News from UP

Lawyer Michael Kohajda will become the new rector of Palacký University Olomouc – so decided the UP Academic Senate in a secret ballot. After the official appointment by the Czech president, Associate Professor Michael Kohajda will head the university for the next four years, from 1 May 2025 to 30 April 2029.

Six candidates competed for the position of UP Rector: recreationist Ivo Jirásek from the UP Faculty of Physical Culture, lawyer Michael Kohajda from the UP Faculty of Law, physicist Jakub Navařík from UP CATRIN, physicist Tomáš Opatrný from the UP Faculty of Science, gynaecologist, obstetrician, geneticist, and current rector Martin Procházka, and psychologist and priest Peter Tavel from the UP Sts Cyril and Methodius Faculty of Theology. In their five-minute speeches, they presented their ideas of where UP should be heading in the four years to come. Then during a 90-minute debate, they answered inquiries concerning their visions for their respective teams of vice-rectors, university funding, salary policy, security, and internal communication.

The new Palacký University rector was elected in the second round. The UP Academic Senate made the decision between lawyer Michael Kohajda, who received nine senators’ votes in the first round, and physicist Tomáš Opatrný, who had eight votes. In the second round, Kohajda received fourteen votes. According to the rules, a minimum of thirteen votes is required for election.

“Thank you very much for your votes, thanks to everyone who has supported me. I will try not to let you down. My thanks also go to the current rector Martin Procházka for everything he has done for our university,” said Kohajda after the announcement of the result.

By the election, the UP Academic Senate proposes the elected candidate for appointment to the President of the Czech Republic. The election results and the protocol on the UP Rector election, along with the documents for the appointment, will be handed over by the President of the UP Academic Senate to the Czech Minister of Education.

In the modern era of the reinstated university in Olomouc, altogether fifteen rectors have headed it since 1946: 13 men and 2 women. Kohajda will become the sixteenth. The university he will manage currently has roughly twenty-three thousand students studying at eight faculties and more than four thousand employees.

doc. JUDr. Michael Kohajda, Ph.D. (b. 1981)

He graduated from the UP Faculty of Law (UP FL) with a Master’s degree in Law and Legal Science. He obtained his doctoral degree and received his habilitation in Financial Law at the Charles University Faculty of Law. He has been academically involved at UP FL for almost twenty years. Since 2020, he has held the position of Vice-Dean – (first for doctoral studies, qualification procedures, and finance, including investments; currently for external relations and investments). He is a member of the UP FL Scholarly Board and several other boards at the law faculties in Olomouc and Prague. His research and publication activities focus on financial law, especially on public budgets, taxation, banking, insurance, and capital markets. His main professional interest involves financial system rules and supervision. In recent years, he has also focused on the legal rules related to the issuance and handling of crypto assets. Since 2024 he has been the principal investigator of the Czech Science Foundation standard project Crypto Assets as a Threat to the Sovereign. As part of international cooperation, he has undertaken a number of international research and teaching stays in Europe, the USA, and Australia. In addition to his academic activities, he has a successful legal practice. In order to contribute to the development of society, he has been involved in politics. Between 2014 and 2022, he was a member of the Šumperk City Council, where he focused on budget policy and investments. In 2021, thanks to preferential votes, he won a seat in the Parliament of the Czech Republic for the Olomouc Region. He serves, among others, as a member of the Budget Committee in the Parliament. He was also a member of the Chamber of Deputies’ special investigative commission on the tragic event that took place at the Charles University Faculty of Arts in December 2023.

A new research project of the Department of Biotechnology at the Faculty of Science Palacký University Olomouc is aimed at increasing the resistance of alfalfa to cold, drought and soil salinity, in which scientists will use the latest findings in the field of genetic engineering. The Olomouc experts will cooperate with the group of Professor Tibor Pechan, who works at Mississippi State University in the USA. The project "Experimental use of mitogen-activated protein kinases and modern interdisciplinary approaches for the prospective improvement of alfalfa resistance to cold, drought and salinity" will last 46 months. The work of the scientists was financially supported by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports with an amount of almost 7.5 million CZK.

Alfalfa is one of the most important legumes in the world, and farmers grow it on more than 34 million hectares. Alfalfa prevents soil erosion, improves its fertility and structure, and helps reduce contamination of surface and groundwater. At the same time, it provides fodder and high-quality proteins and nutritional supplements for human nutrition, as it contains valuable antioxidants, minerals, enzymes, and vitamins. In addition, thanks to its symbiosis with soil bacteria of the genus Sinorhizobium, alfalfa can fix large amounts of atmospheric nitrogen. Alfalfa thus enriches the soil with this important chemical element, which reduces the amount of industrial fertilizers used that negatively affect the ecosystem.

However, changing climate conditions, drought, increasing amounts of salt in the soil, and low temperatures can significantly limit these beneficial properties of alfalfa. Experts estimate that up to 20 percent of irrigated soils are affected by salinization, and excessive drying affects more than 30 percent of arable land. Summer heat waves combined with drought severely damage agricultural crops, including alfalfa. Resistance to cold is crucial for alfalfa to overwinter, because autumn and spring frosts limit the yield of green biomass the most.

According to the principal investigator Jozef Šamaj from the Department of Biotechnology of the Faculty of Science, the research project focused on alfalfa therefore responds to the demand of farmers for a targeted increase in the tolerance of important crops to cold, drought and soil salinity in the Czech Republic and the USA. Sustainable production of agricultural crops requires the development of new genotypes that will bring high-quality and stable yields with high biomass production, while at the same time resisting changing climatic conditions.

The scientists therefore decided to increase the resistance of alfalfa using genetic engineering. “We want to reveal the functional mechanism by which the signalling of stress stimuli from the external environment, specifically through stress-induced mitogen-activated protein kinase (SIMK), affects the formation of stomata and leaf epidermis, and thus also the production parameters of alfalfa. Using genetic engineering focused on SIMK, we will then be able to increase the resistance of alfalfa to cold, drought and soil salinity,” said Jozef Šamaj. In their work, the scientists will also use modern gene editing and modification technologies, for example using CRISPR/Cas9, RNA interference and overexpression, along with phenotyping, multi-omics approaches and advanced microscopy.

