Annual Activity Report Masaryk university 2 0 MM MASARYK UNIVERSITY Annual Activity Report 2021 Brno 2022 © Masaryk University, 2022 Contents Values 4 Mission 6 Vision 7 Opening words 9 1 Teaching and Education 10 1.1 Masaryk University Students in Numbers 1.2 Masaryk University Entrance Examinations 1.3 New Degree Programmes 1.4 Events for Applicants 1.5 Internal Quality Assurance and Assessment System 1.6 Feedback from Students, Applicants and Graduates 1.7 Prevention of Student Dropout 1.8 Activities and Awards for Gifted Students 1.9 Shared University Core Courses and Support for Entrepreneurship 1.10 Teaching During the Pandemic and Online Education 1.11 Lifelong Learning at the University 1.12 Lifelong Learning at the Faculties 1.13 Courses in Foreign Languages and International Marketing 1.14 International Mobility and EDUC Alliance 1.15 Foreign Language Teaching 2 Research 22 and Doctoral Studies 2.1 Research Output Quantification 2.2 Support for Research Excellence 2.3 Winning Prestigious Grants 2.4 Application of Research Results 2.5 Conceptual Themes in Doctoral Studies 2.6 Development Activities for Doctoral Students and Supervisors 2.7 Awards for Doctoral Students and Graduates 3 Internal Culture 30 and Social Contribution Activities 3.1 Socially Beneficial Projects and Initiatives 3.2 Leisure Activities of University Associations 3.3 Volunteering through MUNI HELPS 3.4 Sustainability in Surveys and International Rankings 3.5 Activities of University Constituent Parts to Promote Sustainability 3.6 Alumni Relations Development 3.7 Awards Won by Employees and Students 3.8 Cultural Events for Students and Staff 3.9 Library Services and Information Resources 4 Personnel 40 Management and Employee Development 4.1 University-wide and Faculty-level Personnel Policy Measures 4.2 Support for Creative Activities and Professional Development 4.3 University Awards Granted 4.4 Pedagogical Competence Development 4.5 Employee Training 4.6 Care for Employees 4.7 Ethics and Equal Opportunities 5 Information Systems 48 and IT Support 5.1 Significant IT Innovations at MU 5.2 Development of MU Information System 5.3 Learning Management Systems and Teaching Support 5.4 IT Infrastructure and Cybersecurity 6 Institutional 54 Management and Infrastructure 6.1 University Budgeting 6.2 Financial Balance Sheet 6.3 University Management during the Pandemic 6.4 University Operation in Compliance with Sustainability 6.5 University Infrastructure and Facilities 6.6 Strategic Project Preparation 6.7 Accommodation and Catering Services MU Faculties 62 and University Institutes Faculty of Law Faculty of Medicine Faculty of Science Faculty of Arts Faculty of Education Faculty of Pharmacy Faculty of Economics and Administration Faculty of Informatics Faculty of Social Studies Faculty of Sports Studies Central European Institute of Technology Institute of Computer Science MU Organizational Structure 142 List of Abbreviations 176 Values Since its founding following the establishment of the Czechoslovak Republic, Masaryk University has always respected and professed values reflecting the republican and democratic ethos of that initial period. To this day, such values form the basis of its internal culture and are widely embraced by the academic community. These values are: RESPECT — Respect, as the basis of internal culture, solidarity and partnership in all negotiations. Respect for the principles establishing equal opportunities and transparency, as well as respect for the principles of academic ethics. FREEDO — Freedom, respected and defended as a social imperative. Also, freedom as a principle of internal organisation of the university in the form of academic freedom of teaching and research or freedom of choice of students' own curriculum profile, but also as a principle of institutional autonomy of the university vis-á-vis the state. RESPONSIBILITY — Responsibility, emphasising the role of the university as a co-creator of public opinion, a solver of local and society-wide issues and a provider of a public service open to all. Also, the individual responsibility of students and staff reflected in respect for university rules and belonging to the university. 4 Mission THE MISSION OF MASARYK UNIVERSITY IS TO CONTRIBUTE THROUGH ITS SCIENTIFIC ACTIVITIES, STUDENT EDUCATION AND SOCIAL ACTIVITIES TO THE HIGH QUALITY AND HEALTHY LIFE OF ALL GENERATIONS, AND TO A FREE, COHESIVE AND SECURE SOCIETY . Vision I II 2 0 2 8 , 11A S A R Y K UNIVERSITY WILL BE: — An internationally-recognised research university and an excellent Czech higher education institution, setting trends in fulfilling all the roles of a university — A university that is an inspiring community which, in its principles and daily activities, fully respects and fulfils the principles of social responsibility and contributes to meeting the Sustainable Development Goals, in accordance with which it leads its students and employees — A university where education and science transcend the boundaries of individual disciplines, as it supports interdisciplinarity and the personalisation of studies, the creation of interdisciplinary research teams and synergies between workplaces — A university where students are perceived as respected colleagues, with established processes and practices for cooperation with staff in solving important issues of the direction and functioning of individual agendas and the institution as a whole — A university where teaching, research and social activities are an integral part of the professional portfolios of academic staff — A university that is a responsible and demanding employer, acting according to the principles of transparency, equality and non-discrimination, supporting the achievement of professional goals and at the same time providing employees with a work-life balance — A university that is demanding in its study requirements, whose graduates are successful personalities, with promising careers and an active approach to life, where they have diligently taken up the opportunities for development offered — A university that is a model in its internal culture, in its ability to reach consensus, in the harmonisation of its components to the benefit of the university as a whole and in the integrity of a work and study environment characterised by high ethical and professional standards 7 Opening words While 2020 will go down in history as the year of a pandemic that shook the world, our society and our institutions, we could call 2021 a year in the shadow of a pandemic. During it, we were forced to repeat the previous year in numerous variations. And again, we had to deal on a daily basis with tens and hundreds of practical, operational and logistical issues concerning the operation of a university in a crisis situation. At the same time, the coronavirus crisis of the last two years showed the invaluable importance of higher education and the indispensable and strategic role of basic research and education. In the years leading up to the pandemic, we also debated at length - and often very theoretically - what the social role of a university should be. During the crisis, Masaryk University showed what the real social role and responsibility of the university is, including the provision of research infrastructures and expertise, as well as very specific assistance to individuals and institutions. A special mention in this context should go to the Volunteer Centre of Masaryk University MUNI HELPS, which at the beginning of 2020 created a network of more than 4,500 volunteers, thanks to which our university was significantly involved in helping hospitals, children's homes, charities, nursing homes, crisis hotlines and city districts. We helped in a number of areas in 2020 and 2021, including in key activities such as testing and vaccination. In the summer of 2021, the volunteer centre joined forces with municipalities in southern Moravia to help those hit by a devastating tornado. In the short period of its existence, our volunteer centre has given a helping hand to thousands of citizens and hundreds of institutions. It is therefore perhaps not too surprising that in 2021, the Volunteer Centre of Masaryk University was the only institution in the Czech Republic to be awarded the European Parliament's European Citizens Prize. Although our university had to substantially reduce its operations and address a number of epidemic problems in 2021 under the pressure of the global coronavirus crisis, I really appreciate that we did not lose sight of our university's long-term vision in this unprecedented situation; that we were able to work systematically, to prepare important conceptual materials and to implement strategic and developmental plans. I consider the discussion and approval of the MU Strategic Plan for the years 2021 to 2028 and the adjustment of the budget rules to take into account the qualitative parameters in education and research to be fundamental. If I should name a few guidelines that I still consider to be key and strategic for the further development of the university in the current national and international environment, then it is an emphasis on quality and support of talent. This has a direct link to a well-thought-out and effective personnel policy. Quality and development are the main principles which I have been trying to follow in the administration of the university since the beginning of my rector's mandate. And I believe that, for example, my election as the head of the Czech Rectors' Conference in the summer of 2021 is a certain appreciation of the work we do at Masaryk University and the way we think about issues of education and higher education. I personally try to be, not only through the Czech Rectors' Conference, a very active contributor to discussions on strategic issues such as school budgets, prioritization of research topics, internationalization, evaluation of science and research or improvement of quality in general. And all this in a situation of a growing demographic curve, which universities - and the entire political representation of our country - will have to reflect somehow. As far as Masaryk University is concerned, I have a very clear idea of the direction in which to continue its development. Metaphorically speaking: we have a clear map and clear plans for the next steps. And, I believe, the right tools. It will now be about our ability to fulfill these visions and fulfill our plans, which, of course, requires and will require the involvement of all faculties and all parts of the university. And it will also depend to a large extent on their willingness to work together and share this common vision. A university is much more than just the sum of its parts. This is where its uniqueness, significance and strength as a social institution lies. That is also why I would especially like to thank all the staff of the university, all my colleagues and all our students for their work and their commitment in serving Masaryk University and in spreading its good name. They are the prerequisite for the development and success of the entire university. Martin Bares Rector 9 1 Teaching and Education 1 Masaryk University Students in Numbers 2 Masaryk University Entrance Examinations 3 New Degree Programmes 4 Events for Applicants 5 Internal Quality Assurance and Assessment System 6 Feedback from Students, Applicants and Graduates 7 Prevention of Student Dropout 8 Activities and Awards for Gifted Students 9 Shared University Core Courses and Support for Entrepreneurship 1 0 Teaching During the Pandemic and Online Education 1 1 Lifelong Learning at the University 1 2 Lifelong Learning at the Faculties 1 3 Courses in Foreign Languages and International Marketing 1 4 International Mobility and EDUC Alliance 1 5 Foreign Language Teaching FIRST EVER 0 II L III E ENTRANCE EXAMS TAKEN BY ALMOST 15 THOUSAND APPLICANTS The Learning Potential Test (LPT), a university-wide entrance examination, was organized in online form due to restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic. The test, held on 24 April 2021, was accessible to applicants from the Czech Republic and abroad and it was taken by almost 15 thousand applicants. The first online entrance exam was a big challenge for the university, which had to adapt the test itself as well as take steps to prevent potential fraud. Each test comprised 48 tasks, which had to be completed in the pre-set order within 100 minutes. Photo: Petr Kveton and Helena Klimusovd, test experts from the Faculty of Arts, who have been long-term guarantors of the preparation and organization of Learning Potential Tests at the university Teaching and Education 1 . 1 Masaryk University Students in Numbers Studies at Masaryk University were pursued by 7,608 students in the 1st years of Bachelor's and long-cycle Master's studies in 2021. Most often, students choose single-subject studies (72%) or single-subject studies with a specialization (10%). The remaining share is major/minor studies. Full-time mode represents 88% of all the studies. The majority of first-year students are women with 61% representation, which has been a long-term trend. Masaryk University annually welcomes new students from abroad. In 2021, Slovak students accounted for almost 14% of newly enrolled Bachelor's and Master's students, with another 6% coming from other foreign countries, mostly Russia and Ukraine. The majority of students, approx. 80%, have Czech citizenship and most of them live in the South Moravian Region (41%). The largest proportion of new students are fresh graduates from secondary school: 61% passed the school-leaving examination in the year of enrolment. Grammar school graduates have prevailed in the 1st years for a long time. The share of grammar school students among the new MU students has been growing. Whereas in 2014, they accounted for 50% of all new students, in 2021, they account for 61% of all newly enrolled students of Bachelor's and long-cycle Master's degree programmes. The first-year students of these programmes were the target of a university-wide survey conducted in November 2021. A total of 4,674 first-year students participated in the survey, representing a 61% response rate. At the time of questioning, in the first semester of their studies, 64% of the participating students already considered themselves part of the university community. The studies at Masaryk University up to that point had met the expectations of 40% of first-year students who took the survey, and for 25% the studies had even been better than expected. A quarter (24%) saw the studies as different - neither better nor worse than they had expected. Another area of the survey was the financial situation of first-year students. 83% of the students surveyed said that the costs of their studies were covered by their parents or relatives. 48% pay for their expenses from their own earnings or savings. The students could select several options in the questionnaire. As far as work during studies is concerned, 76% of the participating students consider this option during their first years of studying. The most important competencies to gain are practical experience and skills, the ability to argue, critical thinking and information management. The results show that 42% of the students surveyed are the first generation of university students in the family, which means that neither of their parents has a higher education degree. 1 . 2 Masaryk University Entrance Examinations The COVID-19 epidemic, which peaked in the Czech Republic during spring 2021, had a significant effect on the organization of the admissions procedure at Masaryk University. As early as in December 2020, the university management made a strategic decision to transfer the Learning Potential Test, which is the most extensive part of the exams, online. The adapted ROPOT application in the Information System of MU was utilized for the administration of the online LPT. The proper course of the testing was supervised through Microsoft Teams. Both employees and doctoral students (479 persons) supervised the online tests that were taken in 864 time slots. Altogether 16,933 applicants were invited to the online entrance tests, of whom 14,960 actually took the test. The test comprised 48 items, divided into five sections (Verbal, Numerical, Critical, Analytical Thinking and English Language Tasks). The total test time was 100 minutes. The other forms of the admissions procedure were different from past years too. Many in-person exams were replaced with online interviews and tests or with assessment of the applicants' motivation letters. Physical fitness tests at the FSpS were cancelled; what remained was the basic Jacik test and pull-ups with an overhand grip. The faculties placed more importance than before on the secondary school results and participation in competitions. The entrance tests were also taken by students with special needs. The tests for 368 applicants were adapted by the Teiresias Centre. The centre's staff created, for instance, a Braille printout with tactile graphics and 3D objects, an electronic version or an official translation into Czech sign language. Due to limited access to the online environment, some of the applicants took the exam in person. Applicants with special needs could take an online preparatory course for the LPT focused on the selection of the appropriate method of working with the test. For the first time this year, the course was also available to Roma applicants. The preparation of an adaptive version of the Learning Potential Test continued. Some essential mathematical models based on item response theory as well as functions for the adaptive administration of items in the ROPOT application were implemented into the IS MU. Pilot testing of the adaptive LPT functionalities is planned for 2022 within the admissions procedure at the Faculty of Informatics. 12 Teaching and Education 1 . 3 New Degree Programmes Several faculties continued to be involved in the design of new degree programmes as part of inter-faculty and interdisciplinary cooperation. The Faculty of Arts is preparing a profession-oriented Bachelor's programme called Information Service Design. It should be the first degree programme at Masaryk University to be conducted in remote form exclusively using the online form of education. The Faculty of Pharmacy offers a Bachelor's programme called Cosmetic Products, which will be followed by the Master's programme Cosmetology and Cosmetic Products. In 2021, altogether 27 new degree programmes in Czech and in English were accredited at MU. The majority of these are taught at the Faculty of Arts. Of the 22 new programmes, 15 are doctoral, 6 are follow-up Master's and one is a Bachelor's programme entitled Dutch Language, Literature and Culture. One of the newly accredited Master's programmes is Upper Secondary School Teacher Training in Aesthetic Education, which includes critical discourse on individual branches of culture and art with overlaps into sociology, philosophy and psychology. The aim is to include aesthetic education into framework educational programmes for secondary schools. The Faculty of Social Studies accredited a new follow-up programme in English, European Governance, taught in cooperation with the Faculty of Law, Economics and Governance of Utrecht University. The first students enrolled in 2021. The Faculty of Law accredited a follow-up Master's programme, Public Administration, providing legal education for the performance of specialized and managerial tasks in public administration. The Faculty of Medicine accredited a new doctoral programme, Healthcare Simulation, in both Czech and English versions. It aims to train independent researchers and academics in the emerging field of simulation medicine, which brings a wide scientific and technological potential. The programme will be taught at the newly established Department of Simulation Medicine of the FMed in close cooperation with several Brno workplaces. Several degree programmes accredited in 2020 started their teaching this year. One of them is the English follow-up Master's programme Visual Cultures and Art History at the Faculty of Arts. It aims to guide students towards a comprehensive understanding of visual cultures from the Middle Ages to the present day and to promote research skills in academic and non-academic institutions. Since 2021, students have been able to attend the programme Sound Design and Multimedia Technologies. The innovative programme focuses on the creative use of sound for the needs of cultural institutions as well as sound design for theatre, film and other media. The Faculty of Medicine welcomed its first students in the follow-up Master's programme Dietitian, graduates of which will be qualified for the profession of nutritional therapist. The programme will provide knowledge of nutritional issues in gastroenterology, psychiatry and intensive care. The Faculty of Education started to teach the follow-up Master's programme Pre-school Pedagogy in the full-time mode. The programme is intended for pre-school teachers who wish to support the development of children with disorders or special educational needs. The Faculty of Economics and Administration opened several programmes targeting people who work in business. These are a combined-mode Bachelor's programme, Business Analytics, and English Bachelor's programmes Business Management and Finance and Economics and Public Policy. The Faculty of Informatics opened new follow-up Master's studies titled Software Engineering with an emphasis on the guaranteed quality of the resulting software system. An integral part is practical training in software development and in how development teams function. 