Staff at the Faculty of Informatics, Masaryk University (FI MU) have a range of opportunities to continue their education, develop professionally, progress in their careers and maintain a good work-life balance.

Doctoral studies, habilitation procedures and procedures for appointment as a professor

Doctoral studies

Doctoral studies represent the first step towards an academic career. The Faculty of Informatics at Masaryk University (FI MU) offers an accredited four-year doctoral programme in Informatics with two specialisations – Fundamentals of Informatics and Technology and Methodology of Computer Systems – available as full-time or part-time study, in both Czech and English. The Faculty of Informatics, Masaryk University supports its students with technical equipment, facilities and financial assistance. Thanks to collaboration with other institutions (both Czech and international) and support from funding agencies, students can attend specialist conferences and summer schools, or complete part of their studies abroad.

Doctoral students are offered a range of professional development activities – lectures and in-depth workshops focused on acquiring the knowledge required for research work (FRESHERS: Skills for Research Career), the Summer School for PhD Students, and the MUNI Seminar Series featuring lectures by leading international scientists, including Nobel and Turing Prize laureates.

Habilitation proceedings and proceedings for appointment as a professor

The Faculty of Informatics at Masaryk University is accredited to conduct habilitation and professorial appointment procedures in the field of Computer Science.

Career guidance

Masaryk University and its constituent parts systematically create the conditions and framework for the career development and growth of their staff, in accordance with the principles of The European Charter & Code for Researchers, compliance with which is a prerequisite for retaining the prestigious HR Excellence in Research Award.

Career counselling is also an integral part of Masaryk University’s career system. It builds on strategic documents setting out the principles, approaches and priorities in the areas of career development, career transitions and the development of the potential of both academic and non-academic staff. At the heart of career counselling are individual consultations for staff members on topics such as professional development, changes in role or future career directions at the Faculty of Informatics, MU. Detailed information about this service is available on the MUNI Staff Portal (login required).

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Opportunities for professional and personal development at MU and the faculty

Masaryk University’s internal training platform

Masaryk University’s internal training platform is a central hub where staff and doctoral students can find development and training opportunities all in one convenient place. It offers an environment that supports professional growth and the development of key competences, whilst helping individuals to reflect on their own development in relation to their role and career goals. The platform comprises nine areas of learning that support the planning and development of competences throughout one’s career:

• Personal competences.
• People management competences.
• Teaching competences.
• Competencies for science and research.
• Professional competences.
• Language competences.
• Digital competences.
• Other competences.
• Compulsory and statutory training.

Who is responsible for providing training in these areas? For example, workshops and programmes focused on developing leadership skills, as well as workshops aimed at enhancing personal skills, are primarily organised by the Human Resources Department of the Masaryk University Rectorate. The Human Resources Management Department also collaborates with the Legal Department to offer training on specific specialist topics that do not fall within the scope of pedagogical, personal or other competences, or competences for managers. The training courses are organised with the aim of training staff in areas that form part of their work remit (e.g. IT training, working with INET, working with IS MUNI, MAGION, etc.) or in areas that cut across various areas of responsibility (e.g. GDPR, cyber security, contract drafting, etc.).

The MU Centre for the Development of Teaching Competences (CERPEK) is responsible for enhancing the teaching competences of academic staff. CERPEK offers comprehensive training programmes focused on the personalised development of university lecturers, workshops covering all aspects of university teaching, and mentoring. You can find out more about CERPEK’s activities and news via the CERPEK newsletter. CERPEK Newsletter

Language competences

Language training is provided by the MU Centre for Language Education, which offers staff discounted language courses; the range includes not only English but also Spanish, French, German, Russian and Arabic. International staff members can take advantage of the ‘Czech for Foreign MU Staff’ programme, which offers free courses. For academic staff, the Centre organises term-time courses as well as summer and winter schools in academic English.

Registration for the summer schools in academic English is currently open. Summer School of Academic English

Development of doctoral supervisors

In addition to these activities, various workshops and activities are also held for supervisors of doctoral students, organised primarily by the Division of Doctoral Studies and Academic Qualifications within the Research Department of the MU Rector’s Office. All information on planned workshops and other activities is available in the PhD_Supers e-learning course on the MU Information System. SUPERS PhD Course

International experience

Gaining international experience is particularly important for the development of academic and research staff. International mobility is organised by the MU Centre for International Cooperation, whilst support for FI staff is provided by the FI Department of Doctoral and International Studies. These primarily include the following study visits, placements and training programmes abroad: Erasmus+ Europe, Erasmus+ ICM (outside Europe), the Programme for Relations with Foreign Universities, Global Staff Mobility and AKTION.

Detailed information on the call for applications for the selection process for training programmes for academic and non-academic staff for placements under the Erasmus+ programme can be found HERE.

Training and support for the submission and implementation of research projects

Administrative and organisational support for the submission and management of projects is provided by the Research and Project Support Department of the Faculty of Informatics, Masaryk University, which publishes information on its website and on the noticeboard in the Masaryk University Information System regarding funding providers, open calls for proposals, seminars on grants and R&D, etc.

Training in administration, economics, the use of internal systems and information technology

MU runs a wide range of training courses in administration, finance and internal IT systems. To support their development in the IT field, staff can attend training courses focusing on Microsoft Office 365 applications, the OneDrive document library, Microsoft Teams and so on. Recordings are made of most of the training sessions, so staff can complete them at times that suit them. At www.it.muni.cz, staff have access to the MU IT services catalogue, guides, practical advice and recommendations, as well as a range of IT training courses. The development topics on which emphasis is placed also include gender and work-life balance.

Lifelong learning

Staff can also take advantage of the lifelong learning programmes offered by individual MU faculties. Information on the range of programmes is published on the faculties’ websites and at the MU Business Centre.

University libraries

Employee benefits include free access to MU’s libraries, of which there are ten, located at various sites across Brno. Once registered at one of the libraries, staff can use the services of all libraries. The FI Library holds approximately 20,000 books and 20 titles of printed journals; its systematically developed and continuously updated collection of books and journals comprises 90 per cent of titles in English and 10 per cent in Czech. The library offers 20 study spaces for users.

CURRENT RANGE OF TRAINING EVENTS AND MOBILITY PROGRAMMES FOR FI STAFF

Some of these services are published on the MU Staff Portal or in the MU Information System and require you to log in.

Enquiries regarding development and training can be sent to pers@fi.muni.cz, or to the Training Co-ordinator at the Faculty of Informatics, MU.

The Faculty of Informatics at Masaryk University is the proud recipient of the HR Excellence in Research Award, a European certificate of quality for HR processes.

For more information, please visit HR Award at the Faculty of Economics, Masaryk University