“In the USA, there is no problem with the application of CRISPR/Cas9 technology in agricultural crops, which represents another added value. This is also the reason why, due to the non-flexible EU legislation, we are solving our project in cooperation with a partner in the USA,” said Jozef Šamaj. According to him, this highly innovative research will contribute to solving the long-term goals of developing new generations of resistant alfalfa. At the same time, it will significantly expand the successful long-term cooperation with the American partner, which has so far led to 17 joint publications in prestigious international journals.

Various aspects of contemporary urban life, especially those problematic ones that raise concerns for the future or that already generate certain challenges, will be examined by scientists from the Czech Academy of Sciences and experts from Palacký University. Together, they have started research via a project entitled Urbanity: Inequality, Adaptation, and Urban Public Space in the Historical Perspective.

The Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic together with Palacký University Olomouc succeeded in the call of the Johannes Amos Comenius Operational Programme (OP JAK) focusing on the social sciences and humanities. The two institutions were awarded €6 million to work on a four-year interdisciplinary project Urbanity: Inequality, Adaptation, and Urban Public Space in the Historical Perspective.

“The result of our work should be a consistent picture of what towns went through in the past, what they had to face, how they actually faced it, and what it all means for them in terms of the future. We want to prepare a classification of towns by the type of impact, by the type of threat, and by the type of vulnerability and/or resilience. We know that some towns are markedly better off, while others are worse off. We want to understand and explain why this is so and offer a certain set of recommendations for the present,” said Karel Nováček from the UP Faculty of Arts Department of History on behalf of the part of the Palacký University team, which will receive €1.5 million out of the total funding. In addition to researchers from the Department of History, the Palacký University group will also be represented by the Department of Psychology and the Department of Sociology, Andragogy, and Cultural Anthropology, as well as the Department of Geoinformatics from the UP Faculty of Science.

The experts will focus mainly on the territory of the Czech Republic, however some case studies originate from abroad, so they are going to deal with towns in the Central European context. Nováček’s team will also contribute with a case study that investigates the development of medieval towns in northern Iraq from the long-term view. Nováček, an archaeologist, has been studying this region, where specific climatic conditions resulted in striking vulnerability of towns, for a long time. The researchers will go all the way back to the Iron Age, when the first large urban settlements were established. They will investigate their spatial formation, their mutual relationships within various cooperating networks, etc. However, the main focus of the research will be on the more recent periods: the Middle Ages, the early modern period, and the 20th century.

“With the exception of Iraq, we will be conducting mostly comparative research. We want to interpret the results we already have and put them into new contexts,” Nováček said. The research group expects that the new interdisciplinary project, one of the first attempts to bring together different kinds of research dealing with similar issues from different perspectives (history, archaeology, sociology, social geography, psychology, political science), could take advantage of their synergistic effect.

The project is divided into three thematic parts, which are further subdivided into a number of more specific issues. Nearly fifty researchers will be involved.

“In the first part, entitled Urban Public Space as a Space of Conflict and Creativity, we’ll explore the meaning and role of public spaces in towns. These play an important role in urban life as environments where something is created, where power is demonstrated, and where both positive and negative interactions between people occur. For instance, the Institute of Contemporary History at the Czech Academy of Sciences will address a range of issues related to public life in socialist cities, where roots of the current state of affairs can be traced back. It is necessary to reflect on this in depth and then propose ways to better treat public space and the life that is associated with it,” said the scientist from the UP Faculty of Arts.

The second part, entitled Urban Inequality, will focus on how this environment generates inequality among people. “In the past as well as today, there have been few urban societies in the world that were or are built on egalitarian ideals and where common practice can maintain some degree of equality among people. It’s therefore possible to say that the city equals inequality among people, and that the larger the city, the more inequality it tends to create. The greatest megalopolises in the world represent differences that are sometimes abysmal. A large part of the project is thus focused on describing and exploring inequality. We will address questions such as: In which areas of the city is inequality created? How is it manifested? Is it hidden, or rather evident? Are there ways to mitigate inequality in urban space?” Nováček noted.

The third part of the research can be summarised in one word: Threats. In this part, researchers will focus on what threats and challenges towns faced in the past. “These could have been various natural disasters, earthquakes, fires, or various demographic events such as epidemics, famine, and so on. There are interesting studies that we want to compare and connect. We are interested in how towns in different cultural contexts and different times have been able to prevent threats, and once they occurred, how they have been able to deal with them. Many such threats are still relevant today,” said Nováček in closing.

The work on the ambitious project Urbanity: Inequality, Adaptation, and Urban Public Space in the Historical Perspective, starts in January 2025 and will be concluded in 2028. Although the project is primarily scientific and will deliver scientific results such as publications in peer-reviewed journals and monographs, it will also result in activities for the public, such as exhibitions, films, popular publications, and a geographical application that could facilitate the understanding of spatial and topographical qualities of cities. The research team also aims to make recommendations to state and local governments.

Urbanity: Inequality, adaptation, and urban public space in the historical perspective.

Johannes Amos Comenius Operational Programme.

Principal coordinator: Institute of Contemporary History at the Czech Academy of Sciences. Partner institutions: Institute of Philosophy at the Czech Academy of Sciences and the Palacký University Olomouc Faculty of Arts.

Registration number: CZ.02.01.01/00/23_025/0008735.

A graphene material for energy storage in supercapacitors, developed by scientists at the Czech Advanced Technology and Research Institute (CATRIN) of Palacký University Olomouc, is moving closer to real-world applications. This advancement is thanks to Atomiver, a newly established spin-out company, which aims to refine the carbon material into a market-ready product and explore its commercial potential. The material is already secured by a Japanese patent, with additional patents in progress.

