31 May 2024, 13:57

Newsletter for PhD students and Postdocs

Dear PhD students and Postdocs,

the latest Early-stage Researchers (ESR) Newsletter for the academic year 2024/2025 has just been published! We hope you have successfully completed all the necessary study obligations and look forward to your holidays and rest. We congratulate the PhD students for another completed semester of your studies and look forward to seeing you again at the start of the new academic year in Autumn. We invite you to read this newsletter during summer to stay up-to-date and in your study mood!

Save the Date

MUNI SCI PhD Day 2024 Will Take the Form of a Scientific Breakfast - Don´t Miss it!

We are already preparing for PhD Day 2024, during which we will share with you the required minimum for the survival of every first-year doctoral student. However, this event is also suitable for students from higher postgraduate years and interested master's students. This year, we will follow up on the PhD Day organised by the MU Rector's Office, held on September 23, 2024, where you will learn the essential information necessary for successful study and will be given a presentation of what your studies offer.

The MUNI SCI PhD Day is going to be an informal event focused on communication. You can enjoy a delicious breakfast and have the opportunity to speak with some of our faculty leaders or learn tips and tricks from more experienced students. We will also explore potential career paths and discuss the best way to challenge yourself through international internships. Register and join us; we'd be delighted to see you!

When: September 25, 2024, (8:30 - 10:30)
Where: University Campus Bohunice, RCX 1
Registration

Scholarships

Fulbright Scholarships 2024/2025

The prestigious Fulbright Scholarship Programmes funded by the Czech and US governments provide opportunities for Czech citizens to study, conduct research or teach in the USA.

  • The Fulbright Postdoctoral Fellowship is designed to support study or research at the PhD level in the United States in all disciplines! You can apply for a complete programme or a research fellowship of 4 - 9 months. There are now two deadlines for research fellowships (September 1 and February 1), and you must arrange an appropriate invitation letter from the US. Minimum completion of undergraduate studies at the time of the deadline and good English proficiency are prerequisites. More info.

  • Fulbright Scholarship for researchers and lecturers from the Czech Republic
    in all disciplines! Prerequisites are a PhD degree, previous successful research and/or teaching activity, a good command of English, a quality research project
    and an invitation from the USA. The regular application deadline for the following academic year is November 1, 2024. The fellowship is awarded for three to ten months, depending on the applicant’s needs. So, you have plenty of time to work on your application and try to succeed! It could be the best year of your life! More info.

The deadlines for application:
September 1, 2024 (Postdoctoral fellowship)
November 1, 2024 (Researchers and lecturers scholarship)

*One of the main criteria for obtaining a scholarship is Czech citizenship and permanent residence in the Czech Republic.

Competitions

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 (September 12, 2024) will receive cash of EUR 1,000 and 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, 2024).

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 Falling Walls Lab Competition is open to anyone who is convinced of their idea and can convince others of it!
For more information, please visit The Falling Walls Lab Czech Republic.

The deadline for submitting your project: June 30, 2024.
The competition is suitable for PhD students and Postdocs!

Josef Vavroušek Award

The Faculty of Social Sciences of Charles University, Prague, is announcing a public competition for student and scientific research works for the Josef Vavroušek Award devoted to various aspects of sustainability-related issues and values represented by the personality of Josef Vavroušek. Participation in the competition requires an already defended doctoral thesis and the applicant's age up to approx. 35 years. The financial reward for awarded works will be CZK 100,000 in total. More info.

Prizes are awarded in the following areas:

  • Human ecology;
  • Sustainable development;
  • The economy of natural resources;
  • Social ethics and economic system;
  • Ethics and functioning of the political system;
  • Social system as a holistic system with target behaviour;
  • Social systems and discount of the future;
  • International political and economic system, territorial international studies and global governance;
  • Media communication and journalism supporting the values of life on Earth;
  • Educational systems with these goals.

In the case of competitive works, the evaluators will especially appreciate:

- analysis of nature, society and culture relationships;
- the interdisciplinary nature of the approach or at least interdisciplinary overlap;
- resulting in public and social policy

The deadline for submitting your work: July 26, 2024, (12:00). 

