on the facts found. May also advise in disputed cases or mediation between the student and the opposing party.

The Ombudsman for Doctoral Student Affairs is prepared to:

  • Listen to the student and assist in analysing their problem to understand the situation better
  • Explain University policies and procedures and their application to the student's problem
  • Assist in finding relevant information and suggest possible solutions to the problem
  • Assist in finding a way to resolve conflict with fellow students and with staff
  • Facilitate communication between persons in conflict
  • Assist in reaching a fair resolution to the problem
  • Assist and advise in informally resolving a problem

 

The contact details for the Doctoral Student Ombudsman can be found here.

Competitions

Vice-Rector's Award for Excellence in Doctoral Studies

This award aims to increase the number of doctoral students who complete their studies in the standard study period, possibly extended by one year, with excellent results processed in their dissertation. The award should motivate students and their supervisors to complete their studies in the shortest possible time and to prepare and process excellent research and dissertations.

If you have completed or will be completing your doctoral studies between September 1, 2022, and June 30, 2023, and have also managed to complete your studies in 4 (max 5) years, then you can register for the MU Vice-Rector's Award. Suppose your thesis is additionally based on excellent scientific results - mainly the first author's publications in the best journals (typically Q1 according to WoS) or another field-specific excellent development. In that case, you have a great chance of success! Eleven pairs (student/teacher) can be nominated for the Faculty of Science. In case of a prize, the student and the supervisor will share CZK 50 000 equally!

The nomination must include the following information: identification of the student, including information about the length of the student's studies, a description of the student's outstanding academic record, a list of the student's publications, and identification of the supervisor. More information find here.

Please send nominations for the Faculty of Science to Mgr. Jana Procházková until June 30, 2023.

More Info

The Falling Walls Lab Competition

The competition aims to bring together the next generation of great scientists and innovators to develop a breathtaking idea – a scientific project, business plan or social initiative that will break down all walls and barriers. The winner of the national round will receive a cash gift of EUR 1,000 and will represent the Czech Republic at the global finale in Berlin, which is regularly held on the eve of the anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall (November 7 - 9, 2023).

The presentations are in English in a "pitch-talk" format for no longer than three minutes. It doesn't matter whether the topic is computing or medicine, economics or engineering, philosophy, robotics, chemistry, art or agriculture –  The competition is open to anyone who is convinced of their idea and can convince others of it.

The deadline is set for June 30, 2023. For more information, please visit The Falling Walls Lab Czech Republic

The competition is suitable for PhD students and Postdocs.

Workshops for PhD students and Postdocs

Preparing for the Renewal of the HR Excellence in Research Award and Site Visit Workshop

The HR Award Office of SCI MUNI, under the auspices of the Dean and the Bursar of the Faculty of Science of MU, would like to cordially invite you to a workshop led by the Irish assessor Mary Kate O'Regan from University College Cork on "Preparing for the renewal of the HR Excellence in Research Award and Site Visit" (audit of the implementation of HR strategy at the Faculty within the visit of 3 assessors, experts of the European Commission).

About the speaker: Mary Kate O'Regan (HR Business Manager – Research, University College Cork, Ireland)

Mary Kate is the Principal Investigator of the Horizon Europe-funded CARDEA project. She leads the successful HR Excellence in Research programme for UCC Cork University and is the lead evaluator for the European Commission's HR Excellence in Research (HR Award). She created and ran the innovative and successful Odyssey programme. She is responsible for aligning university and HR strategy with the career goals of researchers and supports researchers, research centres and UCC management. She received the UCC Staff Recognition Award for Leadership for her positive impact on the delivery of human resources services.

When: May 11, 2023 (9:30-11:30)
Where: Kotlářská 2, Brno, meeting room 2010

The workshop will be held in English.

Registration required, the number of seats is limited by the capacity of the meeting room.

Information about the HR strategy of the Faculty of Science (HR Award, HRS4R, HR Excellence in Research) can be found here.

We look forward to seeing you at the workshop!

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Workshop for (PhD students) Supervisors and Postdocs

The workshop "Professionalization of Ph.D. supervision" will focus on topics in the field of supervision practice (Context of supervision, Building and managing relationships, Issues and dilemmas in supervision), including sharing experiences and best practices.