13 Teaching and Education 1 . 4 Events for Applicants In 2021, the university continued in the successful communication campaign called #munichallenge. The special Open Day was again transferred to the online environment due to the epidemic situation. The event was attended by approx. 2,700 prospective students. The presentation of MU at secondary schools was held in hybrid form this year, involving seven MU ambassadors. The printed magazine Study at MUNI was distributed directly to schools and its digital version was available on the university website. The communication between MU and 1,600 applicants through a chatbot MUNIbot was finished in February. This communication included a competition for tangible and intangible prizes, distributed to 150 winners. In the autumn, the university participated in Gaudeamus, the European higher education and lifelong learning exhibition (in Bratislava, Nitra and Brno). The in-person form of MjUNI, the junior university, was suspended in 2021. However, in October, the new platform called MjUNIon, an online portal for researchers of all ages, was launched. The portal presented educational topics prepared by researchers, students and employees. After the launch of the platform, 15 topics from various fields of science and disciplines across the university were published. The Faculty of Economics and Administration offered secondary school students a wide range of possibilities to learn about economics topics. One of them was the Economics Olympiad or Touch Econ, a project that enables secondary school students to try certain courses at the faculty free of charge. The events included a correspondence competition called the Economics Brains Seminar. The three best competitors will be accepted at the faculty without an entrance exam. The Faculty of Informatics and the Faculty of Science also offer a varied selection of activities and correspondence competitions. To name just a few: a Correspondence Seminar in Informatics, Interactive Biology Seminar, Educational Course for Future Chemists, Brno Logic Game and others. The Faculty of Medicine has launched the Junior Academy project, which mediates contact between secondary school students and university teachers. The students can experience the faculty environment and see how research is done. In November, the Junior Academy organized a Day with Medicine, where the domain of medicine was introduced at five stations. The fifth year of a survey conducted among applicants confirmed that Masaryk University is perceived as a prestigious and highly competitive university. A significant majority of applicants think they are sufficiently informed by MU and they are generally satisfied with what the university offers, whether it is the degree programmes or the e-application environment. 1 . 5 Internal Quality Assurance and Assessment System Masaryk University is a holder of institutional accreditation in 23 areas of education. The quality of education and related areas are taken care of by the fifteen-member MU Internal Evaluation Board (MUIEB), a central body assisted by programme boards as advisory bodies to degree programme guarantors, and faculty coordinators for quality, who provide methodological support to the academic staff. The MUIEB consists of MU academic employees, external academics and students. In 2021, in its 10 sessions, the MUIEB discussed 71 faculty proposals concerning degree programmes (transformation of the original fields of study into new degree programmes, approval of new degree programmes, renewal or extension of accreditation, changes to the profile of a graduate or the final state examinations). In 2021, internal evaluation of Bachelor's and Master's degree programmes began. It will provide the programmes with formative feedback, help them formulate long-term goals and support their future development. The internal evaluation of each programme is performed by three evaluators (an external academic, a student of the programme and a representative of employers of graduates). The MUIEB also discussed the conception of evaluation of doctoral degree programmes focused on the specific features of this type of evaluation as well as on the synergy of doctoral programme evaluation and research evaluation at MU At the end of the year, the MUIEB approved the schedule of degree programme evaluation for 2022, when all doctoral programmes should be evaluated with the participation of renowned evaluators from abroad. Three thematic evaluations were completed, which directed the attention of the MUIEB to interdisciplinary areas of university education. The thematic evaluations focused on the quality of final theses, internationalization in Czech degree programmes and doctoral degree programmes. The internal regulation Masaryk University Degree Programme Quality Approval, Management and Evaluation Regulations, which governs the essential features of the internal quality assurance system, was amended in 2021. The modification, effective from 1 March 2022, reflects the hitherto practice of the MUIEB in approving and evaluating degree programmes and the intention to synchronize the doctoral programme evaluation with research evaluation at MU 14 Teaching and Education 1 . 6 Feedback from Students, Applicants and Graduates Questionnaire surveys are an essential element of strategic planning and quality assurance at Masaryk University. Thanks to feedback from students, applicants and graduates, the MU management is able to make informed decisions. In 2021, five regularly recurring surveys were conducted. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, feedback concerning online teaching was incorporated into all surveys conducted in 2021. The Surveys application in the MU Information System has undergone a major innovation, which now allows completion of a questionnaire in a user-friendly environment that is adapted to mobile devices. The first survey in the new application was MU Applicants, which addressed the largest target group of respondents so far; 25,039 persons were asked to fill in the questionnaire. Another round of the survey Motivation and Expectations of Incoming Master's Students from Other Universities ran from March to April. Yet another survey included questions for fresh graduates of Master's degree studies and was entitled Graduation from MU - Review and Perspective. The survey runs throughout the year; the respondents are addressed from January to November. The ninth year of the survey Premature Termination of Studies at MU, which forms the key source for ascertaining the causes and factors leading to student dropout, was conducted in 2021. Each year, about a fifth of the respondents across all levels of studies share the reasons for the fail rate. A key survey with a high response rate was organized in the autumn among first-year students and was entitled Freshmen at MU - 7,608 persons were asked to complete the survey, of whom 61% participated. New topics in the questionnaire, relating to sustainable development, the university community or attitudes to online education provided valuable input for further development of the university in these areas. An important representative of institutional inquiry remains the Course Opinion Poll, which is a unique university-wide tool that enables students to easily evaluate the instruction and their teachers. The tendency of a growing response rate continued in 2021; the questionnaire is completed on average by 40% of all students. In addition to the university's own surveys, MU participated in the nation-wide research PhD STUDENTS Survey 2021, which examined the situation of doctoral students at Czech higher education institutions. 1 . 7 Prevention of Student Dropout The reasons for premature termination of studies at MU are annually mapped by the survey of student dropout, organizedby the RMU Strategy Office. The responses of the 985 respondents involved in the latest survey in 2021 suggest that most of them still leave their preferred studies, that is the studies that were their first choice. The respondents attribute their failure in the first place to insufficient motivation followed by dislike for certain courses and a decision to take up other, more appropriate studies. The intensity of the determinants varies according to the type of degree programme. Whereas Bachelor's students state the choice of other, more suitable studies as their major reason, follow-up students most often state the inability to harmonize studies and work, giving preference to career and the necessity to earn money. About two thirds of the responding students who have dropped out plan to apply for another HE programme. If they plan to study at a different HE institution than MU, it is mainly due to better accessibility or because they wish to pursue a field of study not taught at MU. Academic staff were offered ten seminars dealing with the topic of student dropout, provided at eight faculties by the Student Advisory Centre in cooperation with the RMU Strategy Office. The website for academics addressing these issues was expanded. All the materials are available on the Employee Portal under the heading Teaching - Student Dropout. The Student Advisory Centre is preparing, among other things, a policy for dealing with sexual harassment and other inappropriate behaviour on the MU premises. The FEA examined the causes of unsuccessful completion of courses through opinion polls and questionnaires. In 2021, the faculty carried out an in-depth analysis of key causes of student dropout, and it plans to introduce measures for its reduction in the following years. At the same time, the faculty promotes the role of programme consultants. The FLaw established the institution of a student ombudsman, through which it extended the forms of assistance to combined mode students in particular. The FA promotes targeted communication with degree programme guarantors and it organized a workshop where it presented current data concerning student dropout. The FEdu organized three round tables addressing student dropout with consultants from the departments. The FSS pilot tested a new application for the prevention of study risks, which uses the potential of the MU Information System and tries to prevent student dropout through various indicators, especially by detecting students who may be in danger of academic failure. 15 Teaching and Education 1 . 8 Activities and Awards for Gifted Students The faculties offer various forms of support to gifted students, ranging from specific projects to scholarship programmes and awards. The FMed set up the Junior Academy, which motivates talented secondary school students to study medicine. A special module of the degree programme General Mediáne is a selective P-Pool scheme, which involves students in research from their very first year of study. Selected students of the FEA participated in the faculty's research and development projects in 2021. The TopSeC project has become a stable part of faculty life, offering students a unique opportunity to regularly meet experts at interactive workshops. A special programme for the support of student communities was announced at the FA. Within its scholarship policy the FLaw promotes the writing of Master's theses in a foreign language and awards merit scholarships for excellent study achievements. In cooperation with the Jan Hus Educational Foundation, the faculty organizes the Í Stereotypes us et Societas Award for a student essay with the most interesting suggestions concerning the role of law in society. The best Bachelor's theses at the FSS are rewarded with the Inocenc Arnošt Bláha Award. The award in the form of a scholarship is won annually by 11 students nominated by heads of departments on behalf of individual degree programmes. Three scholarship schemes for gifted students' activities were established at the FSS and 102 students obtained a merit scholarship. The FEdu acknowledged gifted students with the Award for Outstanding Creative Activity, won by seven students of the faculty in 2021. The faculty's support for excellent students continued through scholarship schemes. The FPharm announced new scholarship programmes supporting creative activities and excellent achievements. Students of the FI have a chance to win a merit scholarship awarded to successful students as well as to promising first-year students, based on the school-leaving exam and secondary school olympiads. Talented students who represent the Czech Republic in Olympic disciplines may apply for a waiver of the entrance exam at the FSpS. In 2021, the faculty granted 53 such applications. Excellent students are nominated for the Rector's Award for the Best Students in Master's Programmes. In 2021 the award was given to Gajane Achverdjanová from the FA, who specializes in the art of Late Antiquity. Another awardee was the successful FI graduate Ján Jančár, who during his studies contributed with two academic publications to basic research in the field of elliptic curve cryptography. 1 . 9 Shared University Core Courses and Support for Entrepreneurship Masaryk University began selecting and preparing the first courses of the shared university core in 2021. It thus continued the previous year's activities when the general concept of the shared university core was designed. Each course is worth 3 ECTS and ends with a colloquium. Thematic areas of the courses are The World in the 21st Century, People Between Nature and Culture, and Advances and Limits of Cognition in Natural Sciences. In the spring semester, the first 19 core courses were selected and prepared by their guarantors for pilot testing in the autumn semester 2021. The course guarantors met in the autumn to discuss the preparation and teaching of the courses. The second call in the internal competition was announced in autumn 2021, resulting in the selection of another 24 courses across the thematic areas. The courses are selected by the committee under the guidance of the Board for the Shared University Core. The selection is subsequently discussed by the MU senior management and the MU Internal Evaluation Board. In 2022, the university plans to include further courses to make the courses offered diverse and to ensure sufficient capacity. At the same time, students' feedback will be gathered. The year 2021 was a turning point at Masaryk University for the promotion of entrepreneurship. The MU Technology Transfer Office prepared the policy and strategy for the support of students' entrepreneurship, encompassing courses, seminars, internships as well as lifelong learning. Emphasis is put on expanding the courses offered to students and developing active cooperation with key partners. In order to promote student entrepreneurship, an inter-faculty working group was established, which formulated key milestones and helped to achieve them. One of the cornerstones was organizing a pilot competition of student innovative ideas called Start Your Business. The aim of the competition is to develop the skills necessary for successful entrepreneurship and to motivate students to fully use opportunities and ideas. 125 thousand Czech crowns was divided between the five best teams. Innovative projects were awarded almost 200 thousand Czech crowns for the entire duration of the competition. In addition to the financial reward, the participating students were offered mentoring by experts, and one of the teams went on an exchange stay to France thanks to the competition. Students can learn more about doing their own business in the courses From UIN to CIN, From an Idea to a Business and others. 16 Teaching and Education 1.10 Teaching During the Pandemic and Online Education Even in 2021, Masaryk University had to respond flexibly to the spread of the coronavirus infection and associated anti-pandemic measures. The Rector periodically issued extraordinary measures in response to the government regulations; remote teaching methods, completion of courses, organization of final state examinations and the academic year schedule were modified. The Internal Evaluation Board commissioned an analysis regarding the substitution of student internships and practical training in particular in degree programmes with a teaching specialization. The university managed to implement the student internship and practical training also thanks to the government's exemptions for medical, healthcare and pharmaceutical fields of study. The MU faculties designed 93 new online courses and substantially innovated 151 online courses as part of internal projects. The degree of use of online tools in instruction increased at all the faculties, and an emphasis was placed on mass lectures. The faculties enhanced their central technical support for the preparation of online teaching materials. Students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds were provided with equipment enabling them to learn remotely; namely laptops, tablets, earphones and microphones. The faculties also introduced a system of loans of the devices. The Faculty of Law introduced blended learning into the remote education. The Faculty of Education opened an audiovisual studio and provided staffing and technical equipment. The faculty also actively worked on DigiCompEdu, a teachers' and students' portal for digital education, and organized a cycle of online meetings called Inspiration Online, where teachers shared their experience with online teaching. The Faculty of Arts provided students with a new learning space - Makerspace, which allows access to technologies such as 3D printing or virtual reality. The aim is to provide educational content and access to digital technologies in order to support new directions and research opportunities in the humanities. Masaryk University was interested in how students perceived online teaching during the pandemic, and therefore included relevant questions into institutional surveys including the course opinion poll. Thus, the university obtained direct feedback concerning remote education from students, graduates and applicants. The results show that a significant majority of them appreciate the efforts and actions of Masaryk University: according to the respondents, even within the online mode teaching of an appropriate quality was provided. 