An electrode material based on nitrogen-enriched graphene—a two-dimensional material composed of a single layer of carbon—was created by researchers in Olomouc seven years ago. Over the following years, its significant potential for electrical energy storage, particularly in supercapacitors, was confirmed. Supercapacitors offer a compelling alternative to widely used lithium-ion batteries. CATRIN researchers have since worked on developing a prototype device with unique properties as part of the prestigious TRANS2DCHEM project, funded by the European Innovation Council. This effort involved collaboration with Bar-Ilan University in Israel and the Italian company ITELCOND. Establishing Atomiver was the next logical step in the material’s journey toward commercialization.

“Given the excellent properties of our material, we decided to advance to the next phase of commercialization. Our goal is to produce nitrogen-doped graphene in bulk without compromising its quality and integrate it into supercapacitors designed for the target market. At a time of growing global energy demand and increasing need for efficient and stable energy storage solutions, our electrode material holds great promise,” said Michal Otyepka, co-author of the technology and co-owner of the spin-out. Supercapacitors incorporating this material may one day support critical applications such as ensuring the safe operation of large data centers, IoT networks, transportation systems, energy grids, space electronics, and even implanted medical devices.

The current gold standard for energy storage—rechargeable lithium-ion batteries—faces limitations in power density and safety in some applications. In contrast, the Olomouc team has developed a safe electrode material offering unprecedented energy and power density. In laboratory tests, supercapacitors using this material achieved energy density of up to 200 Wh/L and demonstrated exceptional performance potential in power density of up to 52 kW/L, far surpassing existing technologies. “Boosting the energy density of supercapacitors beyond 40 Wh/L represents a major technological breakthrough, enabling broader applications requiring high performance,” Otyepka added.

Recently, Atomiver signed a licensing agreement with Palacký University, granting the company rights to utilize the university’s know-how in return for compensation. “Spin-out companies are critical for transforming unique ideas into market-ready technologies. They guide innovations through the incubation phase, where the technology is rigorously tested in the market and refined into a competitive product. This process, which demands speed and intensive communication with commercial partners, is challenging within an academic environment,” explained Jiří Navrátil from the CATRIN Technology Transfer Office. Translating research into practical applications is a cornerstone of CATRIN’s mission, alongside high-quality research, interdisciplinary collaboration, and international partnerships.

“The CATRIN team has built an exceptional technological foundation, and Atomiver’s mission is to carry this research forward to commercialization. It is a privilege to lead this project as we transition from research to product. We’ve already received strong interest from commercial partners, and our immediate goals include closing the first investment round and establishing a robust supply chain within the European Union,” said Andrew Hladký, CEO of Atomiver.

The significance and potential impact of the technology are underscored by Atomiver’s acceptance into the NATO DIANA acceleration programme, which selected only 74 companies out of more than 2,600 applicants. CzechInvest has also supported Atomiver through the Technology Incubation program, providing further funding for its development.

Since the beginning of July, the Palacký University Olomouc Department of Geoinformatics and Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg have been collaborating on the BorderData project, which will focus on researching cross-border links in the areas of labour market, real estate, traffic flow, and mobility using innovative data sources.

The project aims to overcome the limitations of traditional statistical methods by using new modern data sources and analytical techniques. These sources include social media data analysis, web scraping in the real estate market, the use of location data from mobile operators, and car tracking.

“Even though we have relatively high-quality statistical data on both the German and Czech sides, in many respects it is simply not enough. Our goal is to go beyond the limits of existing official statistics and explore the potential of non-traditional data sources for the purposes of cross-border cooperation,” said Vít Pászto, the project’s principal investigator.

The international project team plans to conduct case studies to develop a methodology for improving spatial monitoring of geographical phenomena and processes in regional development. The results will be published in peer-reviewed articles and should benefit local entities as well as facilitate broader international research collaboration.

“The cooperation with our German colleagues has a very interesting dynamic because we have already been successful with another joint project. In a broader consortium, we managed to obtain a rather prestigious contract within the framework of the pan-European ESPON calls,” concluded Pászto.

The BoarderData project (LUABA24029) was supported by the INTER-EXCELLENCE programme funded by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic. More information about the project can be found here.

Lack of physical activity and excessive sitting, watching inappropriate content, social isolation, cyberbullying… All of these and even more risks associated with the unhealthy use of digital technologies, as well as the complex development of children’s resilience to them, will be targeted by a multidisciplinary team led by researchers from the UP Faculty of Physical Culture under the project ReDiKid: Children in the Digital World. The results of the four-year project funded by the Johannes Amos Comenius Operational Programme will find their applications in the fields of education, legislation, and prevention of risky behaviour.

The research activities, which also aim to strengthen children’s physical, mental, and social adaptability to the changing conditions of the contemporary world, will focus mainly on children aged 9–11. “This period represents a critical stage of development when children begin to use digital technologies intensively, which significantly affects their digital literacy, social interactions, and online behaviours. In addition, at this age, fundamental psychological and cognitive changes begin to occur, which shape their ability to respond to digital challenges and risks,” explained the project’s principal investigator, Prof Jana Pelclová from the Institute of Active Lifestyle at the Palacký University Olomouc Faculty of Physical Education.

“Our goal is not only to grasp the phenomenon of resilience in children theoretically, but also to gain new knowledge related to the relationship between resilience and risk behaviours, analysing external and internal factors such as physical behaviour, digital literacy, and the school environment. We will also conduct laboratory investigations on psychophysiological aspects of resilience, i.e. the ability to overcome adverse situations, and use ambulatory data collection to gain unique insights into individuals’ behaviour in natural settings and the impact of digital media on their mental resilience,” she added.

The kernel of the multidisciplinary research team is made up of researchers from the UP Faculty of Physical Culture, while colleagues from other departments of Palacký University, such as the Faculty of Education and the Faculty of Arts, will also contribute their expertise in the areas of mental and physical health and the legal aspects of the use of digital technologies. Research activities will also involve experts from Masaryk University in Brno, the University of Hradec Králové, and researchers from renowned foreign institutions such as Yale University and Victoria University, Australia.

