Human Resources Strategy for Researchers (HRS4R)/HR Award

Conference on Research Careers 2025, Conference on Freedom of Scientific Research

The third edition of the " Conference on Research Careers" will take place in Brussels on 11 and 12 December 2025 . The first day will be dedicated to policy updates and the celebration of the 20th anniversary of the European Charter (and Code) for Researchers. It will be a festive occasion to reflect on progress, share best practices and imagine the future of research careers in Europe.

The Conference on Research Careers 2025 will address how Europe can create a more sustainable, excellent and free environment for all researchers. Building on the success of previous editions, this year's conference will bring together policy makers, research professionals and stakeholder networks to discuss how policies and initiatives can shape the future of research careers in Europe and beyond. Closely related to this event, the Conference on Freedom of Scientific Research, organised in collaboration with UNESCO, will address how research is conducted under increasing undue pressure.

On the second day (12 December), there will be an HR Excellence in Research Info Day.

For the detailed programme and the registration form for attendance in person or online, please visit the European Commission website.

Open Science Week 2025

Open Science Week 2025 will take place from 10-12 November 2025, organised by the Open Science Working Group of the Association of University Libraries (AUL).

It will be three days of inspiration, experience sharing and practical demonstrations on open science, research data management, open access, citizen science and legal aspects of open science. There will be expert lectures, lively discussions and networking to connect male and female scientists, PhD students, librarians and librarians, project support staff, data stewards and stewards and all other friends of open science.

Detailed programme and application form can be found on the website of the Association of University Libraries.

ORCID Digital Personal Identifier

For authors publishing at MU, a new internal regulation - Masaryk University Instruction No. 1/2025 Author's Personal Identifier, which refers to the Open Researcher and Contributor ID - ORCID digital personal identifier - applies from 1 October 2025.

The MU Guideline imposes obligations on publishing staff and employees and PhD students related to the establishment and use of the ORCID identifier. Authors and contributors will be assisted by ORCID support members in their respective faculties.

It is now possible to give consent to manage your profile in the MU Information System in the Personal Identifiers application. The application also includes a detailed user guide.

LabDay 2025: Showcase of Faculty of Informatics research groups

LabDay, which will take place on October 23, 2025 in the Faculty Atrium and KYPO Laboratory, is a unique opportunity to get to know the research groups working at the Faculty of Informatics. Each of the labs focuses on a different area of computer science, from theoretical computer science to applied research, from artificial intelligence to cybersecurity to bioinformatics.

At LabDay, you will learn what topics can be worked on in a bachelor's or master's thesis, what projects you can participate in during your studies, how to get involved in research and collaborate with the labs, and who the people behind the research are. The research groups and their activities will be presented by Assoc. RNDr. Barbora Kozlíková, Ph.D., FI Vice-Dean for Research and Doctoral Studies. Detailed information can be found in the September Newsletter of the FI Research and Project Support Department and HERE.

CAREER RESTART grant scheme for 2026

CAREER RESTART or Supporting the integration of post-career scientists and researchers into research teams at MU - call for 2026.

From 2020, the MU Grant Agency will implement the CAREER RESTART grant scheme, which aims to create conditions for the inclusion of scientists and researchers after a career break, for example due to parental leave, into research teams at MU. The CAREER RESTART grants will facilitate and accelerate the return of young talented scientists to productive scientific careers and thus increase the percentage of their representation in independent/senior research positions. Detailed information can be found in the September Newsletter of the FI Research and Project Support Department and on the MU Grant Agency website.

News on HRS4R implementation at university and faculty level

Overview of activities implemented in the first half of 2025:

• 01/2025: revision of the set-up of start-up grants for incoming academics
• 01/2025: issue of Dean's Directive 1/2025 Salary and its components
• 02/2025: launch of a separate website on sexual harassment
• 02/2025: addition and training of a 2nd FI contact person for handling sexual harassment cases
• 03/2025: launch of e-course "Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer at Masaryk University" in IS
• 03/2025: faculty meeting on research project submission
• 03-05/2025: updating onboarding and offboarding e-courses for FI staff/employees, implementation of exit questionnaire
• 04/2025: CoFI break with FI leadership
• 04/2025: redesign of FI website - menu expanded to include a separate Careers item, restructuring and development of careers pages, new Pro Media website created
• 04/2025: hybrid training on the topic of increasing personal and collective safety at FI
• Ongoing: implementation of partial measures of the FI Gender Equality Plan 2024-2028
• Ongoing: participation in HR Award, Gender Equality Plan, New Employee, Learning and Development Coordinators working groups, participation in HR events, development of FI internal and external communication, support for FI staff development, cooperation with CERPEK