1.11 Lifelong Learning at the University The university acknowledges the importance of lifelong learning and fully promoted its activities in the demanding year of 2021. Teaching in the time of anti-pandemic restrictions called for maximum flexibility: some of the courses were held in person, and some had to be taught online. In the end, the online form enabled people from more distant places or those who would not be able to attend the in-person courses for health or other reasons to participate in lifelong learning. The University of the Third Age (U3A) celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2021. An online series of lectures was organized on this occasion, given by former rectors of MU Jiří Zlatuška, Mikuláš Bek and Petr Fiala. The basic U3A scheme comprises one-year and three-year programmes. The one-year programme includes courses Cultural Heritage and Historic Preservation in Moravia, University of the Third Age and Moravian Museum. The participants in the three-year programme may choose between the general course, which seeks answers to questions about a healthy and meaningful lifestyle in an advanced age or the course Artworks and Forms of Their Historical Explanation, guaranteed by the Faculty of Arts. Educational events for older people under the auspices of U3A were also held at the University Centre Telč, where they celebrated their 15th anniversary of teaching. Masaryk University and the National Heritage Institute in Telč created a course called Medieval Etudes III, which was taught at the University Centre in 2021. In addition to regular long-term programmes, U3A offers short-term courses, special lectures, workshops and cultural events. In its work, it cooperates with various organizations, e.g. the Ministry of Culture, Brno Municipal Authority, National Heritage Institute, Moravian Library and Moravian Museum. The university places a strong emphasis on fostering cooperation with international partners. The cooperation between U3A MU and Danube University Krems continued within the project Music That Connects. Lectures and concerts were held in Brno and Telč as part of the joint project. Masaryk University strives to communicate science and stimulate interest in it among children and young people, to strengthen lifelong learning competencies and support intergenerational learning. Young researchers will be interested in the new online platform MjUNIon. It was launched in autumn 2021 and most faculties and workplaces of MU are contributing to the creation of its interdisciplinary content. Science enthusiasts joined the activities of Bioskop - a science centre which held biology courses for small groups from April to October. Popular science videos and podcasts working with the theme of Time were created on the occasion of the national Researchers' Night. 17 Teaching and Education 1.12 Lifelong Learning at the Faculties Many lifelong learning courses are provided by the MU faculties in the form of vocational and leisure time education as well as U3A courses. A novelty in the area of cooperation in LLL was the new course Management in Pharmacy offered by the FEA together with the FPharm. The series of ten lectures focuses on the economic aspects of the management of pharmacies and business activities in the pharmaceutical industry. The FPharm contributed to lifelong learning within the University of the Third Age with the lecture cycle entitled The Pandemic in a Society-wide Context. The FEdu in cooperation with St. Anne's University Hospital organized a course named HOBIT - Biology Lesson for Life. The course Formative Assessment Supporting Student Learning attracted a lot of attention too. The FEdu also addressed the general public with a new cycle of webinars called Educational Insights, which provides the views of experts on current issues concerning pedagogical practice and schooling. The FEA offers a wide range of educational activities appropriate for long-term professional training of staff. These include courses in accounting, taxes, management, project management, law, analysis of data and legal information, as well as a wide range of language courses. The faculty organizes one-day and multi-day courses appropriate for improving skills in various professional and leisure areas. Thanks to the internal development project, FA was able to create and offer new online interest courses for the general public, in particular relating to information and library studies. The online course Greek for Travel: Language, Life and Institutions was aimed at those interested in Greece as well as employees of travel agencies. Other specialized courses of the FA were designed for current and future teachers. The FSpS expanded their online courses for the public. They included courses on first aid and sports nutrition, power yoga and Pilates for beginners, the essentials of correct movement patterns or basic movements in parkour. Courses for coaches in 2021 included Coaching Courses for Rhythmic Gymnastics License Level 2 and 3. The FSpS Lifelong Learning Centre together with the University Sports Centre prepared the MUNIsportfk city camp, attended by 52 children. The FLaw offered courses entitled Introduction to Law for Senior Citizens, which were held from November 2021 to February 2022. The FSS organized six online winter schools for secondary school students focused on social anthropology, contemporary European politics, international relations, sociology, social work, and public and social policy. 1.13 Courses in Foreign Languages and International Marketing The development of foreign language programmes is one of the internationalization priorities for Masaryk University. Many faculties of Masaryk University offer studies in foreign languages in Bachelor's, follow-up Master's and doctoral programmes. The Faculty of Arts accredited six new programmes taught in English in 2021. These were follow-up Master's programmes Medieval Latin Language and Literature and Modern Greek Language and Literature and four doctoral programmes: Comparative Indo-European Linguistics, Classical Philology, Educational Sciences and Study of Religions. The Faculty of Social Studies accredited the new follow-up Master's programme European Governance, taught in English. The Faculty of Medicine has a new English doctoral programme called Healthcare Simulation. The teaching of two Bachelor's degree programmes accredited in the previous year started at the Faculty of Economics and Administration in 2021: Business Management and Finance plus Economics and Public Finance. Another major area of internationalization is the preparation of new courses in English. In 2021, the university prepared 80 online courses in foreign languages, of which 21 courses used modern methods like Blended Learning or Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL). Masaryk University also aims to increase the proportion of its international students studying in Czech or English. Therefore, it systematically focused on marketing and promotional activities abroad and during 2021 it participated physically at a trade fair in the Netherlands and virtually at trade fairs targeting students from Latin America, Japan and Europe. The university also participated at the ACAC and CAEI virtual trade fairs. In autumn 2021, MU held its own virtual trade fair for international applicants - Masaryk Virtual Open Days. The fair comprised four events that targeted students in Latin America, USA and Canada, Europe and Southeast Asia. In addition to everything mentioned above, the university continued to work on its social media content in English, especially on Instagram, where the popular format among the target group is "takeovers" from foreign students who use videos to show what their studies at MU are like. Similarly to previous years, the videos reached large numbers of people and the response was very positive. 18 Teaching and Education 1.14 International Mobility and EDUC Alliance In spite of the pandemic, which severely affected international cooperation for the second year in a row, the main pillar of international cooperation at MU continued to be Erasmus+, which accounted for over 1,400 contracts with more than 700 universities. In 2021, MU students participated in 1,125 study periods or internships abroad with Erasmus+ funding 865 international mobilities, including 191 internships (of which 24 were for graduates). As in past years, the MU Centre for International Cooperation (CIC) held Erasmus Days in autumn 2021, an event aimed at increasing the number of international mobilities of MU students. Unlike in 2020, the format was not exclusively online; several faculties held the event in person or in hybrid form. In 2021, MU admitted 883 exchange students from other countries, of whom 104 studied online. In the spring and autumn semesters of 2021, the Orientation Week was organized by the CIC for incoming international students. The event, held mostly online, was attended by 461 students. After a one-year pandemic break, the CIC also held the traditional training week for international staff called MUST WEEK (Masaryk University Staff Training Week) for 52 employees from abroad. Following positive experience with the online summer school, MU organized two winter schools and three summer schools online. Besides this, MU organized three in-person summer schools in 2021, which is significantly fewer than before the pandemic, when about 20 summer schools were held annually. MU continued to be active within the EDUC alliance (European Digital UniverCity), which is part of the prestigious European University Networks funded by the EU. All partner universities began to offer joint specialized online courses in autumn 2021. MU welcomed six members of the international committee that was sent by the Czech National Agency for International Education and Research (MEYS) to evaluate the integration of MU into EDUC. About 70 representatives of MU including teachers and students participated in the two-day international evaluation. The final evaluation report should serve the purposes of MU as well as the ministry in proposing further action concerning Czech universities involved in European university alliances. The international committee emphasized the long-term experience of MU in designing programmes taught in foreign languages, and simplified procedures of recognition of credits obtained abroad. The allocation of financial and administrative support for the development of joint programmes and the overall promotion of internationalization (both within and outside of EDUC) was also highlighted. 1.15 Foreign Language Teaching The Language Centre (LC) is the largest workplace of this type in the Czech Republic and it supports internationalization and innovative ways to enhance the language skills of students, MU employees and the public. In 2020,24 international teachers from the LC provided foreign language teaching for professional, academic and specific purposes, assisted by 50 students from abroad within the popular project Language Teaching Assistant. The centre organized the international bilingual conference Latin America Hoy with 42 speakers. In addition to teaching at the faculties, the LC opened lifelong learning courses of Czech, Arabic, Chinese, German, French and English for the general public. The courses of Czech as a foreign language were taken by 146 international employees and PhD students; 14 of them went through an intensive one-year course and 43 participants attended the Colourful Czech seminars. Staff competencies were systematically enhanced through specialized seminars, summer schools and workshops for professionals, as well as the LC Week. In total, 51 PhD students were supported from the IGA project, 39 non-academic employees got funding from HR4MU and 125 finalized their projects within MUNI 4.0. The results of their activities were presented in 20 conference papers, 5 articles in scholarly journals and in a book English Terminology for Teachers. The LC organized 3 summer schools for university staff focussed on extending the range of teaching resources. These were attended by 26 academics and 8 representatives of universities included in the EDUC alliance. EDUC also contributed to the involvement of international students and teachers in the classes of English for students of law and informatics. Three projects were supported within the MU Institutional Plan: for example, the development of pluri-lingual competencies. The LC unit at the FEA prepared a course on Business and Economic English for the newly accredited degree programme, and five new online courses extended the teaching of languages at the FSci. The LC started work on a new platform, CZECH ONLINE -Czech as a Foreign Language for Specific Purposes, and invited students from Tunisian universities to participate in the project Communication and Enhancement of Mediterranean Cultural Heritage. The LC continues to work actively in international professional organizations (Cercles, IATEFL and EULETA) and in the informal Wulkow Group and Fiesole Group. In spite of the pandemic restrictions, the LC organized a Teaching Practice Week with a record number of ten postdoctoral academics from the European University Institute in Florence, who taught at four MU faculties. 19 1 Teaching and Education Number of students at MU T- co co 00 00 co o 0> co co 1^ co co 00 co in co co cm co (O cn i^ co cn co o co cn co cm t-~ co co cn co m cm co r» cn co o co o r» o o co co co r- co <* i- cn co cm co co co co cn co co o oo m to co en cn i- i- cm co co Number of studies Number of students (headcount) 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 Number of students at MU faculties in 2021 797 Faculty of Pharmacy 3,540 Faculty of Science 3,223 Faculty of Law 4,677 Faculty of Medicine 5,179 Faculty of Education 2,199 Faculty of Informatics 1,489 Faculty of Sports Studies 2,833 Faculty of Economics and Administration 3,232 Faculty of Social Studies Number of MU students per member of academic, research or specialist staff r n in i^ in co cm cm cm cm co co o cm t- o cm cm cm cm cm cm cn oo od co cm i- * cm cn cm i- (O in co co co co CO cn co Number of studies per academic Number of studies per academic, research or specialist staff member 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 20 Teaching and Education Association with MU from the perspective of its applicants dream higher education student life — possibilities - modern BrnoJ ~ML ^- prestige—buildings What do you think of first when you hear "Masaryk University"? Masaryk education quality study offer friendly Studies at MU from the perspective of the Master's degree programme graduates interesting- * ^-entertaining-great good choice — pleasant —m MH- challenging fine-■ ■- exhausting-life experience enriching-^ W— stressful-inspirational Number of international ^^^^^^^^^^^ students * ^ ^ ™ ^ 2 r, r, si ??, ??, l l l l l C\J C\J C\J C\J C\J C\J Proportion of studies from abroad (incl. Slovakia) in all studies Number of studies from Slovakia Number of studies from abroad in n in oo * T ^ _» m in ■ - ^ uj in cm w * ^- >- h ........ Ill 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 21 Research and Doctoral Studies 2 . 1 Research Output Quantification 2 . 2 Support for Research Excellence 2 . 3 Winning Prestigious Grants 2 . 4 Application of Research Results 2 . 5 Conceptual Themes in Doctoral Studies 2 . 6 Development Activities for Doctoral Students and Supervisors 2 . 7 Awards for Doctoral Students and Graduates 11U RESEARCHERS STUDIED THE GENES OF GREGOR JOHANU IIEIJ DEL Masaryk University researchers provided unique information about Gregor Johann Mendel, the renowned scientist, who made his mark on human history by discovering the basic principles of heredity. The research was based on the archaeological excavation of the Augustinián tomb at the Central Cemetery in Brno and subsequent anthropological and genetic analyses of the findings. The research is led by the Vice-rector of Masaryk University, Šárka Pospíšilová, and involves almost twenty experts from the Faculties of Science, Medicine and Arts and CEITEC MU. Anthropological measurements revealed, for example, Mendel's height and his shoe size; biometric data of the skull were used for creating a superimposition of Mendel's face. Photo: Vice-rector ofMU and geneticist at CEITEC MU Šárka Pospíšilová leads a unique research of Gregor Johann Mendel's genome Research and Doctoral Studies 2 . 1 Research Output Quantification MasarykUniversity periodically monitors the research output of its constituent parts and individuals. A number of analyses for habilitation and professor appointment procedures are processed as well as bibliometric analyses that analyse data from the MU Information System and the multidisciplinary databases the Web of Science (WoS) and Scopus. The analyses monitor the production, WoS and Scopus coverage, research visibility (prestige of specialized journals), citation index and collaboration. The analyses differentiate between the specific publication practices for the domain of natural sciences and social sciences and humanities. The authors are motivated to increase publication quality through performance-based funding at MU. In 2021, MU authors published 2,259 scholarly papers of article and review type indexed by the WoS. The number of publications in this selection has been growing each year and the proportion of papers published in prestigious journals ranked by subjects in WoS has been rising too. 45% of all MU papers of the article and review type were placed in the first quartile (Qi) in 2021, whereas in 2017 it was 39%. In the Scopus database, there are 2,559 article and review papers by MU authors, and their share in Qi was 61% in 2021. Each of the databases uses different classifications based on the subject, and thus they cannot be compared. The share of WoS scientific publications created in cooperation with international institutes (excluding Slovakia) has long remained stable and accounted for 45% in 2021. Most publications were created in cooperation with institutions in Germany (15%), the USA (13%) and the UK (10%). The areas with a high citation index exceeding the median of the discipline in the period 2017-2021 were biological and environmental sciences, physical sciences and medical sciences. A specific citation indicator is Highly Cited in the WoS. These are publications that ranked among the top 1% of the most cited publications in extensive discipline-specific groups in the year of publication. The indicator suggests that the research concerned is of excellent quality. In 2021, this indicator was met by 33 MU publications in medical and environmental sciences, biochemistry, molecular and cell biology, and plant sciences. To interpret the bibliometrics in social sciences and humanities better, the RMU Research Office closely monitors the assessment of papers by the WoS and Scopus due to the fact that the databases index SSH journals to a lesser degree and are not the only publication channel. The proportion of papers in scholarly journals in the WoS has been steadily growing from 61% in 2017 to 76% in 2021 for the whole of MU; in Scopus, the 2021 representation is 77%. As far as books are concerned, MU has created a list of high-quality publishers who guarantee the expected quality of production. 2 . 2 Support for Research Excellence Excellent researchers of Masaryk University were supported by its Grant Agency in 2021 through its grant schemes MUNI Award in Science and Humanities (MASH) and MASH Junior, which is targeted at promising researchers shortly after their PhD It aims at the creation of conditions for the achievement of early research autonomy and application for an ERC grant. The university announced a special grant scheme for researchers from Belarus - MASH Belarus. Other grant competitions aim at interdisciplinary research projects (the INTERDISCIPLINARY programme), support for researchers after a career break called Career Restart, and promotion of international grant applications, entitled HORIZONS. The second year of MUNI Scientist awarded prizes to 39 researchers for outstanding results in their work. The projects that won the competitions in 2020 and started in 2021 included three interdisciplinary research projects, seven MASH Junior grants, one MASH Belarus and six Career Restart projects. The GAMU ERC Support Scheme funded 12 projects that applied for ERC grants in 2021. One project in the Starting Grants call and one project in the Consolidator Grants call proceeded to the second round of evaluation. Masaryk University agreed on the establishment of an Expert Group for the ERC at the national level. MU scholars interested in applying for an ERC grant were informed about local and national support options at the Grants Week on 14 October 2021. In 2022, the internal support scheme for ERC applicants will be partially revised to maximize synergies with the National Expert Group. The support for Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions projects focused mainly on individual Postdoctoral Fellowships (PF), which were promoted through informative seminars for faculty project managers, supervisors, and the candidates themselves. It was essential to provide individual consultations for project proposals and comprehensive guidance through the preparation and submission process. Compared to the H2020 average, the number of submitted projects doubled. Three proposals received European funding, and all four MU applicants for a fellowship at an institution abroad were successful. The institutional strategy of long-term advancing of research excellence is promoted through the system of budgeting indicators. Two groups of indicators are used: for STM (Science, Technology and Medicine) and SSH (Social Sciences & Humanities). The Vice-rector for Research and Doctoral Studies, Šárka Pospíšilová, awarded MUNI Scientist prizes on the occasion of the annual conference of the Grant Agency of Masaryk University. The award was received by 39 scholars who had achieved extraordinary results in their research in the past year. The ceremony took place in the Mendel Refectory of the Augustinián Abbey in Old Brno. 24 Research and Doctoral Studies 2 . 