The findings will be used to develop targeted intervention and education programmes aimed at developing physical, mental, and social resilience in children and adolescents, by means of promoting physical activity, healthy sleep habits, digital literacy, and social skills. Planned workshops and seminars will be aimed at parents, educators, and professionals working with children and adolescents.

The results of the project will also include methodologies that should set new standards for research on resilience and on the physical and digital behaviours of children in the Czech as well as international environment; conducted legal analyses should have an impact on the adjustment of the Czech legal framework in order to better protect children in the digital environment.

“I am very excited and delighted about this project, however not only because it is the only project under the auspices of Palacký University that succeeded in the call focused on social sciences and humanities. I am very grateful to Prof Pelclová and all those who have participated in the work that has been done so far, and I look forward to the results that will contribute to a healthier future for children,” said Michal Šafář, Dean of the UP Faculty of Physical Culture.

The four-year project ReDiKid: Resilient Children in the Digital World (reg. no. CZ.02.01.01/00/23_025/0008686) is funded by the Johannes Amos Comenius Operational Programme within the call Social Sciences and Humanities: People and Humanity in the Global Challenges of Today. The cost of research activities is estimated at €6 million.

Representatives of the Experientia Foundation and Palacký University have signed a contract on a start-up grant, which will focus on the development of chemical tools for the study of biomolecules in living systems and targeted influence on biological processes. The start-up grant was awarded to Athanasios Markos, a graduate of the Faculty of Science, who will lead his own research group at the Department of Organic Chemistry from January 2025.

“We are developing chemical tools to study biochemical processes. We seek to gain a deeper understanding of how these processes work in living organisms and use the knowledge we gain to develop new drugs and diagnostic tools,” said Markos about his research.

The contract for the start-up grant was signed by the Foundation’s director, Anna Slaninová, together with Palacký University Rector Martin Procházka and Athanasios Markos from the Department of Organic Chemistry. The meeting was also attended by Mr and Mrs Dvořák, founders of the Experientia Foundation. “We are delighted that two scientists from the Palacký University Faculty of Science have already received our prestigious start-up grant. They are young, ambitious chemists with experience gained from top foreign laboratories. And what is even more important for us, they want to make Olomouc a significant place on the map of world chemistry and a centre of excellence,” said the Dvořáks.

The idea of creating molecules useful for biological research under physiological conditions, i.e. directly in living systems, originated in Prague. Thanks to this procedure, scientists will be able to avoid biased information or undesirable effects. “It was at the time when I came back from my internship in Zurich to visit my wife. We want our methods to be able to be used in plants, animals, and bacteria – virtually in any living system. I firmly believe that with the support of a start-up grant from the Experientia Foundation, we will manage to develop methods that will be useful for the scientific community,” added the young scientist.

The graduate in Organic Chemistry at the Faculty of Science, thanks to the Experientia Foundation, worked at ETH Zurich, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, one of the most prestigious universities in the world. “It is great that our department has been able to establish a second junior group in the last two years with the support of the Experientia Foundation. It is also gratifying that these are our successful graduates who bring back experience gained from prestigious universities abroad. Both Athanasios Markos and Ondřej Kováč are a great promise for the department for future development – not only in science, but also in terms of teaching,” added Miroslav Soural, Head of the Department of Organic Chemistry.

Palacký University scientists have described the mechanism by which bacteria develop resistance to silver nanoparticles – which means antibiotics can now restore the power they once had. The experts found out that bacteria exposed to silver nanoparticles produce abundant amounts of substances that force the silver nanoparticles to clump together – and by doing so, they lose their antibacterial effect. The researchers have also found a way to prevent the bacteria from gaining resistance to the silver nanoparticles. These new findings could greatly help in the ongoing efforts to combat the growing resistance of microorganisms to antibiotics, which severely complicates the treatment of bacterial infections. The results of the Olomouc scientists’ work were published in the journal Communications Biology.

The long-term over-prescribing of antibiotics, typical of the end of the last century in particular, has resulted in the increasing resistance of bacteria to antibiotics. In recent years, chemists, microbiologists, and physicians have therefore become increasingly interested in the antibacterial effects of silver nanoparticles, which have gradually become part of many commercial products with antibacterial effects. Scientists from the Department of Physical Chemistry at the UP Faculty of Science and from the Department of Microbiology at the UP Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry were once among the first researchers in the world to demonstrate the great antimicrobial effect of silver nanoparticles as well as their ability to restore the effectiveness of inactive conventional antibiotics against resistant bacteria.

Bacteria versus nanosilver

However, bacterial resistance may not only be a problem for antibiotics, but also for the silver nanoparticles themselves. Scientists from the Faculties of Science and Medicine in Olomouc have been working on this challenge for the last ten years. In 2018, they were the first in the world to describe how the mechanism of resistance of Gram-negative bacterium E. coli to silver nanoparticles emerges and develops. After repeated administration of nanosilver, this bacterium increases its production of a protein called flagellin, which causes the nanoparticles to aggregate and subsequently lose their antibacterial properties.

The fact is that the flagellin protein has adhesive properties and thus acts as a kind of glue that holds the silver particles together. This results in large clusters of nanoparticles that lose all of their antibacterial activity. The Olomouc scientists published this groundbreaking discovery in the journal Nature Nanotechnology in 2018. With almost 700 citations, their work has received enormous acclaim among experts.

However, the research didn’t stop there. Subsequently, scientists from the UP Faculty of Science, in collaboration with their colleagues from the UP Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry and the Czech Advanced Technology and Research Institute (CATRIN), investigated the mechanism of resistance of Gram-positive bacterium Staphylococcus aureus to silver nanoparticles, which also induced the aggregation of nanoparticles.