Brno PhD Talent 2024

Brno PhD Talent is a competition for students of doctoral study programmes that offers long-term financial support and career development support to 25 talented postgraduate students in the form of a scholarship of CZK 110,000 per year for a period of three years.

The competition is funded by the Brno City Council and administered by the South Moravian Centre for International Mobility. The scholarship will be awarded to the 25 best applicants who are convinced of the excellence of their achievements and the quality of their proposed research project.

Conditions for registration:

  • full-time student at a partner university
  • be enrolled in the first year of a doctoral study program (in September 2024)
  • be under 32 years of age at the time of registration

The application consists of three parts: a professional CV of the applicant, a description of the research project and definition of the team, and a description of the professional background that will be used to tackle the project. The application must be written in English and submitted in one PDF file. The maximum length of the application is 12 A4 pages of original text. For a more detailed description of the application form and the competition process, please refer to the Guide for Applicants. You can also take inspiration from successful projects from previous years.

Registration will be open from September 2 - 23, 2024. To register, you must enter your details, create your account, and upload your application electronically. All applications are assessed by two external assessors, and the applicants with the highest scores advance to the final round of the selection process. The finalists will then present their projects to the expert panel in a final presentation in December 2024.
In addition to assessing the applicant's expertise and the project proposal in a broader context, the panel members will also evaluate presentation skills, ability to explain the project’s benefits and defend the project proposal, personal motivation, reaction time, assertiveness, etc. After listening to all presentations and discussing with the finalists,
the committee will propose the final ranking. More info.

Vice-Rector Award for Excellence in Doctoral Studies

This award aims to motivate students and their supervisors to conduct their PhD studies efficiently and complete them quickly while striving to achieve excellent research results and produce outstanding quality dissertations.

If you have completed or will be completing your doctoral studies between July 1, 2023 and July 31, 2024, and have also managed to complete your studies in 4 (max 5) years, 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! In case of a prize, the student and the supervisor will share CZK 50,000 equally.

The nominations are submitted by directors of departments of SCI MUNI along with the recommendation from corresponding Doctoral Board and must include the following information: identification of the student (and supervisor) including information about the length of the student's studies, description of the student's excellence with focus on explaining the scientific contribution and societal impact of the dissertation project and list of the student's peer-reviewed publications.
Please send nominations to Jana Procházková until June 12, 2024. Web.

Soft Skills / Interdisciplinary Training

Try to Develop your Teaching Skills with the Teaching Competence Development Workshop

CERPEK's vision is to help ensure that all Masaryk University educators will be good teachers to their students, positively influencing their results and future success. The workshop "Dílna rozvoje pedagogických kompetencí/Foundation of University Teaching Excellence" is a pedagogical competence development in higher education programme that supports teachers with traditional and innovative tools and strengthens their self-confidence and effectiveness. The programme helps educators and supports in their development at all levels of teaching.
Students are motivated to use the services of trained tutors, which improves their perception of teaching and reduces drop-out rates. Web.

Deadline for registration: June 14, 2024
Held in Czech

Digital Competences and Tools in a Brand New Coat

Learn how to take advantage of the digital world around you in XS901/XS902 course! You will learn about the legal aspects of using images, and you will be able to use effective tools for learning and self-study. You will also deepen your experience with presentation preparation tools. You will keep your ideas structured and under control with a mind map. But we'll also look at how to read effectively, or how to search the web with clarity. We don't even forget topics like AI or cybersecurity. More info (In Czech).

Sign up now for the fall semester 2024!
Taught in Czech / partially online

Conferences

EMBL 50th Anniversary Scientific Symposium From Atoms to Ecosystems – a New Era in Life Sciences

In 2024, the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) will mark its 50th anniversary with an exceptional scientific symposium, inviting both virtual and in-person participation at Heidelberg on Thursday 4 – Friday 5 July 2024. The colloquium, themed 'From atoms to ecosystems – a new era in life sciences', will celebrate the remarkable journey of EMBL, from its inception in 1974 to the innovative and vibrant organization it is today.