3 Winning Prestigious Grants In 2020, Masaryk University confirmed its ranking as the most successful Czech institution in Horizon 2020 (H2020) calls so far both in terms of amount of funds and the number of approved project proposals. The number of approved H2020 projects with MU as the beneficiary was 119, and their total budget exceeds EUR 52 million. In 2021, the implementation of 20 new H2020 projects was started, of which nine were under Pillar I - Excellent Science, eight under Pillar III - Societal Challenges, and three were in associated initiatives. One of these projects is the prestigious INTEG-RNA, launched under the Twinning call. Two of the commenced projects under Excellent Science were European Research Council Consolidator Grants. Under the same pillar, Masaryk University succeeded in obtaining the only coordinated MSCA-RISE project in the Czech Republic in 2021. The first calls for the new programme Horizon Europe were announced during 2021. Masaryk University was particularly successful in the area of Research Infrastructures, where several projects focused on current challenges were approved, from pandemic preparedness to cancer research to agriculture. The university also won a grant for the organization of the International Conference on Research Infrastructures ICRI2022, to be held in October 2022. At the national level, the university scored in another international evaluation of large research infrastructures (LRl), organized by the MEYS. The university was involved in 17 LRIs in the new period. In December 2021, the European Strategic Forum for Research Infrastructures (ESFRl) introduced an update to its periodically published roadmap with 11 new projects, two of which are connected with MU. At the European level, RECETOX coordinates the EIRENE project, which is focused on the assessment of environmental exposure. This is the second European research infrastructure coordinated from the Czech Republic. The FSS participates in the Generations and Gender Programme (GGP) as coordinator of the Czech node of the infrastructure aimed at collecting and processing data on the contemporary family and relationships between partners and generations. The year 2021 was dedicated to the preparation of the MU Open Science Strategy for 2022-2028. The process resulted in the formulation of 24 strategic goals focussed on the development of Open Access and FAIR data principles at the university. The theme of Open Science was the cornerstone of project proposals for the Horizon Europe framework programme. 2 . 4 Application of Research Results Masaryk University, through its Technology Transfer Office (TTO), established the first spin-off platform for university-related companies in the Czech Republic in 2021. The platform will assist in opening and deepening the cooperation with companies that apply university research results and will contribute to the social relevance of research. A significant feat in 2021 was the award of a prize by the Neuron Endowment Fund for extraordinary interconnection of science and business. The laureates Vítězslav Bryja and Kamil Paruch from the FSci together with Radoslav Trautmann from the TTO received the prize for their activities related to the establishment of Caslnvent Pharma, a company developing a drug for leukaemia. The award Innovation of Slovakia 2021 was won by the biomedical project MicroRNA test of success of the in vitro fertilization (IVF) process and diagnostics of a quality embryo for the IVF process. The project is implemented by the CEITEC MU, J. P. Šafárik University in Košice and Comenius University in Bratislava. Masaryk University was granted three important patents. Three license agreements were concluded with international partners in connection with the patent Enantis Thermostable FGF2 polypeptide, use thereof and culture medium containing thermostable FGF2 polypeptide, a joint invention of MU and its biotechnological spin-off. The new trademark Mindfulness Research and Practice Network of Masaryk University was registered in 2021. MU received 1,506,948 CZK for license and co-ownership agreements on the use of intellectual property. The income from internships, consultations and training increased in comparison with 2020 and amounted to 311,946 CZK. The university also gained almost 2 million Czech crowns from the economic activities of its spin-off companies, e.g. from the dividend in Netcope. The four-year university-wide OP RDE project focused on the commercialization of research results was successfully completed in January 2021. Funding from TACR GAMA 2 continued and supported 17 Proof of Concept projects. The cooperation with industrial partners under the trademark Tested in Antarctica continued in 2021. Testing has begun on a gravel stabilization system and a specially developed series of jackets. The fourth year of the Business Research Forum - a trade fair of opportunities for cooperation between the university and the applied sector - was successfully organized in 2021. The first year of MUNI Innovation Awards for outstanding innovative achievements took place during the fair. From a total of 50 nominations, 17 laureates were selected, representing the FSci, FI, CEITEC MU, FPharm, FEdu, FA, FSpS, and the Teiresiás Centre. The TTO continued to act as a significant member of the national platform Transfera.cz, whose chair is Eva Janouškovcová, the TTO director. 25 Research and Doctoral Studies 2 . 5 Conceptual Themes in Doctoral Studies In 2021, a total of 2,777 doctoral students were studying at the university, of which 18% were from Slovakia and 13% from other foreign countries. PhD studies were offered in 106 degree programmes taught in Czech and in 74 programmes taught in foreign languages (mostly English). Doctoral studies in 2021 were dominated by discussion about conceptual changes and innovations and the gradual introduction of them. MU issued its Principles of and Recommendations for Effective and Quality Doctoral Studies, which try to define the approach toward PhD studies at MU, their further course and development. Vice-rector's Awards for Excellence in Doctoral Studies were announced for the first time to acknowledge students who have completed their degree within five years with outstanding publications. The award also extends to their supervisors. The prize was received by 40 pairs of graduates and supervisors. The RMU Strategy Office prepared the Analysis of Dropout Rate in PhD Studies, which examines factors accounting for premature termination of doctoral studies. The analysis focused on full-time and combined studies in 2008-2013 (i-e- 4*090 studies). The aim of the analysis was to determine which factors provably influence PhD candidates' success. The influence was analysed by statistical testing for independence of qualitative data (using a chi-square test) and demonstrated by descriptive statistics. The performed analysis suggests that strong factors showing a statistically significant correlation with successful completion of PhD studies are the amount of scholarship and, in general, the average monthly income received by doctoral students during their studies, plus their study results in doctoral as well as the preceding Master's programme. A higher completion rate is apparent in students who started their studies at a younger age, and those who participated in an international mobility. Doctoral candidates who dropped out state their reasons in the survey of Premature Termination of Studies at MU. During the years 2013 to 2021, the survey addressed 2,757 PhD students and the average response rate was 23%. This means the questionnaire was completed by 613 students who dropped out. According to the survey, the strongest factors leading to premature termination of PhD studies were: inability to harmonize studies andwork, necessity to earn money / poor financial situation, giving preference to career, insufficient motivation to study, other personal or family reasons, and different/unfulfilled expectations. The long-term stability of the obtained results allows for the use of these findings as baselines for a debate about reducing student dropout at MU. Doctoral students at the FEA are assisted by the new PhD Guide, which clearly describes doctoral studies, what is expected of a doctoral student in the different stages of study to avoid dropout due to misunderstanding of the study concept. The faculty also introduced a system of an interview between the applicant and the future supervisor after the submission of the application. Attention was also paid to supervisors, namely to the quality of their recent publications and the percentage of successful doctoral students under their supervision who graduated within the standard period of time. In the event the supervisors fail to meet the above criteria, they are not allowed to accept further PhD candidates. The faculty completed the setting of comparable requirements for the admission of students to Czech and English doctoral programmes. The FSS faculty have agreed that student dropout must be addressed through various instruments aimed both at the students and their supervisors. Ideally, the admissions procedure should include an agreement between the PhD student and the supervisor concerning further income in the form of grants that could be expected by the student beyond the scope of their scholarship. Monitoring the quality of the supervisors' work through data has commenced and potential issues are discussed with the programme guarantor. The faculty has introduced the standard of minimal requirements for doctoral students' publications. The FA organized an extensive survey among doctoral students as part of the HR Award. The results will be used by the thematic working group to define milestones for further development. The FMed offers six doctoral programmes in English with 20 students who are paid the same scholarship from the faculty budget as Czech students. Such support aims at bringing motivated PhD students from abroad to the faculty. The FEdu established the (Post)doctoral School supporting the PhD community and interdisciplinary cooperation. The school promotes closer cooperation of doctoral students through internal seminars, shared presentation of research activities, faculty-wide doctoral conferences, etc. The FSci conducted an analysis of supervisors' work based on predefined criteria. The results were used by the faculty to formulate recommendations for improvement in particular degree programmes and their doctoral boards. The monitored parameters were numbers of students per supervisor, length of study, completion rate, and supervisor's grant resources enabling involvement of students in projects. The FLaw adopted an amendment to the directive that stipulated the unified requirements for doctoral theses. The amounts of scholarships for the most valuable publications were increased for the purpose of supporting high quality publications. 26 Research and Doctoral Studies 2 . 6 Development Activities for Doctoral Students and Supervisors The university offers various activities for PhD students and their supervisors in order to promote doctoral studies. Each semester, the students are invited to participate in the course FRESHERS: Skills for Research Careers, which focuses on developing the competencies necessary for a research career. The course aims at the enhancement of integration into national and international projects and research infrastructures. The theoretical course has been complemented with practical workshops. In 2021, activities for doctoral students emphasized the development of strengths, mentoring or stress resistance. A series of webinars promoting publication activities of young researchers was organized in cooperation with Munipress. The first year of the workshop called Na postdoc ven, promoting postdoctoral stays abroad, was held in the autumn. Interdisciplinarity is accentuated in the lectures delivered by foreign experts, the MUNI Seminar Series. In 2021, lectures in natural sciences were held, mostly online. Part of the series is the Mendel Lectures, in which top experts in their fields, including Nobel Prize winners, give lectures at Masaryk University. Two of these exclusive lectures were held in 2021: Andrew deMello from ETH Zurich spoke at MU in September, and Marek Mlodzik from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai gave a lecture in October. Supervisors could make use of a dozen specialized online workshops and webinars held during 2021. Workshops for doctoral boards were prepared to be launched in 2022. The PhD Day in September 2021 was a result of cooperation between the CEITEC MU, FMed and FSpS. The event was held online due to the epidemic of COVID-19. Doctoral students at faculties located on the University Campus Bohunice are also now sent the Events of the Week newsletter. In August 2021, the fifth year of the Summer School for Doctoral Students was held at the University Centre Tele, aiming at the improvement of pedagogical competencies and communication skills. The expanded version of the school with an English section was postponed to 2022 due to the pandemic. The Faculty of Medicine organized a series of BIOTOP Seminars, which introduce PhD students to different career options outside academia with the aim of bridging the gap between ac-ademia and industry and introducing various job opportunities in life sciences. The guests were scientists who had worked in academia but decided to continue their research career in the private sector in the Czech Republic and abroad. Interdisciplinary doctoral projects in life sciences and material science at the CEITEC PhD School are supported by the newly established Jaroslav Koca Bridge Fund. Students whose projects are approved get a scholarship of 10 thousand CZK and a lump sum of 50 thousand CZK toward consumables. 2 . 7 Awards for Doctoral Students and Graduates As in previous years, PhD students at Masaryk University were very successful in the Brno PhD Talent competition, where 15 of them obtained financial support. The scholarship of 300 thousand CZK for the period of three years was won by 25 students of science or technology in Brno; nine were from the Faculty of Science, five from the Faculty of Medicine and one student was from the Faculty of Informatics. Two MU doctoral students obtained prizes from the annual scheme of the French Embassy in the Czech Republic. Samuel Pastva, a PhD student at the FI MU won the competition for the best research work in the field of computer science, the Joseph Fourier Award. Adam Mertel from the FSci MU placed third in the Jacques Derrida Prize for humanities and social sciences for his cartography work. Patrik Gažo, a doctoral student and specialist at the FSS MU, was awarded the Young Author Prize at the GERPISA 2021 international conference. Dominika Sladká from the FSS MU won the 1st degree Edvard Beneš Award in the field of sociology. Graduates of doctoral studies in sociology Jan Váňa and Alica Rétiová were successful in the Miloslav Petrusek Prize for the best student article in a scholarly journal. The Rector's Award for the Best Students in Doctoral Programmes was obtained by three gifted PhD students: Katarína Bernátová from the Faculty of Science for her research focused on magnetron sputtering deposition and characterization of prepared thin films and subsequent diagnosis of the deposition process; Abanoub Riad from the Faculty of Medicine for pointing out the often overlooked COVID-19-related oral manifestations, a result of international cooperation with a clinical team; and Michaela Prišťáková, a PhD student at the Faculty of Arts, who worked in an international research team at the European Archaeological Centre in France. The Rector's Award for an Outstanding Doctoral Thesis was given to three doctoral students: Cosimo Lobello from the Faculty of Science for his successfully defended thesis on the prognostic value of the mutational landscape in systemic anaplastic large cell lymphoma; Matúš Nemec from the Faculty of Informatics for his thesis dealing with vulnerability of electronic security systems, which was written under dual supervision (cotutelle) in cooperation with Universita Cá Foscari in Venice. The last winner in this category was Jaroslav Stanovský from the Faculty of Arts for his doctoral thesis on the specific literary genre of the historical novel, focused on works about the civil war between the republicans and the royalists in western France. Individual faculties of MU motivate doctoral students by means of Dean's Awards. 27 Research and Doctoral Studies Number of international doctoral students Proportion of studies from abroad (incl. Slovakia) in all doctoral studies Number of doctoral studies from abroad Number of doctoral studies from Slovakia in co m co in m r« o co co in in r» co in o to o> co r-_ co co co in t- cm oo co r~- o t- i- co co * * * * Number of employees (headcount) Number of employees (full-time equivalent) 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 Number of international academics, researchers and specialists at MU Share of foreigners (incl. Slovakia) in the total number of all academics, researchers and specialists Slovak citizens (full-time equivalent) Citizens of other foreign countries (full-time equivalent) cm cn cn cm 1^ cm m cm m CO q in oo to in CO 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 Number of newly-appointed associate professors and professors from among MU employees Newly appointed professors Newly appointed associate professors 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 46 Personnel Management and Employee Development Mean and median wages of academic staff at MU 0 0) 1 Mean wage in CZK Median wage in CZK 05 0> in co co in co co m o in co cm S o o> "J cm o "I £ S to m co CM CO in r-. in in co o o o co cm in 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 Total non-investment revenues per MU employee e> r> o <» i- cm co in in in in co in oo co in co i-co o in co o co co in cn o co Non-investment revenues in thousands CZK per MU employee 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 Representation of women among MU employees Academic staff Research and specialist staff Other employees 47 Information Systems and IT Support 11A S A R Y K UNIVERSITY NOW ISSUES ELECTRONIC DIPLOMAS AND ALLOWS REMOTE ENROLMENT FOR STUDIES Masaryk University continued to significantly develop its student services and in June 2021 began to issue diplomas in electronic form. By issuing electronic diplomas, MU confirms its leading position in digitalisation among Czech and European universities. After finishing their studies, each MU graduate will receive in addition to the paper original an electronic form of the diploma secured by authentication features. An electronic diploma makes proving qualifications in the Czech Republic and abroad more convenient. As a follow-up to the online admissions procedure, the university also enabled remote enrolment for studies for the first time in 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. To enrol remotely, prospective first-year students were able to use new options in online identification. Photo: Michal Brandejs, head of the Computer Systems Unit of the Faculty of Informatics, which develops the MU Information System and takes care of computerization of study-related administration Information Systems and IT Support 5 . 