University-wide Rights Protection Unit Annual Report 2024

The MU All-University Rights Protection Unit has published its Annual Report for 2024. In it, MU Rights Defender JUDr. Eva Janovičová and her team provide a summary view of the MU All-University Rights Protection Unit's agenda in various categories. She focuses not only on submissions from individuals who believe their or others' rights have been violated and statistical data in this area, but also on the development activities undertaken in the area of social safety (e.g., the creation of the e-course Social Safety in Academic Settings, the creation of the TRUST Leaders and TRUST Team workshop programme, and the provision of Respect to the Ground workshops by Konsent).

From the submissions received in 2024, the University-Wide Safeguarding Unit developed recommendations in the following areas:

• HR area,
• the area of learner contact,
• the system set up at MU,
• recommendations to all members of the university community.

The 2024 Annual Report of the University-wide Rights Protection Unit can be found HERE.

Training on personal and collective security at FI

On April 24, 2025, a training on the topic of personal and collective security at FI was held at FI, taught by Mgr. Pavel Bojanovský, MU Security Manager. More than 40 academic and non-academic staff and employees of FI attended the training organized in a hybrid form.

The training focused mainly on:

• possibilities of increasing personal and collective security of employees,
• signals to be noticed, evaluated and not kept to oneself,
• scenarios of the most frequent violent attacks and the principles of behaviour during them,
• handling conflict communication situations (how to handle escalated communication, how to leave the office safely and ensure your safety comfort),
• incidents, their reporting and recording.

A new e-course "Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer" was launched at MU

From March 2025, FI staff and employees can take the new MU e-course "Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer". The e-course was developed by the MU Technology Transfer Centre based on the requirements of MU faculties and departments, which is also in line with the implementation of the HRS4R strategy in connection with the HR Award certification.

Do you know the difference between a patent and a trademark? What is a real and a non-real spin-off company? Do you know how to proceed when you create an invention together with colleagues from another university?

Thanks to the new e-learning training in IS MU, you will get oriented in the issues of intellectual property and technology transfer at Masaryk University. You will learn the basic concepts that will be useful in the university environment, find out who to consult on IP and transfer issues and you can also look forward to examples of inventions that have been created at our university. The e-course can be found in the relevant section of the Training application in the Information System.

The e-course "Social Security in the Academic Environment" has been extended with new videos

As of 1 July 2024, FI employees can take the MU e-course "Social Security in the Academic Environment", developed by the MU University-wide Rights Protection Unit. In the course, you will learn what social safety is, how inappropriate behaviour can undermine it, how to spot inappropriate behaviour, how to intervene against it and who to contact if you need a helping hand. The course follows the mission of Masaryk University, which is, among other things, to contribute to a free, cohesive and safe society. It can only fulfil such a mission through the members of its university community. By their participation in the academic environment, they accept the values of respect, freedom and responsibility, which are also reflected in the MU Code of Ethics.

The original course has been expanded with new videos as of March 2025. It can be found in the relevant section of the Training application in the Information System. You can read more about the course, for example, in the article in M Magazine.

Information for FI employees in one place

In order to increase awareness of the working environment and processes at FI, benefits, training and development opportunities, communication channels, as well as ethical and gender issues, a new signpost has been made available.

In the first half of 2024, FI launched a pilot of an onboarding e-course for new male and female FI employees to guide them through the adaptation process in their new workplace. The successful launch of the course for new recruits has shown that most of the information presented here may also be of interest to existing faculty staff, as the course content acts as a signpost to relevant information from various sources. The course is created using the Interactive Curriculum in IS MU, which offers a user-friendly display on PCs and mobile devices and allows administrators to easily update the content.

The e-course is published on the FI document server in IS MU.

The signpost covers all important information not only about the working environment and processes at Masaryk University and the Faculty of Informatics, but also offers an overview of employee benefits and a wide range of courses and training. A list of important faculty contacts or communication channels across the university may also be useful.

Is there a topic missing from the signpost? Email us at pers@fi.muni.cz and we'll be happy to add them.