online.muni.cz/engush Hledat.
Masaryk university Top Ten
10 March20i4 Martina Fojtů, Ema Wiesnerová
MASARYKOV/^UNIVERZITA
1 I 1
The B ohunice campus
is one of the largest
university building
schemes in central
Europe.
In which areas is Masaryk University exceptional, and what does it have to boast
about? Although opinions on this are bound to differ, we have chosen to highlight a
few things to mark the 95th anniversary of the University's founding.
University campus in Bohunice
Masaryk University started to build its Bohunice campus ten years ago. Pavilion
after pavilion was added as teaching was introduced in stages. The whole site was
opened at a gala event in 2010. Today students of the Faculties of Medicine,
Science and Sports Studies are taught in more than twenty pavilions. The
creation of the campus was one of the largest building schemes in higher education
in central Europe, and it cost over five milliard Czech crowns. The campus also
houses projects such as CEITEC, the Centre of Experimental, Systematic and
Ecological Biology and the Research Centre for Toxic Compounds in the
Environment. The campus is connected with the University Hospital in Bohunice,
which is involved in the training of (future) doctors and in medical research.
Prague Daily Monitor: Survey:
Young Czechs postpone
adulthood
CTK: Czech scientist Friml wins
European molecular biology prize
Prague Daily Monitor: Brno's
CEITEC institute is to bring profit
to Central Europe
EIB: Largest university campus
opens its doors in Brno-Bohunice
MOJE OSLAVV
UNIVERZITA J i
UNIVERZITY
Ethnologist draws up
UNESCO cultural heritage
list
Night wievat University campus.
Inter-University Hockey Challenge
This was first held in 2009, when three friends from two Brno universities decided
to try to organize the kind of event they knew from their home town of Nitra,
Slovakia. After the first hockey duelbetween teams from Masaryk University and
the Brno University of Technology, the idea caught on quickly. Inthe first twoyears
the match was played in fancy1
dress, following the Slovak model. After that it
became a genuine contest which in each of the last two years has succeeded in
attracting over 7,000 spectators, on each occasion delighting those from the ^blue
university' by the victor}' of their team. Although both the main organizers,
Rastislav Bekényi and Matej Vravko, have now left university, they intend to
continue in their roles.
Most expensive
instrument
Scientists at CEITEC ML)
examine the atomic structure
of molecules using a
spectrometer for nuclear
magnetic resonance which has
an operating frequency of 950
megahertz. This instrument
cost o\er 100 million Czech
crowns, making it probably the
most expensi\e piece of
equipment at MU. There are
only eight of these instruments
in the world.
Most powerful
computer
The record for this is held by
SGI UV2, part of the IT
infrastructure ofthe CERIT-SC
centre. It serves academics
and researchers all over the
country. It owes its uniqueness
to the fact that its 288 cores
have access to six terabytes
of main memory. It has the
largest memory of all
computers in the Czech
Republic.
Most eco- friendly
operation
When conditions are
favourable the MU Faculty of
Education is able to get by in
the summer holidays without
being connected to the power
grid. Its power consumption for
this period is supplied by its
own solar power station, which
is located in the roof of the
building. This has been in
operation since 2006 and has
an annual output of 40
megawatt-hours.
Most students
Currently the Faculty of Arts
has approximately 9400
students. In this respect it is
the largest of the nine faculties
of Masaryk University.
Disciplines such as history,
philology and art history attract
a majority ofwomen, as do
programmes for teachers. Two
thirds of students at the
Faculty of Arts are of the fairer
sex.
Most clicks in the
IS in a single day
4,134,445. This is the number
of clicks registered in the MU
Information System by
students and university staff on
4 February 2013. And there is
another record on the horizon.
May is expected to witness
the 5,000,000,000th click in
the system.
Most popular meal
in university
canteens
According to MU
Accommodation and Catering
Services there are three,
specifically: fried pork cutlet
with potato salad, Tlamendr' (=
spicy chicken) with chips, and
'Dutch' minced schnitzel with
mashed potatoes.
Most borrowed
book
According to data from the
University Library catalogue
the list of the ten most
borrowed books includes
seven titles for medics. The
most popular of all is Surgical
Propaedeutics by Miroslav
Zeman, which since the
introduction of the Aleph
system in 2005 has been
borrowed by students 2614
times.
Largest classroom
Room 116 in A22 pavilion at
the Bohunice campus is
currently the university's
largest classroom. That
building's main lecture hall, it
has an area of 266 square
metres and capacity for 332
able-bodied students plus six
wheelchair users. Teaching
has been conducted in this
hall sincethe 2010 autumn
semester.
Fans of Masaryk University.
CEITEC
Six letters that hold great scientific potential. The Central European Institute of
Technolog}7
is a centre of scientific excellence in the fields of life sciences and
advanced materials and technologies. It was created as a joint project of two
research institutes and four Brno schools of higher education led by Masaryk
University. It has been supported by European Union funding to the tune of 5.2
milliard Czech crowns. Scientists of CEITEC M U work in five of its seven research
centres. Their work includes the study of tumour cells, the genomics and proteomics
of plant systems, and the brain and the human mind. Researchers are already
making use of the facilities of the Bohunice campus. Two more buildings, which will
be used as laboratories, are still under construction and will be opened soon.