1 Significant IT Innovations at MU The year 2021 also brought difficult challenges in IT. The university successfully coped with modification requirements to the IT systems and a significant increase in data traffic induced by the COVID-19 pandemic. It also continued discussing and building the unified MU enterprise architecture and preparing for the generational renewal of the MU economic and management system. In 2021, a number of development activities were completed and the Faculty of Pharmacy was finally integrated in the university systems and processes. In response to the pandemic and the measures adopted at the university, the COVID-19 Prevention application was developed. At the beginning of the year, the development focused on the support of employee testing at the university. With the launch of vaccination in the Czech Republic, the development of the application was reoriented towards the support of employee vaccination and creation of reports for the university management and insurance companies. Thus, the application became a key factor for decision-making on the pandemic measures at Masaryk University in 2021. During 2021, the activities linked to the building of the unified enterprise IT architecture involved in particular the introduction of a system of prioritization of requests for the main IT systems (IS and INET). The first prioritization of administrative and economic requests (primarily in the INET system) took place in January 2021. At the end of 2021, another round of prioritization of requests, with estimated completion in 2022, was launched. In the course of the year, the IS requests prioritization system was also launched. In 2021, Masaryk University announced a selection procedure for a new generation of its economic and personnel system (EPIS). Aside from finding a modern solution for economic and personnel agendas, the main motivation is to build a unified platform for integrating additional information systems, such as reporting, CMR, an e-shop and others. In 2021, a team composed of representatives of the ICS, the Rector's Office and the faculties kick-started a competitive dialogue. In the first round of the negotiations, the team made themselves familiar with the parameters of the solutions proposed by the bidders in the selection procedure. There were also a number of other development activities of varying scale which were given attention. A major activity was the definition of the main MU services sales support objectives. Developments were made in the Employee Portal, the target architecture and the individual modules (directories, main menu, search, newsletters, etc.) were defined and the new design was launched for some pilot faculties. A new agenda for the preparation of innominate contracts was added in 2021. It covers the entire life cycle and is linked to the economic system and records management. A cash allowance in place of meal vouchers was also introduced and digitisation of travel orders implemented. 5 . 2 Development of MU Information System The Computer Systems Unit of the FI provides for the administration of university studies via the Masaryk University Information System (IS MU). The system encompasses administrative and communication services, electronic support for teaching and courses for the public, research and development services, a community network, the internet Shopping Centre, a repository of qualification theses and publications and the Document Office for electronic administration of official acts, including records management and a register of contracts. In 2021, the development of the IS MU focused primarily on ensuring additional study and administrative processes remotely, because of the COVID-19 pandemic. For first-year students, the remote online enrolment function was launched, using new options in online identification via the identitaobcana.cz portal or a video interview directly in the IS MU. In the E-transcripts application, students may now conveniently create electronically sealed transcripts of records (grades or completed courses syllabi). Another new function is the issue of an E-diploma, an electronic form of the diploma secured by authentication features which each student will receive after finishing their studies, in addition to the paper original. E-learning tools were adapted so that the Learning Potential Tests could take place online. The Tudle application for voting on meeting dates or other content was created and the development of the Practical Training application continued. In the Document Office, the pilot phase of the digitization of closed and new student files was launched, involving authorized conversion of the files into electronic form and their time stamping. The Document Office also facilitated the digitisation of other areas, such as IT loans to students. In 2021,153,931 electronic documents in 1,803 agendas were signed directly in the IS MU and 2,906 contracts were inserted into the Internal Register of Contracts. The Shopping Centre handled 108,612 purchase orders for 76,675 customers in 2021. A new method of selling services internationally was introduced. Tools such the Survey, the Study Planner and the EVAK academic staff evaluation application were converted into a new responsive design. Significant developments were made in the system of hybrid meetings of collective bodies, which now include the meeting's agenda, administration of attendees, online conversations, video conversations, voting and elections. The intensive development of personnel tasks materialized in the Non-academic Employee Evaluation application. In the IS MU and the Theses.cz and Odevzdej.cz plagiarism detection systems a new similarity detection algorithm was deployed, which better detects textual matches. In 2021, the IS MU development team led a centralized project entitled Technical Development of Administrative Study Tasks andUse of Their Essential Role for Digitization of Universities for 26 public higher education institutions in the Czech Republic. 50 Information Systems and IT Support 5 . 3 Learning Management Systems and Teaching Support Electronic support for teaching is a primary component of the Masaryk University Information System. In 2021, due to the unfavourable epidemic situation, the development focused primarily on e-learning applications to make remote teaching more convenient for teachers as well as students. Great developments were made in the ROPOT application, which allowed for the Learning Potential Test (the entrance examination) to take place completely in the remote online mode. The new functions include adaptive testing support, monitoring responder activities, additional ROPOT setting options and a new Response Status application. The ROPOT application was also used for the Geographical Olympiad for primary and secondary schools, thanks to which over 5,000 participants were introduced to the IS MU environment. In the Online Teaching application, the option for teachers to make video recordings of lectures was added. The Student Teaching Practice agenda focused in particular on the administration of practical training opportunities for prospective teachers and was deployed for real-time use at other faculties. In the Peer Assessment application, support was added for file distribution and multimedia player functions. The directory of available e-courses was given a new design and the 11th year of the Open Space Conference on E-learning IS MU took place in the e-course environment, this time fully online. The MU E-learning portal (Elportal) published a number of articles on citation practice, intellectual property law and the requirements of students with special needs in the classroom. The IS MU support team gave users a number of consultations by electronic means or phone for easier handling of the epidemic. The priority of the Institute of Computer Science in 2021 was to support the operation and new development of the functionalities of the Microsoft 365 platform, which is used primarily for synchronous teaching at the university. The platform is fully accessible for each university student and employee to use. Following the adaptation of the Microsoft Teams tools, which are actively used by 30, 800 users as a solution for hybrid lectures and examinations, the university focused on the implementation of additional task management tools and the PowerBI platform for the presentation of university data. To enhance active IT support, the Institute of Computer Science launched an online communication platform (chat) to immediately connect university users with the IT ServiceDesk for faster handling of requests and issues. Another auxiliary measure was the automation of the university call centre. With the use of its cloud infrastructure, which Masaryk University has been developing for a long time now, virtual classrooms and experimental research environments were added to the computer facilities and labs which are primarily intended for synchronous teaching. These environments facilitate the teaching and research practice at MU, while offering a solution for asynchronous teaching during the pandemic. 5 . 4 IT Infrastructure and Cybersecurity The vast network of services and systems at Masaryk University requires a robust and high-performance communication infrastructure, which can handle challenges coming along with the general online teaching mode or requirements for fast transmission of large volumes of scientific data. In 2021, at all MU faculties distribution network components were modernized, which will enable the backbone transmission capacity to be increased up to 100 gigabits per second and further expansion of the successful Virtual Server Rooms concept. In 2021, the capacities of the centrally provided MUNI Cloud infrastructure were considerably increased. MU researchers have access to a vast computing and storage infrastructure via the CERIT-SC centre, which provides technical support for extreme calculations and e-infrastructures for more than 2,600 users. In 2021, the Kubernetes infrastructure was made available in the pilot phase and also the MU Sensitive-Cloud infrastructure, intended for processing of sensitive data, was further developed and deployed for pilot operation. Secure handling of data was also enhanced in 2021 with the development of the RemSig service, providing for the full central management of private keys and certificates for signatures and other forms of confirmations in the university's internal systems. Last year, the service managed 122 personal qualified certificates and created 90,000 qualified signatures and 13 qualified seals. The MUNI Unified Login System was used by more than 7,000 users daily. To achieve an even higher level of security, the multi-factor user authentication support was developed, giving users the option to confirm their login through a secondary authentication mechanism. Cybersecurity at Masaryk University is ensured by the internationally certified CSIRT-MU cybersecurity team, who handled over 147 thousand attempted attacks at MU in 2021:142 attempts originated in the MU network and over 1,380 cases were classified as a cybersecurity incident. At the international level, the CSIRT-MU is involved in three H2020 project consortia and also collaborates on NATO research and with US university partners. At the national level, its central area of focus is security research projects of Czech institutions (such as the Ministry of Interior, NCISA or NAKIT), which also includes the MEYS project for Increasing the Level of Cybersecurity at Public Universities. Within the Cyber and Information Security ResearchandDevelopmentPlatform,th.e CSIRT-MU participated in nation-wide cybersecurity fundamentals courses for the elderly. A major achievement for the CSIRT-MU team members was the 3rd place in the Locked Shields 2021 exercise and their qualification for the finals in the Global Collegiate Penetration Testing Competition. 51 Information Systems and IT Support Total visits to www.muni.cz 4,576,000 visits in 2021 Computerization at MU ^^^^ ^^^^ Number of e-diplomas issued Number of remote identifications Number of digitized student files in 2021 Number of documents in INET and Mag ion systems electronically signed using the Signature Book application 243,867 documents in 2021, i.e 82% of the total 298,345 documents Development of electronic application processing using the records service application Number of purely digital documents 206,967 documents in 2020, of the total 268,625 documents 05 IN G> O 05 m 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 52 Information Systems and IT Support 5 MU Information System in numbers in 2021 Total number of IS MU visits 1,582,308,471 61,171 persons used IS MU regularly 90,817 persons accessed IS MU occasionally Maximum number of IS MU pages opened in one day As of 31 December 2021, the IS MU data pool held around 6,055,345 190 million files amounting to a total of 76.4 TB Turnover in the SUPO system 132 million CZK Turnover in MU Shopping Center 169 million CZK Use of JobCheckIN online portal in 2021 193 employers using the services of the portal 801 job offers advertised 10,440 students and graduates registered in the portal Storage capacity available to MU employees 7,300 TB f 10,500 TB Number of cyber security attacks averted at MU 147,949 2020 2021 53 Institutional Management and Infrastructure University Budgeting Financial Balance Sheet University Management during the Pandemic University Operation in Compliance with Sustainability University Infrastructure and Facilities Strategic Project Preparation Accommodation and Catering Services 11A S A R Y K UNIVERSITY ESTABLISHES THE BOARD FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT A H D STRENGTHENS THE SUSTAINABLE ASPECTS OF ITS OPERATION With the aim to move the university's activities forward as best as possible in the context of sustainable development, the Masaryk University Board for Sustainable Development was established in 2021. All faculties, including students, as well as research workplaces are represented in the Board. It serves as an advisory body of the Rector. In its agendas related to sustainable development and environmental responsibility MU achieved a number of results in 2021. In the area of responsible procurement, these included the preparation of tender requirements and sample contracts taking into account social, environmental and innovation aspects of the procurement process; performance of rainwater monitoring; a comprehensive analysis of waste management for further development; and the application of environmental responsibility in consumption of power solely from renewable resources. Institutional Managementand Infrastructure 6 . 1 University Budgeting Masaryk University budgeting rules are defined with the aim to maintain the necessary degree of financial stability, while responding to the expected growth of the population curve. These rules also comprise education quality indicators and the indicators derived from the MEYS R&D evaluation and allocation of funds. Already for the 2021 budget, the calculation of indicator A for the individual faculties was divided into two parts: the fixed component with a weight of 80%, and the variable component with a weight of 20%, for which the faculty shares are calculated based on the current actual numbers of normative studies as of 31 October of the previous year. In the upcoming 2022-2026 period, the fixed/variable component proportions are going to shift to a target ratio of 60/40. In relation to contract-based funding, 3 parameters were introduced, which will be monitored and assessed annually. The objective is to maintain MU's current share in the number of all students at public higher education institutions in the Czech Republic as well as the current student-teacher ratio and the quality of the applicants accepted. These parameters include a change of the reference value for the number of students enrolled in first years to the value from the previous year reduced by 10%, the introduction of the number of studies per teacher as another parameter, and subsequently the quality of accepted students (in the variable component of indicator A, students accepted with a LPT percentile below 30 will not be included in the calculation). The performance component indicators were also adjusted. A minor change was the addition of a bonus for student trips to prestigious higher education institutions abroad. From 2022, a bonus will newly be added for student trips to the TOP 500 higher education institutions in the QS World University Rankings. The basic principles of the methodology of distributing the institution support (in simpler terms the R&D funding), have not changed since 2020 in the budgeting rules. The performance component indicators continue to give weight to prestigious publications, citations and international grants. In compliance with the Research Organisations Evaluation Methodology (Methodology 17+), a minor adjustment was made in the manner of calculating certain performance component indicators and their weights. Most importantly, the Scopus database was added to the sources for the evaluation of the publishing activity of faculties oriented towards humanities and social sciences and the list of prestigious publishers for the Monographs indicator was extended. A change was also made in the Domestic Grants indicator, which now only includes prestigious grants such as ERC or EXPRO GACR. For publication activity indicators, the decile (in addition to quartiles) was introduced and is now given a bonus in the journals ranking. 6 . 2 Financial Balance Sheet Even in 2021, MU had to cope with the ongoing pandemic, which had a financial impact on internally generated revenues. Within public sources, which constitute 75% of the total revenues, the growing trend in the volume of normative sources allocated by the MEYS continued. Normative sources distributed within MU on the basis of internal budgeting rules increased by 4.4% to almost 3.2 billion CZK, traditionally constituting a major part of all revenues (56%). Other contributions and subsidies from national and international public budgets increased by 2.5% to more than 2.5 billion CZK. Within internal resources, the 27% increase in accommodation and catering sales to 80% of the 2019 level was particularly important. Thanks to this increase and the austerity measures, the ACS loss was reduced in year-on-year terms by 16 million CZK. On the expenditure side, the trend of growing personnel costs continued in 2021 (by 7%) and was caused by the growth in the number of employees by almost 4% and the 3% growth in average salary. Recovery in employee mobility led to the growth of travel expenses by 52%, compared to 2020. Within capital expenditure, EU structural funds revenues dropped, as was expected. Despite the higher use of subsidies from programme financing and MU internal resources, capital expenditure dropped by 7% to 1,164 million CZK. Compared to 2020, the total revenues of Masaryk University increased by 4.1% to 7,590 million CZK and expenses increased by 3.6% to 7,503 million CZK. MU reported a profit after tax amounting to 87 million CZK , despite the expected loss of 10.4 million CZK reported by the ACS. In 2021,43 public administration and project inspections took place at MU (reported as per the projects inspected). This number is comparable to the numbers for the two previous periods. Thanks to the computerization of processes and agendas at MU, communication with external bodies and coordination in the second year of the pandemic was smooth. Of the total number of audited projects, GACR projects accounted for 40%, MI projects for 19%, OP RDE projects for 14%, MIT projects for 5%, Interreg projects for 5%, MA projects for 5% and TACR projects for 2%. The remaining inspected projects concerned, for example, the AZV, SoMoPro and the MC. The MEYS performed an inspection of the use of institutional support on long-term conceptual development of a research organisation. The results of these inspections did not show any infringement of budgetary discipline. In connection with the inspections of the last period, a payment order was issued amounting to 264 thousand CZK. 56 Institutional Managementand Infrastructure 6 . 