“In this case, the aggregation of silver nanoparticles could not have been triggered by the flagellin protein, as S. aureus does not possess it. After extensive and challenging research, we discovered and described the mechanism by which this bacterium also resists the effects of nanosilver. This time it was the excessive formation of bacterial biofilm, which has a similar impact on silver nanoparticles as flagellin,” said Lucie Hochvaldová from the Department of Physical Chemistry at the UP Faculty of Science.

The power of pomegranates

The UP research team also started looking for a way to overcome this bacterial resistance. Once they described the resistance mechanism in detail, they became able to find a way to prevent the aggregation of nanoparticles around the bacteria. “We achieved this by adding substances to the nanosilver that simultaneously inhibit both the flagellin production in E. coli and the bacterial biofilm formation in S. aureus. Such properties are exhibited by substances contained, for example, in pomegranate rind extract,” said Aleš Panáček from the Department of Physical Chemistry at the UP Faculty of Science.

The moment this extract was applied together with silver nanoparticles, the bacteria stopped forming flagellin or biofilm to a sufficient extent, thus losing the ability to make nanosilver particles aggregate and develop resistance to their effects. However, the researchers have found yet another way to overcome the bacterial resistance to silver nanoparticles – this time through increasing their stability by binding them to graphene. The firm bond that binds the silver nanoparticles to the surface of graphene stabilises them so much that the flagellin and/or biofilm produced by the bacteria cannot aggregate the particles, and thus they preserve their high antibacterial activity.

“Our research will certainly improve our understanding of the bacterial resistance mechanisms to nanostructured materials, which differ from resistance mechanisms to conventional antibiotics. It also provides potential strategies to combat bacteria causing serious infectious diseases, counteract rising bacterial resistance complicating treatments, and develop more effective antimicrobial treatments. We believe that this work will stimulate a series of detailed experimental investigations involving research on the development of bacterial resistance to antibacterial nanoparticulate materials as well as further search for ways to fight it,” added Milan Kolář from the Department of Microbiology at the UP Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry.

A research team from Palacký University CATRIN and VSB-Technical University of Ostrava, in collaboration with the US Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and the Indian Institute of Technology Jammu, has developed an innovative approach to the separation of noble gases using two-dimensional nitrogen-doped graphene materials. This new method has the potential to significantly reduce the costs of noble gas production, potentially revolutionizing industrial processes. It also paves the way for novel medical applications, such as the storage and transport of therapeutic gases. The study was published in the journal Small.

“Thanks to our extensive experience in 2D fluorographene chemistry at CATRIN, we successfully integrated nitrogen precisely into the graphene structure. This modification has endowed the material with unique properties, including ‘nanochannels’ and varying ratios of nitrogen atoms incorporated into the graphene lattice, significantly enhancing its ability to separate xenon from krypton,” explained Veronika Šedajová, the first author of the study.

Theoretical calculations performed on the KAROLINA supercomputer in Ostrava, along with experimental data from the American and Indian laboratories, revealed that these materials exhibit up to 50% higher selectivity for xenon compared to krypton. This increased selectivity is attributed to the stronger non-covalent interactions between xenon and nitrogen within the graphene lattice, which improves the adsorption and separation of noble gases. Additionally, other variants of nitrogen-doped graphene were synthesized using environmentally friendly solvents, further refining the materials’ properties.

Noble gases like xenon (Xe) and krypton (Kr) are essential in many cutting-edge technologies, including medical diagnostics, semiconductor manufacturing, and the space industry. However, xenon is exceedingly rare, comprising only about 0.08 ppm of the Earth’s atmosphere, making its extraction both energy- and cost-intensive. Current methods, such as cryogenic air distillation, are inefficient, prompting scientists to seek new, more effective techniques for noble gas separation.

“This research demonstrates that advancements in modern materials chemistry can be key to addressing global challenges, such as the efficient utilization of scarce resources, while also supporting the sustainable development of industry and science. Notably, one of the nitrogen-doped graphene derivatives we’ve used has already found applications in areas like energy storage for supercapacitors,” concluded Michal Otyepka, a corresponding author of the study.

For more details, you can access the full study here.

The award of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports for outstanding students and graduates of the study programme and for extraordinary achievements was awarded to Eliška Zgarbová, a graduate of the UP Faculty of Science. She received the award from Minister Mikuláš Bek and Radka Wildová, Chief Director of the Higher Education, Science and Research Section, at the Liechtenstein Palace in Prague. Ten laureates in total were awarded.

“When I learned that Palacký University nominated me for this award, I was very proud to represent a university with more than twenty thousand students. The fact that I was chosen by a committee of the Ministry of Education was unimaginable. It’s such a beautiful end to my studies, the symbolic icing on the cake. I appreciate the award immensely. I would like to thank my supervisor, Radim Vrzal from the Department of Cell Biology and Genetics, who had a great deal to do with shaping my scientific career. He is a person with a huge passion for science, which he can transfer to students and motivate them. The way I view science, write papers, and work in the lab is a credit to him. I would also like to thank the UP Endowment Fund for their support and nomination,” said Zgarbová.

“As coordinator of the UP Endowment Fund, I had the honour to get to know Eliška better and to observe her extraordinary involvement in research, educational and popularization activities. Eliška was a scholarship recipient of the Fund in 2023. She completed a research internship at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, where, thanks to the financial support of the Fund, she was able to implement her project focused on the study of organoid technology in the field of Crohn’s disease research. While carrying out her project, she was involved in development and educational activities offered by the Talented Palacký programme at our university, beyond the scope of her duties. In addition to her academic work, Eliška is significantly involved in the non-profit sector, primarily through scouting, where she works as a club leader and organiser of volunteer activities. Her long-term involvement in aid during the Covid-19 pandemic and after the Russian invasion of Ukraine demonstrates her strong sense of responsibility and social commitment. It has been a pleasure to support her and I believe that she deserves this prestigious award, and that her future career will continue to bring significant results for the scientific community and beyond,” said Katrin Stark.