The symposium will delve into the foundational scientific research, technology, service, and innovation that EMBL has nurtured over the past half-century. It will highlight the pioneering scientific contributions of EMBL, showcase how these have evolved over time to tackle global challenges, and explore cutting-edge scientific breakthroughs that EMBL is bringing to the life sciences of the future. The symposium sessions will feature presentations from current and former EMBL group leaders and pre/postdoctoral fellows. The first day will focus on research from cells to tissues, covering genome biology, developmental biology, protein structures, and complexes. The second day will delve into digital biology, the current EMBL research programme ('Molecules to Ecosystems'), and technological advancements past and present. The symposium will conclude with a panel discussion on "The past, present, and future. A discussion with EMBL’s global community."

Join the EMBL community in celebrating half a century of life sciences breakthroughs at this special symposium. Be part of the inspiring journey of EMBL and witness the influential scientific discoveries that shape the future of life sciences.
Registration deadline: June 27, 2024. Web.

When: July 4 - 5, 2024
Where: EMBL Heidelberg and Virtual

The ESCAMPIG Conference is Coming to Brno!

Conference ESCAMPIG (Europhysics Conference on Atomic and Molecular Physics and Ionized Gases) will be held in Czechia for the first time in Brno at Božetěchova campus of the Faculty of Information Technology, Brno University of Technology. Department of Plasma Physics and Technology of Masaryk University, the CEPLANT centre, and the Union of Czech Mathematicians and Physicists are the event organisers. The conference includes plenary, invited general and topical lectures, poster sessions and workshops. The International Scientific Committee will select some papers that have contributed to the research covering relevant issues, and the authors will be asked to give a short oral presentation. Web.

When: July 9 - 13, 2024
Where: Campus of the Faculty of Information Technology, Brno University of Technology

The 11th Annual International Conference on Geology & Earth Science

The aim of the Annual International Conference on Geology & Earth Science is to bring together academics and researchers from all areas of geology, earth science and other related disciplines. If you are interested, submit your abstracts by June 4, 2024. You can also register as a participant until June 17, 2024.

When: July 15 - 18, 2024
Where: Athens, Greece

Interesting Reading from The Faculty of Science

Barbora Rudzanová received the J. Michlová Prize from the Czech Learned Society

Text: Leoš Verner / Photo: Petra Nezvalová

Barbora received the award for her work published in the prestigious journal Environmental Science & Technology, in which she used transcriptomic analysis to describe the effects of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances on the development of B lymphocytes - a key component of the human immune system.

In her research, she is interested in how chemicals present in the environment around us can affect human health. Specifically, she focuses on the disruption of the immune system, which is often targeted by chemicals, and investigates the mechanisms of action of these substances at the molecular and cellular level. Thus, her work uses both laboratory skills (molecular biology methods) and biostatistical tools to process the large data from epidemiological studies. In her research she works with blood samples from people living in Brno and its surroundings (CELSPAC study), so the results can be considered as corresponding to the Czech population. In 2021, she completed a work placement at Utrecht University in the Netherlands, where she focused on the analyses of epidemiological studies, specifically the impact of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances on human health. She regularly presents her research at both, international and domestic conferences, and publishes in impacted scientific journals. She also enjoys presenting scientific topics to the general public, either to high school students or to the public on social media or at various popularization events.

Patrick Cramer: In science, you can only make a discovery once, you can't come in second place.

Text: Vladislava Vojtíšková / Photo: Irina Matusevič

Patrick Cramer is President of the Max Planck Institute. He officially opened three Dioscuri Centres in the Czech Republic to support excellent women and men scientists. After Poland, why did the Max Planck Society choose the Czech Republic to expand the programme to? What does it expect from the centres? And what does he think is holding back science in Europe? Read full article in Czech.

The Competition Start Your Business 2024 Already Knows its Winners!

Text: Jitka Štenclová / Photo: Jiří Salik Sláma

For the 4th time, Masaryk University awarded the best student projects and supported them with CZK 480 000 for their further development. This year 34 teams registered for the competition. Read full article in Czech.
 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)

© 2024
Masaryk University

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