3 University Management during the Pandemic During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Crisis Board and the Emergency Board of Masaryk University were set up as advisory bodies to the Rector in order to coordinate the steps directed at tackling the epidemic across the entire university. Over the entire duration of the pandemic, MU operated its traffic light system, which provided guidance for setting the alert level for individual university activities depending on the degree of the epidemic risk. The colour rating was announced on the basis of the conclusions of the Crisis Board with a view to the epidemic situation at the university and in the city of Brno. In spring 2021, the university arranged for the testing of MU students and employees in collaboration with the Helping Hands organization and in autumn 2021 by purchasing self-test kits. On a continual basis, data were collected and statistics created on testing, self-isolation and positive cases at MU and information on the testing of international students was entered in the MEYS CovidForms App. In its management during the pandemic, the university relied on its information systems, which at a particular time served not only for record-keeping purposes (e.g. testing obligations), but could also be used as a vaccination scheduling tool. In spring 2021, the university intensively pushed for priority vaccination of university employees. Thanks to collaboration with the SurGal Clinic, vaccines were obtained for high-risk and senior employees. Subsequently, the university coordinated the vaccination process for all students and employees who wished to get a vaccine and during the autumn months it set up its own vaccination points in collaboration with the Helping Hands organization. Employee vaccination rate reached 89% and student vaccination rate 79%. Another major area where the university had to respond flexibly during the pandemic was the accommodation and arrivals of international students. The university provided not only standard accommodation to students but also quarantine and isolation accommodation over the entire duration of the pandemic. Through the crisis manager, acting as the MU Rector's Office COVID coordinator, the Technical Operations Office of the Rector's Office ensured the provision of the latest information to the COVID coordinators of individual faculties and economic units and, provided consultations and advice across MU on testing, quarantine measures and individual positive cases. Over the entire duration of the pandemic, the university monitored and always flexibly responded to the governmental anti-epidemic measures. A change in the colour of the university traffic light system and other important measures were always communicated to employees and students beforehand in a newsletter. 6 . 4 University Operation in Compliance with Sustainability In its agendas related to sustainable development and environmental responsibility, managed at the university level, MU achieved the following of results in 2021. Within a MoLSA project, measures were adopted toward more responsible procurement. Standard tender requirements and sample contracts were prepared, taking into account social, environmental and innovation aspects of the procurement process, and the Public Procurement Directive was updated in collaboration with individual economic units. In the University Campus at Bohunice, certain water management measures were successfully implemented, including a modification of the existing retention tank, installation of new tanks and the creation of conditions for a further expansion of green areas. This was all linked to the monitoring of rainwater. All new buildings and selected reconstructions at MU may be regarded as energy saving and environmentally friendly, which is in line with the long-term trend (green roofs, photovoltaic panels, etc.). More than half of the MU buildings meet the requirements of the European SMART energy standards. The university also applied an environmentally responsible approach in electricity purchases for the year 2021, with all its supplies coming from renewable resources. Waste management standards have also been high at MU for a long time. In collaboration with the Sustainability and Circularity Institute at the FEA, a comprehensive analysis of waste management at MU was performed, which will serve as a basis for the creation of the MU waste management strategy. In 2021, the Management of the University Campus at Bohunice developed instruments and procedures increasing building and technology management efficiency, which by extension increases the comfort of their users. Many of the MU buildings may now be classified as smart, because they use technology management and monitoring systems. In 2021, a new version of the technology management and monitoring system software was deployed and the methodology of the M&R and management systems of building technologies was updated. In the area of Building Information Modelling, the university focused on the creation of a methodology for documentation of external areas, complete documentation of the Kejbaly premises (FEdu) and the external areas of the FEA. At the University Centre Telč, fire compartmentation was performed and evacuation plans prepared. The building and technology data are managed in the form of digital building documentation (documentation of construction, technological and external areas). With the support of the ICS, this is accessible through web and mobile applications, database services as well as drawings or made-to-measure documents, e.g. for public procurement needs. 57 Institutional Managementand Infrastructure 6 . 5 University Infrastructure and Facilities Following the Masaryk University Strategic Plan for 2021-2028, the implementation of construction and other investment activities for the development of teaching and research infrastructure continued. Investments were prepared and implemented for the development of faculties and the related infrastructure as well as the University Campus at Bohunice. The MEYS subsidy programmes included projects within programme funding. Registration for the Reconstruction and Completion of the Botanická Complex project was not obtained because work on the detail design as required by the subsidy provider was still being done. The Reconstruction of Auditoriums at the Faculty of Law was completed, including the delivery of interior furnishings and audiovisual equipment. In 2021,50.5 million CZK was expended on the project. The total project costs amounted to 73.7 million CZK. In 2021, the implementation of the Replacement of Heating and Cooling Sources in the UCB continued. In the given period, the implementation of three out of five phases was completed and 14 heat pumps in 13 pavilions were delivered and commissioned. The building works in 2021 amounted to 112.8 million CZK. The project registration decision was obtained and the building permit documentation prepared for the Student Centre in the UCB. The estimated cost of the project is 395 million CZK. Within the sub-programme for the development and renewal of accommodation and catering capacities, the canteen at the FEdu was built. The total construction cost, including interior furnishings and cooking equipment, was 34.3 million CZK. The preparation of the project design for the UCB Catering Centre continued. The estimated costs are 250 million CZK . Research equipment for SIMU FMed for 67.8 million CZK, comprising medical and dental simulators, was installed at the Faculty of Medicine in 2021. For the conversions of pavilions A18 and A19 in the UCB, project registration was obtained and the building permit documentation completed. The extension of the existing facilities and the building of new lecture rooms and laboratories is estimated at 58.4 million CZK. Adaptations to the Building at Poříčí 31, including the reconstruction of the gym, the Psychology Department offices and sanitary facilities in the entire building, continued at the FEdu. The total reconstruction costs were 23.1 million CZK. The FEdu obtained a project registration decision for the Extension and Superstructure of the Department of Arts Studio. A building permit was issued and the procedure for the selection of the contractor launched. The estimated costs are 33 million CZK. In addition to programme and project financing, MU implemented 39 construction investment projects from its own resources for 110 million CZK in 2021. The major projects included the construction work for the FMed at the UCB for 9 million CZK, the reconstruction of the roof of the FA building at Joštova 13 for 9.8 million CZK, the reconstruction of the load-bearing structures and the common spaces at the FLaw for 6 million CZK, the partitioning of the lecture rooms at the FSS for 9.3 million CZK, a partial reconstruction of the FSci premises at Kotlářská at the UCB for 16 million CZK, the reconstruction of the gas boiler room at the FEdu for 3.5 million CZK, the reconstruction of the FSpS premises at Veslařská for 5.8 million CZK, the reconstruction of the heat exchanger in a FSpS gym for 4 million CZK, the adaptation of the existing CEITEC laboratories for 9.1 million CZK, the reconstruction of the sewerage at the Rector's Office for 4.1 million CZK, and the building adaptations at the CIC at Komenského náměstí for 7 million CZK. Several OP RDE projects were implemented in 2021. These included the much needed reconstruction of the interiors of the SIMU FA training and recording studio, including the installation of adequate audiovisual equipment. The financial costs were 25.8 million CZK. The building of the simulation track with barrier-free elements in the SIMU FEdu was completed in 2021 with costs of 228 thousand CZK. The barrier-free sanitary facilities at the Faculty of Arts buildings for SIMU FF were obtained for 9.5 million CZK. In 2021, adaptations of the existing laboratories for the CEITEC-KRYO for the installation of new research equipment were launched. The project costs are 35.8 million CZK and the building works in 2021 amounted to 10.9 million CZK. A major development project in the UCB is the implementation of the MUNI Biopharma Hub, which will be funded under the NRP. The project involves the placement of the Faculty of Pharmacy in the spaces of the university, the building of the preclinical and molecular medicine centre, with a focus on innovation for a healthy and safe society. In 2021, project works were launched and the documentation for the land use decision was completed. For the completion of the multi-purpose open athletics centre and indoor sports hall at the FSpS in the UCB, the documentation for the land use decision was prepared. Part of the funds should be covered by a National Sports Agency subsidy. The estimated cost is 330 million CZK. 58 Institutional Managementand Infrastructure 6 . 6 Strategic Project Preparation The MasarykUniversity Strategic Development Project 2021+, approved in November 2020, progressed significantly in its implementing phase, primarily thanks to the MUNI BioPharma Hub. The MUNI BioPharma Hub, supported from the Czech National Recovery Plan (NRP), constitutes a comprehensive intention to build modern infrastructure for the Faculty of Pharmacy, including key complementary units such as the Preclinical Education Centre. The MUNI BioPharm Hub will also include IT infrastructure for the support of modern in-person, hybrid and remote synchronous and asynchronous teaching. The project will support more than ten degree programmes at the Faculty of Pharmacy, the Faculty of Medicine and the Faculty of Science. The intention also is to develop new interdisciplinary degree programmes responding to the necessity to enhance the resilience of the Czech Republic in critical areas affected by the current pandemic risks. In 2021, the land use documentation was completed for the MUNI BioPharma Hub project, which has progressed into the building permit documentation phase. The MUNI BioPharm infrastructure should be used by more than 7,000 undergraduate students at the FPharm, FMed and FSci and at least a thousand academic and non-academic workers at these workplaces. The implementation of the project will enable efficient use of the premises of the University Campus at Bo-hunice - North and will integrate an area of over 13 thousand m2 into one of the largest campuses in central Europe. In 2021, Masaryk University was involved in the preparation of five strategic research projects under the EXCELES Programme for the Support of Excellent Research in Priority Areas of Public Interest in the Health Sector within the National Recovery Plan. The thematic focus was on research in oncology, virology, cardiology and social sciences, with the aim to enhance the resilience of the Czech Republic against systemic risks. In collaboration with other top Czech research organisations, these projects will result in the establishment of new national research institutes connecting research infrastructure at the national level. 6 . 7 Accommodation and Catering Services The Accommodation and Catering Services (ACS) is a special-purpose facility of Masaryk University that provides catering and accommodation services to students, employees and the public. For the ACS, the year 2021 was characterized by continuing anti-epidemic measures, which had an enormous impact on the growing operating costs. In 2021, the ACS financial management was influenced by the coronavirus crisis and the ACS generated a loss. The continuing closure of faculties and the online teaching due to the restrictions by the Czech government caused a major drop in the numbers of students using the accommodation and catering services. The restrictions on hotel services and tourism reduced the numbers of accommodated guests. The total deficit was also caused by the inability to organize social events, and provide supplementary and catering services. During the anti-epidemic measures, the ACS tried to the maximum extent possible to ensure accommodation for students in halls of residence, while complying with the defined sanitary measures, always on the basis of a decision by the MU Crisis Board. Isolation accommodation for students with visa obligations was ensured at the B&B Hotel University Brno. Thanks to the restructuring and defining of new management processes, a considerable cost savings and revenue increase was achieved in 2021, without negatively impacting the quality of the services provided. Compared to the plan, the ACS managed to significantly reduce its loss, amounting to more than 52 million CZK in total. The operation of catering services continued to follow the changes adopted. All canteens are introducing a new unified menu of meals with an emphasis on the quality and the nutritional values of the foods and the sustainability of cooking. In addition to meat and low-energy meals, students can also choose gluten-free or vegetarian meals, soups, sushi, salads and other foods. The presentation of a wide range of meals, including fast food, is available in the dining rooms on LCD monitors in Czech and English. In 2021, the reconstruction of the canteen at the Faculty of Law was finished so that it could be reopened together with the new canteen at the Faculty of Education in spring 2022. Thanks to good planning, the ACS manages to increase the sales of meals with maximum effectiveness and sustainability in cooking. Thanks to the meal ordering system, customers may choose their preferred meal, while maximising the savings in the consumption of food thanks to centralized cooking. Meals may also be ordered via mobile phones and there is a possibility of cashless payments. Despite the adverse financial situation, the university management approved investments in the renewal of the rooms in the last block Ai of the Vinařská Halls of Residence, which will increase the comfort of the accommodation for Masaryk University Students. 59 Institutional Managementand Infrastructure Financial management of MU in 2021 MU managed the total budget of 8,753,231 thousand CZK Profit 86,829 thousand CZK Total non-investment revenues and investment expenditure at MU in thousands CZK o CO s CO o CO J— CM CO cn CO 2 I"" £ o i«r o CO CO CO CO o o o CO J— t-CO CO CO 0) CO o cn CM CO CO IO CM o of CO CM CO of CO in Non-investment revenues Investment expenditure 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 Structure of non-investment revenues in 2021 in thousands CZK 979,516 Other public sources for educational activities 1,768,142 Other public sources for R&D 283,756 MU fund depletion (excluding subsidy special-purpose funds) 2,297,613 924,708 1,335,908 Educational activity Institutional Own sources and contribution (indicators A+K) R&D support supplementary activity 60 Institutional Managementand Infrastructure MU cost structure in 2021 8% Material, utilities, maintenance, insurance 59% Personnel and social costs 17% Subsidy write-offs and transfers to funds 14% Services, travel, scholarships 2% Other costs 7,502,815 thousand CZK Immovable and movable MU assets in thousands CZK CM CO CO o o CM CO CO m r» 1— CO 1- CO CO o m CO CO o CO 1- CM m 0> CO CO CO i- o of of CO * * CM CO in CO o in * m CO o CM CM 0> i— CO o CM CO 0> CO i- r» cd CO o o o o o O i— CM r» CO i— CM o> CO cm m o CM 1- CO cn CM CO CO CM CO CO CO ^ ^ CM CO CO o * CO CO CM in in of o> r» CM CM 1— CO O CM CM m CM o i- CO CO o_ CO 0> CO in i- m CO CO in in in in CO CO r» Immovable MU assets Movable MU assets 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 MU facilities in 2021 52% Share of smart buildings Total number of facilities 124 Classrooms and laboratories 63,501 m2 Useful area of these facilities 446,883 m2 Outdoor sporting grounds 9,309 m2 Net useful area of these facilities 272,584 m2 Libraries, archives and reading rooms 9,398 m2 61 MU Faculties and University Institutes Faculty of Law Faculty of Medicine Faculty of Science Faculty of Arts Faculty of Education Faculty of Pharmacy Faculty of Economics and Administration Faculty of Informatics Faculty of Social Studies Faculty of Sports Studies Central European Institute of Technology Institute of Computer Science MU Faculties and University Institutes Faculty of Law 2,945 applications submitted 3,223 students in total 128 students from Slovakia 13 students from abroad (outside Slovakia) 540 graduates 179 employees (FTE) 8 international research projects In the area of teaching and education, accreditation for the Public Administration follow-up Master's programme was obtained in 2021. In the major Master's programme Law and Legal Science, the principles of reform were articulated and a new system of teaching private law and legal theory was implemented. The Faculty of Law progressed further in its comprehensive reform of the practical training system - the most visible change is the introduction of trainees' reflective diaries. In 2021, the faculty also approved new scholarship programmes to support students with excellent study achievements and to support writing a Master's thesis in a foreign language. To prevent premature study termination, the faculty established the institution of a student ombudsman, to extend the forms of assistance particularly to combined mode students. During 2021, the faculty introduced blended learning into remote education. Online transmission of lectures became the norm. Thanks to new technologies, students were able to participate interactively in seminars. A total of 14 new online courses were created, of which two were in English. The range of the foreign-language courses offered at the FLaw has expanded again, now to 50 per year. The possibility to study abroad under the Erasmus+ programme was also newly open to the students of Bachelor's and follow-up Master's programmes. Long-term cooperation with the Universität Wien, the European Academy of Legal Theory and newly also Ferenc Mádl Institute made possible the organization of the 10th Autumn School of Global Legal Skills 2021, which took place from 15 November to 13 December 2021. The FLaw also organized LL courses on a introduction to law for senior citizens, for translators and interpreters and for consultants. The Introduction to Law for Senior Citizens course gave senior citizens an opportunity to gain general knowledge of and become familiar with the classic legal disciplines. As part of the entrance examination preparatory courses, the faculty prepared six new thematically focused online courses for the public. In doctoral studies, the faculty adopted an updated directive laying down unified requirements for doctoral theses. To support high-quality publications, the scholarship regulation was modified to increase bonuses for the most valuable publications, in line with the Methodology 2017+. The faculty also updated its methodological materials for supervisors and students, including new guidelines for the preparation and implementation of specific research projects. For the first time ever, the faculty won a GACR JUNIOR STAR grant for a project entitled The Role of Courts in Shaping Migrants Rights led by Madalina Bianca Moraru. During 2021, a series on the history of the FLaw was made in collaboration with Jaromír Tauchen. All 30 videos were offered to the general public on the faculty YouTube channel. Josef Bejček was awarded a medal for Contribution to Competition and PublicPro-curement and Lukáš Potěšil accepted the Commemorative Medal of the Legislative Council. The successful cooperation between the FLaw and Jan Hus Educational Foundation continued in 2021 with the 14th year of the Ius et Societas Award. The 23rd year of the Students' Research and Professional Activities SRPA and another interfaculty Czech-Slovak Student Scientific Competition also took place. A major reconstruction of four large lecture rooms took place from December 2019 to June 2021. Aside from modernizing the lecture rooms, the key issue that had to be tackled was the critical condition of the Faculty of Law building, caused by aluminate concrete ceilings. The lecture rooms now have new interiors and audiovisual equipment which enables the interconnection of all the four rooms and streaming and recording of lectures. The complete reconstruction cost 62 million CZK. On the occasion of the successful completion of the entire construction project, the faculty organized a ceremonial opening of the reconstructed spaces. 