The Ministry award is given to outstanding students or graduates of a Bachelor’s, Master’s or doctoral study programme for outstanding achievements in their studies or in scientific, research, development and innovation, artistic or other creative activities related to their studies in a given study programme. The prize is also awarded to a student or graduate for an extraordinary act of civic bravery, responsibility, or dedication. Proposals for the award can be sent to the Ministry by university rectors.

Eliška Zgarbová first studied Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering at the Faculty of Science, and in her PhD programme, she focussed on molecular and cell biology, specifically on the effect of derivatives on aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) activity in prostatic cell lines. In 2023, she became the overall winner of the 20th annual Student Scientific Competition for the Dean’s Award in the Faculty of Science, and in 2024, she won third place in the FameLab “stand-up” science competition (reported here).

“Eliška possesses excellent professional and personal qualities such as diligence, reliability and conscientiousness. Her willingness to help anyone, anytime, has led to her always having warm relationships with the members of the department and students. I am very grateful to have been able to guide and work with her and I hope that she will continue to develop her still hidden potential,” added Radim Vrzal from the Department of Cell Biology and Genetics.

One of the highest administrative positions at Palacký University Olomouc is changing hands. Current bursar Petra Jungová will be replaced by Josef Suchánek. As the head of the Bursar’s Office, he will be in charge of the university’s economic and internal administration.

“I have asked the current bursar, Petra Jungová, to take part in stabilising the Public Tender Office. Simultaneously, I’d like to thank her for her work for the university to date. I am glad that Josef Suchánek has accepted my offer to head the Bursar’s Office. I expect him to manage the agenda effectively and strengthen the position of our university – not only in the region but also at the national level. I believe that he will use his rich experience and contacts that he has gained during his professional career, especially in the management of the Olomouc Region, to the benefit of Palacký University,” said UP Rector Martin Procházka.

Josef Suchánek came to the university nine years ago when he became the director of UP Accommodation and Dining Facilities (UP ADF). Previously, he worked in the management of a multinational wholesale chain, however he took a break from his work at the university four years ago to serve as Governor of the Olomouc Region. He returned to head UP ADF less than a month ago.

“I very much appreciate the UP Rector’s trust. It is an honour and a challenge for me, especially because I am entering my new role right before the end of the fiscal year, which is not an easy period at such a large public institution. However, I can offer my previous experience of managing divisions of a commercial company, of running a large university office, and of managing a whole region, all of which involved administrative as well as financial management. Each of these positions had its own specifics; I learned a great deal and will therefore try to apply my knowledge to the financial management of the university as a whole. I am looking forward to the job, and I take helm of the Bursar’s Office with respect and humbleness,” said Suchánek.

UP Rector Martin Procházka has entrusted Josef Suchánek with the management of the economic and administrative agenda from the beginning of December this year. The open hiring process for the position of UP Bursar will be held in the first quarter of the next calendar year.

Have you defended a Bachelor’s or Master’s thesis related to sustainability and sustainable development? Enter yours into the first year of the competition for the UP Rector’s Award for Sustainability. Authors of the award-winning theses will receive a financial reward. The deadline for submissions is Monday, 2 December 2024.

Palacký University Olomouc strives to be fully environmentally, socially, and economically sustainable. This means that it should act and develop in such a way that it is able to meet its needs, however without negative impacts on the future and the generations to come.

Everything you need to know about sustainable development at UP is available on the Sustainable University website.

UP focuses on 15 areas of sustainable development, including environmental (“green”) sustainability, often closely linked to economic sustainability (improved waste sorting, energy savings, greenery, and biodiversity), and social sustainability (equal opportunities for all, responsible purchasing, and community care). The university also supports education and research on sustainability. And this academic year, the UP Rector’s Award for the best sustainability-oriented student theses will be granted for the first time.

Students and graduates of Bachelor’s and Master’s degree programmes are eligible to submit their final theses (defended in 2023 and 2024). Not only research theses but also artistic theses are eligible for the award if the thesis takes sustainability into account. The thesis should explore and promote the theme of sustainability and relate to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the specific content of which can be found on the UN website. Points will also be given if it contributes in any way to the Sustainable Development Strategy at UP. This strategy defines 15 priority areas (linked to the SDGs) to which the university has committed on a long-term basis, setting out the main objectives as well as the basic measures through which the objectives will be met. Two-year action plans with specific objectives are developed on its basis.

Applications can be submitted until 2 December 2024 using the online form, which must also be accompanied by the required evaluations and other files as specified. A committee appointed by the UP Rector will review the submissions and nominate selected works to the UP Rector for awards. Awards for the best works will be presented by UP Rector Martin Procházka in February 2025 during Academic Week.

Get financial funding for your research

If you are still working on your thesis, you can get financial funding from Sustainable University for your sustainability-oriented thesis. In this case, the possibilities are broad indeed – support may be granted to theses as well as non-thesis research works by Bachelor’s, Master’s, and doctoral students. If you are interested in applying for a grant, please fill in this short form and we will get back to you after reviewing it. The amount of the funding can be up to CZK 10,000, and you can apply for support throughout the entire academic year.

▶ Aplication for the Rector’s Award for Sustainability
▶Terms and conditions of the UP Rector’s Award for Sustainability

At its November meeting, the Palacký University Academic Senate has launched nominations for the post of UP Rector for the term of office from 1 May 2025 to 30 April 2029. The election of the new highest representative of the university will take place on 22 January 2025. Members of the academic community may submit proposals for candidates until 6 December 2024.

Palacký University Olomouc will elect a new rector. The UP Academic Senate (UP AS) has initiated the nomination procedure for the highest UP representative and announced the election schedule. It stipulates that the academic community of the university can submit written proposals of candidates through the UP AS Office until 6 December 2024 at 3 pm.