Speaker: Lucas Zinner (Head of Research Services and Career Development at the University of Vienna)

When: May 17-18, 2023

Where: Komenského nám. 2, Brno (May 17, room 300 / May 18, room S116)

Registration needed: If you are interested, don't hesitate to contact Ivana Jašková.

Held in English / Only in Person

More information here. (in the interactive syllabus of PHD_SUPERS)

Please plan your participation for both days if you wish to attend the workshop. According to the feedback from supervisors who have already attended this workshop, you will only get practical benefits by attending the whole workshop.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Ivana Jašková.

 

Conference

European Conference on Ethics and Integrity in Academia 2023

The 9th European Conference on Ethics and Integrity in Academia (ECEIA) 2023, with the main theme Enhancing ethical practice, professionalism and integrity for future development, will be hosted by the University of Derby, UK, from July 12-14, 2023. The European Network for Academic Integrity (ENAI) and the School of Human Sciences of the University of Derby jointly organised the conference.

*The semi-hybrid conference will run mainly as a face-to-face event with opportunities to listen to all keynote speeches online and to deliver or join selected sessions online.
More info here.

We also remind you of the periodic webinars organised by ENAI on the 2nd Friday of every month. There are only two lectures left before the end of the Spring semester. On May 12, 2023 (13:00), Dr Phil Newton (Swansea University, UK) will take us through a webinar titled "Tips and tricks for running Survey-based research in Academic Integrity", and on June 9, 2023 (14:00), speaker Olumide Popoola, (Queen Mary University of London, UK) will present his talk "Do-It-Yourself forensic linguistic techniques for authorship identification, ghostwriting and plagiarism detection". Registration for the workshops is required.

You can also watch a recording of all the other ongoing webinars on the ENAI website here.

The European Plant Science Retreat in Wageningen

The University of Wageningen (The Netherlands) is organising a European Exit Seminar for PhD students in Plant Science. This year's retreat will take place from September 12 - 15, 2023, in Wageningen. All PhD students working on plant science topics within Europe are invited to attend this event. The meeting will include lectures by leading speakers, discussions with people from the industry and participation in workshops. The organisers invite PhD students to present their work as a poster or talk.
More information and registration here.

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Interesting Reading from the Faculty of Science / MU

Discussion of PhD Students with the Holder of The Vojtěch Náprstek Honorary Medal for Merit in Science Popularisation

Popularisation of science, cooperation with the media, and tips on making science as accessible as possible to the laic public were the main topics of the student discussion with the moderator Daniel Stach from ČT at CEITEC MU.

Stach, as the youngest laureate of the Vojtěch Náprstek Medal for Merit in Popularization of Science, awarded by the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, mainly gave PhD students and Post Docs in the audience some valuable advice. "Complex research issues need to be simplified, likened to everyday life - that's why they use, for example, conversions of large dimensions to the number of football fields or cars, even if it is sometimes ridiculous for the journalists themselves", as Daniel Stach revealed. "If you feel you've oversimplified, push harder," he advised. "And tweet to let us know about you," he urged activity on social media."

Read the full article here.

Daniel Stach talked to young scientists at CEITEC MU / Photo: Karolína Šupejová

The New Position of the Ombudsman for MU

The Rector of Masaryk University in Brno, Martin Bareš, has appointed lawyer Eva Janovičová to the newly created position of University Ombudsman. The task of the Ombudsman at Masaryk University will be, in addition to dealing with crises, also prevention and education. She will also focus on academic integrity and the ethics committee’s work.

Read the full article here.

Eva Janovičová with MU rector Martin Bareš /Photo: Adam Lukůvka

 

 Sites we recommend to follow:

Develop Your Skills  Externí odkaz

MUNI Mendel Doctorandus  Externí odkaz

 

Life Science Seminar  Externí odkaz

Competitions for Students  Externí odkaz

All issues of Newsletters for PhD students and Postdocs

Distributed by: Office for Doctoral Studies, Quality, Academic Affairs and Internationalization

noskova@sci.muni.cz

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Masarykova univerzita

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