64 DAVID KOSAŘ TO INVESTIGATE A SECOND EUROPEAN RESEARCH COUNCIL GRANT An extraordinary research achievement for the Faculty of Law - David Kosař succeeded in the ERC Consolidator grant call with his INFINITY project (informal Judicial Institutions: Invisible Determinants of Democratic Decay), which he started to investigate in 2021. Winning two European Research Council grants in a row is exceptional (the first ERC grant was awarded in 2016), all the more so as these are the only law-related ERC grants implemented on Czech territory. The supported INFINITY project combines legal theory, sociology and political science. Its main objective is to identify the most important informal judicial institutions, assess their impact on the justice system in the country, analyse the influence that the EU and the Council of Europe have on these structures, and launch a new direction in research into justice. Photo: David Kosař, holder of two ERC grants, who also received the Rector'Award MU Faculties and University Institutes Faculty of Medicine 8,929 applications submitted 4,677 students in total 1,063 students from Slovakia 940 students from abroad (outside Slovakia) 735 graduates 661 employees (FTE) 18 international research projects In 2021, the Faculty of Medicine not only continued to fulfil its educational function but was also very actively involved through its students and employees in volunteering over the entire duration of the pandemic as well as assistance in connection with the elimination of the consequences of the tornado in South Moravia. At the same time, despite the persisting anti-epidemic measures in 2021, practical training continued. The quality of online teaching at the faculty also increased considerably in 2021. Tools such as Kahoot, Slido and a purchased Socrative.com licence were used to ensure interactivity in teaching. A license was obtained for the Nursing Reference Center Plus, which proved useful as an information source for the study field of Nursing. The admissions procedure at the faculty took place in the standard mode, while respecting the valid protective measures. Some of the applicants for the General Medicine programme were accepted without an entrance examination, based on their excellent grades at secondary school, selected language competencies or placement in school competitions. 25 students studied at the Faculty of Medicine in the Foundation preparatory programme for international students interested in studying General Medicine or Dentistry. 71 international students studied at the Faculty of Medicine under the Erasmus+, Freemover and IFMSA programmes and 248 FMed students travelled abroad. In 2021, the Faculty of Medicine organized the Junior Academy, aiming to support gifted secondary school students. The project materialized in the form of courses for secondary school students or special Days with Medicine for prospective students. In teaching, changes are successfully implemented in compliance with the valid accreditation of the FMed Simulation Centre for the General Medicine programme. In the Dentistry and Dental Hygiene degree programmes, almost all teaching takes place in the simulation centre. The transformation of study fields to programmes gave rise to the follow up Applied Physiotherapy Master's programme. The Faculty of Medicine is the only institution in the Czech Republic offering this specialized qualification. In collaboration with universities abroad, four new COIL courses (Collaborative Online International Learning) were organized, namely Clinical Radiobiology, Global Health, Clinical Pharmacology, and the Anatomy Clinical Series. In 2021, FMed academics and researchers submitted 265 internal, national and international projects. The objective was to focus on strategic projects (Horizon Europe, Teaming, European Research Council, National Recovery Plan) together with support for junior researchers (FMed Internal Grant Agency) and start-up projects. In December 2021, a Healthcare Simulation doctoral degree programme was accredited at the faculty. Over 500 students studied in the Czech-language doctoral programmes at the FMed in 2021. 20 students studied in six English-language doctoral programmes, receiving the same scholarship as Czech students from the faculty's internal resources. In autumn 2021, the faculty became a member of the Orpheus international organization, which associates educators of doctoral students in biomedicine and health sciences. Since June 2021, the FMed has been a member of the SPARK Global international network, connecting more than 60 institutions worldwide and supporting the transfer of biomedical research to clinical practice. Faculty support of student associations is reflected in a wide range of student scholarships, which allow for the funding of a vast spectrum of social and awareness-raising activities with humanitarian significance. As the principal coordinator, the FMed got involved in a blood donation promotion campaign and organized a University Blood Donation Cup in collaboration with other Brno universities. 66 A GIFTED SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENT COLLABORATES III MEDICAL RESEARCH AIID WINS THE ČESKÁ HLAVIČKA AWARD For three years now, Martin Kaleta, student of Purkyně Grammar School in Strážnice, has been researching brain haemorrhages and strokes. Firstly, he got familiar with the medical research within the university's Bioskop project. At the Faculty of Medicine under the guidance of the Head of the Department of Anatomy Marek Joukal, Martin Kaleta got involved in the research into haemorrhagic strokes. With his work, Martin Kaleta succeeded in the national round of Students' Professional Activities and subsequently won the Česká hlavička Award in the Healthcare category. Thanks to his activities, he became the first notable face of the FMed Junior Academy, which aims to motivate gifted secondary school students. Photo: Secondary-school student Martin Kaleta, accompanied by his mentor Marek Joukal, received the Česká hlavička award MU Faculties and University Institutes Faculty of Science 3,202 applications submitted 3,540 students in total 698 students from Slovakia 247 students from abroad (outside Slovakia) 860 graduates 969 employees (FTE) 32 international research projects In 2021, the Faculty of Science elected its Dean for the 2022-2026 term. On 18 October 2021, Tomáš Kašparovský was re-elected Dean of the Faculty for a second term, starting from February 2022. The Deans goal for his second term of office is, among other things, to push through hybrid education, combining full-time studies with teaching materials created for remote teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic. The persisting pandemic in 2021 stimulated further development of the faculty and inspired a number of volunteer activities. A number of results of thematic research projects implemented at the faculty received great publicity, such as the widely received interviews with Vojtěch Thon or Omar Šerý. The faculty also continued to organize a large number of popularization and educational activities for primary and secondary school students and their teachers. In 2021, the faculty organized more than 100 individual lectures and short-term courses and activities in online or in-person mode. In February 2021, the FSci, which was the first faculty of the Masaryk University to win the HR Award, received a highly positive response from the European Commission to the Internal Review after two years of implementing the action plan. The faculty portfolio in 2021 offered a choice from 20 Bachelor's and 37 Master's programmes, including the new English Molecular and Cell Biology programme. Within the redesigned admissions procedure, the faculty used its own system of personalized evaluation, taking into account the motivations and professional preferences of applicants. In 2021, the Faculty of Science employed over 140 foreign nationals (not including Slovak citizens) and had 246 international students. During 2021,16 international experts visited the faculty. A major success for the FSci was the 2021 GACR President's Award to Vladimir Šindelář. The award was given for the Chiral bambusurils project. Chiral bambusurils are organic substances that can carry anions, which makes them useful in diagnostics or treatment of certain diseases, such as cystic fibrosis. A research project on the development of high efficiency thermoelectric materials and especially on the study of their long-term operational stability was evaluated as excellent by the GACR. The team working on this three-year project was led by Pavel Brož from the Faculty of Science, alongside a team of researchers from the Czech Academy of Sciences, led by Jiří Buršík, and colleagues from the University of Vienna. In total, the faculty investigated more than 300 basic and applied research projects, of which 24 were EU H2020 projects, 89 were GACR projects, including four EXPRO projects, 29 OP RDE projects and 24 TACR projects. Research results included over 1,400 articles in impacted international journals and over 25 application results (patents and alike). In 2021, the implementation of the prestigious GACR EXPRO grant with a five-year financial allocation of 37.5 million CZK to Norbert Werner's project Exploring the Hot Universe and Understanding Comic Feedback was launched. At the same time, the investigation of another 11 standard GACR grants was launched at the FSci. In 2021, activities of doctoral programme students were supported in the form of motivational scholarship payments. Beyond the usual scholarships, which amounted to 74.4 million CZK, an additional 26.2 million CZK was paid to doctoral student activities. The proof of the quality of research at FSci is in the excellent achievements in the prestigious Brno PhD Talent 2021 competition, in which FSci doctoral students won 15 out of 25 three-year scholarships from the South Moravian Region. 68 RESEARCHERS TEST COROIJAU I RUS IMMUNITY OF CZECHS Over 30 thousand people in the Czech Republic participated in the unique PROSECO study coordinated by experts from the RECE-TOX Institute of the Faculty of Science of MU under the leadership of immunologist Vojtěch Thon. The serological prospective study monitored specific memory antibodies to SARS-C0V-2. The RECETOX biobank daily collected and stored hundreds of samples to examine how the immunological memory response to the new coronavirus infection develops. Interim results of the study showed that in some individuals the memory antibodies did not decrease over time but actually increased. The study provided valuable long-term data on the spread of the virus and the dynamics of the development of antibodies. The project under the expert guidance of Masaryk University was implemented by the Czech Ministry of the Interior Public Health Insurance Fund together with the Asociace laboratoří QualityLab. Photo: Vojtěch Thon, head of the nationwide prospective seroconversion (PROSECO) study MU Faculties and University Institutes Faculty of Arts 8,074 applications submitted 6,678 students in total 953 students from Slovakia 379 students from abroad (outside Slovakia) 1,323 graduates 535 employees (FTE) 8 international research projects The year 2021 at the Faculty of Arts was dedicated to the celebrations of the 100th anniversary of teaching at the faculty. On this occasion, bronze commemorative plaques were placed on the faculty building on the corner of Arne Nováka and Grohova Streets dedicated to the significant figures of the founding generation. On the occasion of the anniversary, the Dean organized, as part of the Humanities Week, a ceremony during which bronze commemorative medals were handed out to personalities who contributed significantly to the faculty's development. In autumn 2021, an election of the new Faculty of Arts Dean for the 2022-2026 term was announced. For the first time in history, there were two women, both from the Department of Classical Studies, competing for the position. In the end, Irena Radová, the department head, was elected the new faculty Dean, with effect from 1 April 2022. In the admissions procedure, the option of an entrance examination waiver on the basis of secondary school achievements in the profile subjects was strengthened. Considerable progress was also made in the digitization of the admissions procedure. The faculty equipped all lecture rooms for hybrid teaching and prepared methodological support through workshops for teachers. During the year, the library launched Mak-erspace, a new educational space providing access to technologies such as 3D printing or virtual reality. Within the Masaryk University Strategic Investments in Education SIMU+ project, a new recording and acoustic studio and a sound laboratory were built for the development of the new Master's degree programme Sound Design and Multimedia Technologies. Within the Lifelong Learning Support and Development project 14 new online courses were offered in 2021. In 2021, the Faculty of Arts launched the implementation of a prestigious international ERC grant, funding a project of David Zbiral from the FA Department for the Study of Religions, Networks of Dissent: Computational Modelling of Dissident and Inquisitorial Cultures in Medieval Europe. In 2021, for the first time the faculty granted the Dean's Award for the Development of the Faculty's International Cooperation, which is intended for those academics who significantly contributed to international cooperation. In the course of the year, the accreditation renewal process, in which doctoral fields were transformed into programmes, was completed. Under the IGA MU programme, 15 doctoral students received scholarships to facilitate the conditions of their doctoral studies. The prestige and reputation of the Faculty of Arts as a research institution was enhanced thanks to the HR Excellence in Research Award (HR Award), granted to the faculty by the European Commission in April 2021. As part of the HR Award, an extensive survey was performed among doctoral students. Its assessment serves a thematic working group whose task is to define the points of further development and increase the quality of doctoral studies at the FA. In 2021, collaboration between the faculty and the Mission of Hope non-profit student association continued in several charity events. The goal of the competition entitled It all begins with an idea was to support students' ideas on how to give help to disadvantaged and disabled groups. During the Advent season, the faculty in cooperation with the Mission of Hope student association organized for the second time the Smile in a Mailbox event, collecting over 700 postcards, letters and wishes, which were subsequently delivered to senior citizens. Also in 2021, the FA opened the DOBRO_ARTS Volunteering course, enrolled in by more 100 students. The most frequent forms of help given by students were assistance to the elderly and the disabled, whether in all kinds of care facilities or directly at home, tutoring children and babysitting. FA students also put themselves out to help the tornado-stricken South Moravian villages. 70 THE FACULTY OF ARTS WINS THE GACR AWARD FOR EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH An educational research project at the Faculty of Arts boasts a prestigious award which makes it one of the best basic research projects in the Czech Republic. Professor Klára Seďová and her team found in their research, which lasted for several years and was focused on teacher-student dialogue, that more communicative pupils who are actively involved in learning achieve better results than their quietly listening peers. The Czech Science Foundation (GACR) rewarded Professor Seďová for outstanding achievements which satisfy the high demands placed on research activities, contribute to the expansion of the current state of knowledge and significantly influence the development of the field in the Czech and international context. The GACR Awards have been granted since 2003 and the Faculty of Arts succeeded in social sciences and humanities after 17 years. Photo: Klára Sedavá, Professor at the Department of Educational Sciences, Faculty of Arts MU Faculties and University Institutes Faculty of Education 7,686 applications submitted 5,179 students in total 147 students from Slovakia 82 students from abroad (outside Slovakia) 1,158 graduates 307 employees (FTE) 18 international research projects In 2021, the faculty considerably expanded its activities in remote education. Based on its own experience with the challenges of online teaching, the faculty built its own audiovisual studio which helps teachers with the preparation and processing of audio and video outputs and advises them on the possibilities of using these materials in teaching. A teachers' and students' portal for digital education DigiCompEdu, facilitating orientation in the possibilities of digital teaching was also created. A series of online meetings called Inspiration Online was organized for the FEdu staff to share their online teaching experience and knowledge. The faculty also reports an increased interest in the admissions procedure for the 2021/2022 academic year. The number of applications for Bachelor's studies grew year-on-year by 19%. In the course of the year, the faculty created and added to its portfolio the Teacher Training programme - a new follow-up degree programme, which is targeted particularly at graduates from specialized non-teaching Bachelor's programmes and which is to give them the necessary qualifications for teaching one of the provided subjects at primary and lower secondary schools. Combined studies were redesigned as well, and students may now complete part of the studies online. This change increases the comfort for combined-mode students, who come to the FEdu from all over the Czech Republic. The conditions of study in the lifelong learning programmes were unified in 2021. The faculty updated its guidelines for opening courses, unified the admissions procedure dates and performed an audit of content with a view to valid accreditations. In 2021, there were 21 LL courses and 50 accredited LL programmes on offer. A particularly popular programme was the Study of educational sciences focused on the preparation of secondary school teachers. The most prominent event in international relations was the international conference of the members of the ETEN Board (European Teacher Education Network), in which 57 participants participated at the faculty, of whom 36 were from abroad. The faculty continued to work intensively on the development of its international cooperation with the EDUC Alliance universities. Three COIL courses were created and implemented and over 300 students were involved in virtual mobility. In 2021, the Faculty of Education participated in 80 projects for almost 60 million CZK, of which 47 were research projects and 33 were development projects. For example, the investigation of a project leading to the creation of a new type of school report containing elements of formative evaluation was launched. One of the significant prizes granted in 2021 to faculty employees was the South Moravian Region Award given to Jiří Poláček from the Department of Czech Language and Literature for contributing to the fame and reputation of the South Moravian Region. In 2021, the FEdu also addressed the general public with a new series of webinars entitled Educational Insights, offering the views of experts on current issues of educational practice and schooling. One of the most significant faculty events that took place in 2021 was a lecture by Karl Habsburg-Lothringen entitled Protection of Cultural Heritage of Mankind in Armed Conflicts, Role of Present-day Teachers and Presentation of Cultural Heritage of Nations in Teaching. The publication of the BEZRÁKOSKY didactic cards, which help tackle disciplinary issues, was generally well-received by teachers. The faculty keeps open the PidiMuňátka Children's Centre, offering babysitting services to its employees, doctoral students and in exceptional cases also to Bachelor's and Master's students. 