The adopted election schedule further states that the collected proposals will be verified by a special election committee of the UP AS. Senators approved the following members: students Kateřina Kaprálová (Faculty of Law) and Barbora Uhmanová (Faculty of Health Sciences), and academics Veronika Tomoszková (Faculty of Law), Jaroslav Franc (Sts Cyril and Method Faculty of Theology), and Jiří Langer (Faculty of Education), who will chair the election committee.

The alphabetical list of the candidates will be published on the university’s official notice board by 16 December 2024, and their election statements will be published on the Palacký University Academic Senate website on 6 January 2025. The public presentation and debate of potential rectors with members of the UP academic community will take place on Wednesday 15 January 2025. One week later, on 22 January 2025, the candidates will present themselves before the UP Academic Senate. On the same day, the first, second, and third rounds of the election will take place. According to the established rules, a candidate for UP Rector needs to obtain at least 13 votes in the election, i.e. a simple majority of all 24 members of the UP Academic Senate.

During the November meeting, the UP AS also discussed the nomination of a member of the UP Internal Evaluation Board for a term of office, to be made by 1 July 2025 at the latest. They voted and decided to nominate Tereza Marková, a doctoral student at the UP Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, to be appointed by the UP Rector. The senators were also informed that Pavel Flekač (Faculty of Education) has been nominated as a student representative to the UP Ethics Committee on behalf of the UP AS student chamber. They also hosted a presentation by the director of the UP Computer Centre, David Skoupil, who announced the IT Development Strategy at Palacký University for the period 2025+. The UP AS acknowledged the presented strategy and the opportunity to comment on it until the end of November, after which it intends to return to the topic. The list of resolutions adopted by the UP AS is available here. More information about the UP AS can be found here.

You can find all the information you need about the election here.

Prof Ondřej Novák from the Palacký University Olomouc Faculty of Science and the Institute of Experimental Botany of the Czech Academy of Sciences has succeeded in a demanding international competition and won one of the most prestigious scientific grants of the European Research Council (ERC). His STARMORPH project, entered in the Synergy Grants category, was supported with €10 million and is focused on research into the role of the plant hormone auxin in plant growth and shaping.

Over the next six years, Prof Novák will be working on the project together with project coordinator Stéphanie Robert from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences in Uppsala, Jürgen Kleine-Vehn from the University of Freiburg, and Alexander Jones from the University of Cambridge.

“The composition of our international interdisciplinary team is exceptional, aiming to describe the complexities of plant morphogenesis in a way that no one has been able to before,” said Prof Ondřej Novák from the Laboratory of Growth Regulators, a joint workplace of the UP Faculty of Science and the Institute of Experimental Botany at the Czech Academy of Sciences. The knowledge gained from the project can be used in the future to increase crop yields, which can contribute to improved food security and sustainability.

“Receiving the ERC Synergy grant is a huge success for my colleague Ondřej Novák as an undisputed expert but also for our entire institute. It confirms that the institute is on the world’s leading edge in the field of plant hormone research. It is also a promise of new discoveries that have the potential to contribute to solving global problems brought about by climate change,” said Jan Martinec, Director of the Institute of Experimental Botany at the Czech Academy of Sciences.

Scientists in the STARMORPH project are using thale cress as the model plant to study the development of its apical hook, which plays a key role in the plant’s further growth and development after germinating from seed. The apical hook is the curved part of the stem near the top of the plant that allows the plant to emerge safely through the soil. The hook is formed by suppressing cell growth on the inside of the emerging stem. As soon as the seedling penetrates the soil to the surface, the cells on the inside start to elongate again and the hook unfurls. “This trait makes the apical hook a unique model for studying how a plant can regulate processes to suppress or promote cell growth. This is a very important topic to investigate because if we understand how to regulate plant growth, we could reprogramme this process in a targeted way,” said Prof Novák.

The phytohormone auxin, which will be the main focus of the STARMORPH project, plays a major role in differential growth, when different parts of plant organs grow at different rates. Depending on the concentration of auxin and its localisation in the plant tissue, cell elongation can be slowed down or accelerated, cell division can be stopped or promoted, and cells can be forced to specialise or allowed to return to an undifferentiated state.

Auxin signature

“The results of our research should reveal how the phytohormone auxin, mechanical signals, and developmental programmes interact together at multiple levels. The project introduces the concept of an ‘auxin signature’ which involves the dynamics of auxin within the plant cell in response to mechanical signals. For decades, scientists have focused on understanding the multiple roles of auxin, concentrating on its cellular and intercellular dynamics as well as auxin signalling through receptors in the cell nucleus. Most recently, new findings have emerged suggesting that auxin is perceived by different mechanisms in the nucleus, outside the nucleus, and in the space outside the cell,” said Novák.

According to Novák, the STARMORPH project uses an interdisciplinary approach combining plant physiology, cell biology, genetics, biophysics, synthetic biology, and bioanalytical chemistry. Four scientific teams will work together to investigate how changes in auxin distribution and concentration affect plant morphogenesis, i.e. plant shape and growth. “We will develop new chemical and bioengineering methods to map auxin inside cells and monitor its dynamics over time and space,” added Novák.

They will also try to understand if and how mechanical stimuli are linked to the auxin phytohormone. “This goal includes a detailed study of the mechanical properties of the cell wall and its influence on plant growth. Using genetics and biochemical methods, we will try to understand how mechanical signals and auxin dynamics together control morphogenesis at different levels, from cells to whole organs,” Novák said.

ECR Synergy Grants

ERC Synergy Grants are intended for multidisciplinary projects involving 2 to 4 research teams. Projects must demonstrate that the synergy between the scientists involved and their disciplines is central to the project and has the promise to deliver breakthrough discoveries. The total budget for this grant call in 2024 was €570 million. Out of the 540 projects evaluated, 56 were supported. Founded by the European Union in 2007, the ERC is Europe’s leading organisation for funding cutting-edge research.

An interview with Prof Ondrej Novák is available on the ECHO Přírody (Nature’s Echo) podcast on YouTube or Spotify.