Masaryk Debates
These debates on the Oxford model have been a remarkable success. By their
choice of themes and invited guests, the organizers have ensured that sometimes
even7
seat in the hall is occupied. At a time when the Czech Republic was about to
choose a new president and it was not yet known how the choice would be made, a
debate was held in the Main Lecture Hall of the Faculty of Law on whether direct
election should be introduced. And who spoke in favour of this idea? Current head of
state Miloš Zeman, of course. And almost five hundred people attended the debate
on whether the communist party should be dissolved.
"It all started some time in spring 2010," says Matěj Feldek, a student of Political
Science at the Faculty of Social Studies, of the initiative he formed with schoolmates
Ondřej Lunter and Bára Rácová. "Like people everywhere, we were having our
discussions over a beer or two, but it was driving us crazy. There had to be a better
way, we thought."
Now such debates are held in other Czech cities, too.
Information System (IS)
This tool caused quite a commotion when it was introduced, but now students and
teachers alike cannot imagine their work without it.
"University leaders first got behind this idea when they began to consider how
studies could be made more fluid," explained Michal Brandejs, head of the
Computer Systems Unit at the M U Faculty of Informatics, in an interview for Muni.
"At that time all this was unprecedented - using the multidistipBiiary nature of a
university so that students could extend their education by taking subjects in
different fields, even at different faculties. And the Information System was
essential to this."
At the behest of a university leadership headed by then Rector Jif i Zlatuska, it was
Brandejs who launched the IS in March 1999. In the years since, this technology has
won a number of awards, and following its successful application at M U it has come
to be used at a number of other universities.
4
Information System.
Research in Antarctica
For several decades scientists at Masaryk University have taken an interest in
polar regions. In 1999 they came up with the idea of building their own research
station in Antarctica. The Johann Gregor Mendel Station was opened on James Ross
Island in 2006. Every year it receives a scientific expedition from MU and other
institutions. Researchers have made several discoveries in the world's
southernmost continent, including (last year) a new bacterium named Pseudomonas
prosekii after Pavel Prosek, the research station's founding father. The research
performed at the station in geology, geomorphology, palaeontology, climatology and
biology has attracted a lot of attention. Since last year the Czech Republic has had a
say in what happens in Antarctica, thanks to a large extent to its significant scientific
activities.
The Johai i James Ross Island in 2006.
MendelMuseum and Mendel Lectures
Johann Gregor Mendel established the basic laws of heredity7
, thus laying the
foundations of the science of genetics. Today his life and work are commemorated at
Masaryk University's Mendel Museum, which is housed in the Augustinian abbey in
Old Brno, where Mendel worked. The focus of the museum is on the popularization
of science. This year will see the continuation of MUs Step by Step through Science
series, which takes a systematic look at biology and archaeology. The museum is
also invoked in the holding of lectures for the general public and for specialists. One
such lecture series is Genetics in Medicine. Introduced in 2003, the Mendel
Lectures series welcomes to the museum leading figures of world science, including
Nobel Prize winners, who are active inthe fields of cell and molecular biology and
genetics.
Teiresias Centre
Teiresias, the support centre for students with special needs, takes its name from
the blind prophet of Greek mythology. It provides support not only for students
with disabilities of sight but also all those with impairments of the senses, physical
disabilities or learning disorders. Teiresias staff strive to adapt tuition and learning
aids so that the end user receives the same amount of information as students with
more regular needs. The centre's director Petr Peňáz is at pains to point out that it
is not inthe business of helping. "We dont help, we provide a service," he likes to
say. Penáž and his colleagues are now spreading this philosophy to other Czech
schools.
Archaeological research at the Pohansko fort
Archaeologists from the Faculty of Arts have been exploring the Great Moravian
fort at Pohansko near Breclav for 56 years. The first fieldwork there was performed
by František Kalousek in 1958. According to Jiŕí Macháček, current head of the
research team, in terms of extent and density of population Pohansko was
comparable with centres in western Europe such as Regensburg. Inthe 1960s
fieldwork concentrated mainly on the inner fort surrounded by a
two-kilometre-long rampart, where the remains of a church and an extensive burial
site were found. Important discoveries of recent years include the remains of a
church building and the graves around it; these were found in one of the outer
wards. Last year archaeologists made a discovery a kilometre and a half from the
fort: the tomb of a warrior with a sword.
Field work in the area of Pohansko.
Scala University Cinema
Do you know any other Czech university that has its own cinema? No? Neither do
we. But Scala has made our list not only for its uniqueness. You may know its ston7
already, but here's a reminder. Just a few months ago you couldnt even look from
the street into the lobby. There were no screenings because the Brno Tourist
Information Centre was no longer in a position to run the cinema. So the university
came to the rescue. Under the university's management, necessary repairs have
been made to the auditorium and the interior as a whole, and the cinema has
acquired modern technology. And there is another reason why it is known as a
'universit}7
cinema': it hosts other university events, too, as well as being used for
teaching and conferences.
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