Prof. Mgr. Ondřej Novák, Ph.D.
Ondřej Novák, a graduate of the Faculty of Science at Palacký University Olomouc, specialises in the biosynthesis and metabolism of plant hormones using the highly sensitive analytical method of mass spectrometry and the relationship between the chemical structure and biological activity of plant hormones. He has long been involved in the use of new modern bioanalytical techniques and simplification of extraction methods for the isolation of biologically active substances from complex biological samples. For six consecutive years, he has been one of the few scientists in the Czech Republic ranked among the top one percent of the world’s most cited scientists in the list of Highly Cited Researchers, published by Clarivate Analytics in the United States.

Czech children do not like going to school. Their sense of satisfaction is affected by unsatisfactory relationships with their peers and low degrees of support from their teachers. The demands of the school environment and the associated stress are also reflected in their attitudes. This is based on the latest findings by the Palacký University Olomouc team collaborating on the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study. The latest report also examines other aspects of children’s lifestyles, including the link between school satisfaction and social network use.

Only 9% of Czech children and teenagers actually look forward to school. This puts the Czech Republic among the countries where children least look forward to school compared to Europe and the world. Nearly 4 out of 10 children do not enjoy going to school very much… or not at all. The proportion of schoolchildren who dislike school increases significantly with age. More than a quarter (28%) of 11-year-olds do not enjoy school, while for 15-year-olds it is almost half (46%).

“The findings of the HBSC study highlight critical areas where we need to focus our efforts to improve the health and well-being of Czech children. The World Health Organisation (WHO) is committed to working with Czech authorities and institutions to implement measures that will improve peer/teacher relationships and reduce school-related stress, ultimately strengthening the mental and physical health of our youth,” said Zsofia Pusztai, WHO Representative in the Czech Republic.

The international HBSC study also tracks long-term trends. At the beginning of the millennium, the popularity of school was rather on the rise. However, over the last 10–15 years, children’s attitudes towards school have been deteriorating, regardless of gender and age.

Children who are very excited about school. Comparison between 2010 and the last survey from 2022

11 y.o.

21% → 12%

13 y.o.

16% → 7%

15 y.o.

16% → 8%

 

“The deteriorating relationship with school is not a new phenomenon. We do not take the long-term trend lightly and, together with experts, we are asking ourselves what to look for behind the negative evaluation of the school environment and, above all, how to reverse the trend,” says Michal Kalman, Olomouc University Social Health Institute (OUSHI) at the Sts Cyril and Methodius Faculty of Theology at UP, head of the study’s research team.

Relationships with peers, teachers, and stress

What is behind the low evaluation of the school environment? The Olomouc researchers focused on the three arguably most important links – relationships with peers, relationships with teachers, and school stress.

Less than half of 11- to 15-year-olds think that their classmates like being together and that they are nice and ready to help. Only 37% of boys, and only 30% of girls, think that they have high degrees of “student support” (i.e. peer support, an indicator used in the international HBSC study to assess classroom climate). This finding is even more pessimistic when compared to other countries – Czech schoolchildren perceive relationships with their classmates as the worst of all 45 countries where the HBSC study surveyed the situation.

Only half of 5th–9th graders in the Czech Republic (52%) say they trust their teachers. Only two out of five (40%) feel that teachers care about their pupils. The perceived degree of support from teachers decreases significantly with increasing age. Between the ages of 11, 13, and 15, it drops from 50% → 35% → 30% among boys, and even more steeply 51% → 26% → 22% among girls. The low relationship scores are also reflected in the European context: the Czech 43rd position out of 45 countries surveyed in the HBSC study is alarming.

I had to learn things that I do not understand (2022)

27.3% / 46.7%

13 y.o.

24.4% / 47.2%

15 y.o.

However, this is no longer the case in terms of the stress from studying – the perceived pressure to perform school duties follows the European average. Thirty-eight percent of boys and more than half (52%) of girls report higher stress from schoolwork. Schoolchildren start to perceive stress more strongly between years 11 and 13, i.e. between the 5th and 7th grades of primary school (boys 29% → 44% and girls 34% → 62%).

“A safe, open, and positive school environment is an essential condition for quality and effective teaching and for the development of each pupil’s potential. Mutual and reciprocal respect between pupils, teachers, and parents creates a space for unified educational impact on the pupil. Every individual is different, so tolerance of different levels of aptitude in different areas as well as tolerance of different opinions is critical. International studies have long shown that the school climate is a weak point in the Czech educational system,” emphasises Karel Kovář, Deputy Chief School Inspector of the Czech School Inspectorate.

School, lifestyle, and the (online) world

The popularity of school is also related to other aspects of lifestyle. Among schoolchildren who do not like going to school or feel under a lot of pressure from school duties, there is a significantly higher risk (2–4 times) of headaches, depressive states, irritability, and nervousness. Those with problematic social media use feel particularly unwell at school. Compared to their peers who are in control of their “online life”, they are more likely to experience the pressure of schoolwork and to have negative feelings about their relationships with classmates and teachers.

The HBSC epidemiological study looks at a wide range of lifestyle aspects of children and teenagers aged 11–15 in the Czech Republic and nearly 50 other countries worldwide. It is being developed in collaboration with the World Health Organisation (WHO). The research team from Palacký University Olomouc has been studying factors affecting the health of Czech schoolchildren aged 11, 13, and 15 for a long time. In the current research, data was collected from nearly 15,000 children in 250 schools of different types across the Czech Republic. The extensive research among Czech schoolchildren was supported by the EU under the Johannes Amos Comenius Operational Programme – Top Research.

Further details and materials for downloading

• Report on the current research on the Healthy Generation project website.
• Recommendations and activities for teaching on the Healthy Generation Academy website.
• Why I’m not looking forward to school (info poster to download)
• I love school (info poster to download)
• Schools that pupils look forward to (Czech School Inspectorate’s analytical and methodological material on promoting wellbeing in schools)