72 THE FACULTY OF EDUCATION OPENS A (POST)DOCTORAL SCHOOL In February 2021, the Post(doctoral) School launched its activities at the Faculty of Education. Its objective is to facilitate the development of the faculty's doctoral community, the integration of postdoctoral students among researchers and the support of their interdisciplinary cooperation. Through lectures and workshops, it is supposed to give prospective PhD holders space to share experience and give them support in the early stage of their research career. At the Faculty of Education, this is an important change which brings the development activities for doctoral students in the individual degree programmes and years together on a single platform. The school's portfolio includes methodological workshops, lectures of prominent experts, faculty-wide conferences for doctoral students, informative events for prospective doctoral students, and courses in publication and other skills. MU Faculties and University Institutes Faculty of Pharmacy 527 applications submitted 797 students in total 190 students from Slovakia 45 students from abroad (outside Slovakia) 120 graduates 97 employees (FTE) international research projects The study portfolio at the Faculty of Pharmacy in 2021 consisted of one Master's and five doctoral degree programmes accredited in the Czech language and one Master's and three doctoral degree programmes in the English language. Thanks to the exemption for healthcare fields of study, laboratory teaching at the FPharm during the pandemic in 2021 took place in a standard manner for small groups of students. Lifelong learning at the FPharm was focused on the academic community as well as the professional and non-expert public - such as in the Interaction of Pharmaceuticals and Environment course or the Management in Pharmacy series, which offered in collaboration with the Faculty of Economics and Administration a series of lectures on the economic aspects of the management of pharmacies and business activities in the pharmaceutical industry. Several lifelong learning courses were also organized to educate the public in the field of pharmaceuticals. Scientific, research and creative activities at the FPharm continued to focus on comprehensive studies and the assessment of pharmaceutical and other related products playing an important role in the prevention, diagnostics and treatment of illnesses of humans and animals. The faculty's research achievements include in particular the Vice-rector's Award for Excellence in Doctoral Studies to Veronika Leláková and the MUNI Innovation Award to academic Jiří Zeman for his research achievements. A vast majority of FPharm publications in scientific journals (j ) were in the Qi or Q2. In grant calls, the Faculty of Pharmacy succeeded, for instance, in a Ministry of Health competition, actively joining a research project aiming to prepare and test targeted thrombolytics for the diagnosis and treatment of stroke in a preclinical animal model. In the LA GACR competition, the FPharm succeeded with a co-investigated project on complexes of transition metals with natural compounds and their biological activities. In spring 2021, students and employees volunteered within the #MUNIHELPS call and also within the call by the Regional Association of Pharmacists during the preparation of vaccines in the vaccination centre at the Brno exhibition centre. In April of the same year, the faculty also joined the public debate on the testing of primary and secondary school pupils for COVID-19. Despite the pandemic, the faculty managed to organize several social events, first and foremost the celebrations of the faculty's 30th anniversary or the faculty barbecue at the start of the autumn semester. The FPharm maintains important collaboration with research and professional organizations. In the domain of pharmacy, these include in particular the Czech Pharmaceutical Society and the Czech Chamber of Pharmacists. Both the organizations are represented in the FPharm Scientific Board and collaborate with the faculty on the creation and assessment of its degree programmes. The educational and creative activities of the FPharm and its staff are also reflected in the collaboration in lifelong learning of pharmacists and other healthcare professionals and in the organization of scientific conferences and symposia. In 2021, the Faculty of Pharmacy was involved in international cooperation as a regular member of the European Association of Faculties of Pharmacy. This association coordinates further development of the pharmaceutical education at the university. At the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, the traditional Květinův Den, an interdisciplinary conference on pharmacology and toxicology topics, took place in June 2021. As part of the 30th anniversary celebrations, a Day of Technology took place in October. 74 PHARMACY CELEBRATES 30 YEARS FROM ITS RESTORATION IN BRNO For the Faculty of Pharmacy, the year 2021 was a period of integration into Masaryk University, following the transfer launched in July 2020. A new faculty management was appointed. David Vetchý was elected the new Dean, with a term of office commencing on 1 April 2021. 2021 was, first and foremost, a jubilee year for the Faculty of Pharmacy, which remembered the 30th anniversary from the resumption of pharmacy studies in Brno. Pharmacy returned to Brno from Bratislava on 13 November 1991 with a ceremonial opening of the studies at the Faculty of Pharmacy as part of the former Veterinary University. Part of the anniversary celebrations of 26 October 2021 was a ceremonial meeting attended by the academic community and guests representing pharmacy faculties from the Czech and the Slovak Republic. On this occasion, Dean David Vetchý awarded a silver commemorative medal of merit to thirty prominent figures from the Faculty of Pharmacy. Photo: The former emblem of the Faculty of Pharmacy, previously a part of the University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences Brno MU Faculties and University Institutes Faculty of Economics and Administration 3,898 applications submitted 2,833 students in total 654 students from Slovakia 194 students from abroad (outside Slovakia) 709 graduates 175 employees (FTE) international research projects In 2021, teaching in new professionally-oriented Bachelor's degree programmes available in combined form was launched at the FEA. The faculty further promoted measures to reduce student dropout, which included assessing and supporting the work of programme consultants. The successful cooperation in lifelong learning with partner organisations (e.g. Generali Česká pojišťovna, a.s. of the Czech National Bank) continued with the creation of additional sets of comprehensive courses. In response to the unfavourable pandemic situation, the lifelong learning courses was successfully transferred to the online environment and the faculty took steps towards the creation of a long-term lifelong learning strategy. The faculty responded to the changes in teaching caused by the pandemic by a major reinforcement of online teaching, including the appropriate tools, which was much appreciated by students in a faculty survey in 2021. The overall digitization of teaching also involved the introduction of Final State Examination (FSE) digital reports. Despite the need to use the online environment, the verification of the new form of the FSE in Bachelor's and follow-up Master's studies took place, making the defence of the final thesis and a broader discussion on the chosen topic the core of the FSE. In the area of cooperation with secondary schools, in 2021 the faculty fully implemented the prepared Conception for Cooperation with Secondary Schools, which is built to a large extent on faculty ambassadors. The faculty continued the Touch Econ project, giving third and fourth year secondary school students the opportunity to study selected subjects at the faculty and get familiar with university life, as well as the Seminar of Economic Brains, which gives those who successfully complete it the certainty of admission without entrance examinations. MU students were again offered practically-oriented development workshops with companies such as KPMG, Deloitte or IBM within the TopSeC programme (Top Students Centre), despite the need to hold some of the activities online. The increase of interest of international applicants in the accredited degree programmes further strengthened the international environment at the faculty. Unlike in 2020, most placements abroad were able to commence without restrictions. In 2021, teaching of English-language Bachelor's degree programmes was also launched at the faculty. In line with the general support of internationalization at the faculty, including the support of student and employee mobility, an assessment of the existing Erasmus contracts was performed and new contracts with top-level workplaces abroad were signed. In doctoral studies, in 2021 the faculty managed to finalize the setting of comparable conditions of the admission of students in Czech and English language doctoral degree programmes and create a system of tools supporting the completion of doctoral studies in the 4+1 period, such as through specific research projects. In 2021, the faculty continued the implementation of the projects within the H2020 framework programme, including projects featuring a significant element of cooperation with large industrial concerns (such as the Gorenje Group). The four projects within the Horizon Europe were submitted. The faculty also managed to gain support for its scientific projects with a major application impact - for example the Monitoring and Measures to Improve Air Quality in Brno. In 2021, the faculty took further steps concerning its membership in organizations with an active approach to Corporate Social Responsibility and supported the involvement of students and employees in the activities of the MUNI HELPS volunteering centre. In 2021, the faculty also managed to finish all the steps to acquire the prestigious European HR Award, which was awarded in April 2021. 76 THE FACULTY CELEBRATES 30 YEARS OF EXISTENCE In 2021, the Faculty of Economics and Administration celebrated the 30th anniversary of its founding. The FEA was the first post-Velvet Revolution MU faculty to be founded in 1991 and today it provides an education in economics to nearly 3,000 students. The 30th anniversary celebrations culminated in the September conference entitled the Past, Present and Future, or Transformations of Economy, Labour Market and Educational Institutions. The opening speech was delivered by Czech economist and co-founder of CERGE-EI, Jan Svejnar, who teaches at Columbia University in New York. The main ideas of the conference also discussed by the other panellists concerned the issues of change and transformation - whether of the requirements for graduates of economic faculties or the labour market as a whole. The conference took place in a hybrid mode - over 300 attendees were present in person, and additionally more than 600 visitors watched the event online. Photo: Annual Conference of the Faculty of Economics and Administration, where the keynote speech was delivered by Jan Svejnar MU Faculties and University Institutes Faculty of Informatics 1,960 applications submitted 2,199 students in total 1,034 students from Slovakia 115 students from abroad (outside Slovakia) 372 graduates 230 employees (FTE) international research projects In 2021, two new degree programmes - Cybersecurity (Bachelor's programme) and Software Engineering (follow-up Master's programme), accredited in the previous year within the FI portfolio, kicked off successfully. The doctoral studies courses were converted into the new Computer Science doctoral programme with specialisations in Fundamentals of Computer Science and Computing Technology and Methodology. Teaching in English at the faculty is currently offered in three follow-up Master's programmes and the numbers of international applicants interested in the studies are growing fast. Roughly half of all the students write their thesis in a foreign language. In 2021, the Faculty of Informatics was the best evaluated MU faculty in the M17+ evaluation by the International Panel. Faculty researchers continued investigating numerous research projects and assignments. Three academics and one team from the FI received the MUNI Innovation Awards. A team led by Jan Strejček won the MemSafe-ty and SoftwareSystems categories in the SV-COMP 2021 worldwide competition on software verification. Antonín Kučera was granted a new US Army research project entitled Models, Algorithms, and Tools for Solving Adversarial Security Problems. Other academics acquired interdisciplinary GAMU grants and ministerial research projects. Professor Daniel Kráľ successfully finished the investigation of the ERC Consolidator grant at the FI in 2021. Jan Bouda was appointed Czech representative for the European quantum communication infrastructure and other FI researchers are major contributors to the Brno.AI platform. PhD student Samuel Pastva won the national Joseph Fourier Award for computer sciences in 2021. From 2021, doctoral students in English-language programmes at the FI are also entitled to a subsidy scholarship, which is positively reflected in the increase of interest. The office of ombudsman for doctoral students was established. In connection with the COVID restrictions, the use of the online mode for defences and FSEs increased, which has a positive influence on more frequent participation of international experts in committees. The number of people who have completed at least one degree programme at the Faculty of Informatics throughout its existence exceeds 5,000 and the number of the diplomas issued exceeds 8,000. The faculty maintains long-term relationships with its graduates via a Linkedln faculty group where it posts a summary of the latest faculty and MU events. Successful alumni and their stories are featured in the bilingual Alumni Gallery on the faculty website. The faculty maintains regular contact with some 25 secondary schools in the region via computer science teachers. The secondary schools receive a bimonthly newsletter with faculty news and lectures and events offered for those with IT talents. In 2021, some 1,500 talented students were addressed from among successful participants in Olympiads, IT contests and technical SPA at 500 schools in the Czech Republic and 200 schools in Slovakia. In 2021, the faculty organized a wide range of activities for secondary school students with the aim to promote their interest in education and research in computer science and related disciplines. Many educational activities were launched for secondary school students leading to the deepening of their computational thinking and knowledge of information technologies, including programming in Python, JavaScript, C/C++, development of Embedded Systems or advanced education in cybersecurity. In total, over 1,000 students and more than 70 lecturers and volunteers from among the faculty academic staff and students were involved in these activities. The long-term cooperation with industrial partners continued as well. In 2021, there were 27 companies involved in the Association of Industrial Partners (AIP), which contributed to the organization of many activities facilitating collaboration between the academic community, students and firms. In collaboration with the AIP firms, 78 Bachelor's and Master's theses were successfully defended. 78 WANTING TO HAVE MORE FEMALE STUDENTS AT THE FACULTY, THE FI ORGANIZED AN INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE The numbers of women in IT are growing - at the Faculty of Informatics, women make up almost 20% of students and this figure increases every year. But, the proportion continues to be low compared to other faculties. For this reason, the FI cooperates with the Czechitas organization, who organized an IT Summer School for secondary school girls at the faculty premises and whose mission is to popularize IT professions among women. One of those who try to make IT studies more accessible is faculty Vice-dean Barbora Biihnova, who was at the founding of Czechitas organization and who was a patron of the ACM Celebration of Women in Computing: womENcourage 2021 international conference. The conference welcomed 20 speakers from around the world, mostly prominent women in IT. Together with her colleague Pavel Zezula, Barbora Biihnova was listed among the 2021 TOP IT personalities by the Computerworld magazine. Photo: Barbora Biihnova, Vice-dean of the Faculty of Informatics, who is committed to increasing the attractiveness of informatics among women MU Faculties and University Institutes Faculty of Social Studies 4,776 applications submitted 3,232 students in total 458 students from Slovakia 311 students from abroad (outside Slovakia) 697 graduates 252 employees (FTE) 11 international research projects A key success in 2021 at the Faculty of Social Studies was the smooth progress of online teaching, including examinations and state examinations, which was also positively evaluated by students in course opinion polls. At the end of April 2021, the faculty received the HR Award certificate, which represents another milestone in improving the quality of the working conditions of employees. The faculty also focused on expanding its portfolio of English-language courses taught by Czech as well as visiting teachers from abroad. In 2021, a total of 441 English-language courses were taught at the faculty. Two new interdisciplinary English-language Bachelor's degree programmes were successfully accredited - the Global Challenges: Society, Politics, Environment programme and the Politics, Media and Communication programme. The faculty further developed the idea of student ambassadors for each foreign language degree programme, aiming to increase awareness among students. The interest in studies increased in 2021. The numbers of applications for studies at the faculty increased, as did the numbers of newly enrolled students, while the admission requirements remained unchanged. With a view to higher capacity requirements, the number of the rooms for seminars was increased in 2021. In lifelong learning, the faculty focused primarily on autumn and winter schools for secondary school students (the Winter School of Social Anthropology, the Autumn School of Contemporary European Politics, the Winter School of International Relations, the Autumn School of Social Work, the Autumn School of Public and Social Policy, and the Winter School of Sociology). The faculty actively tackles the causes of student dropout. In 2021, the FSS also pilot tested and fine-tuned a new application for the prevention of study risks, in which it intensively dealt with the possibilities of student dropout prevention through IS MU settings. As regards research, the 10 projects supported under the GACR grant competition were a major and unprecedented success for the faculty. In external grant competitions, FSS researchers obtained funds worth of 74 million CZK. In 2021,277 publications are dedicated to the FSS, of which 70% in the WoS/Scopus. Of all the faculty's WoS publications, 62% were published in Qi / Q2. A major achievement for Hana Macháčková was the shortlisting of her ERC Starting grant application for the second round of the selection procedure. Three FSS workers obtained the Fulbright Scholarship in 2021. The faculty also introduced the standard of minimal requirements for PhD students' publications. The Faculty of Social Studies does not want to be only an educational and research institution- it also wishes to be active socially and have the appropriate impact. These efforts are also clearly evident from the participation of employees and students in publicly beneficial projects or the wide range of their popularization activities. This can be illustrated by the Back to Life information campaign, organized by Helping Hands alongside the FSS and the city of Brno with the aim to debunk myths about vaccines. FSS students created the (S)dělení lidu documentary, mapping the voters of Czech political parties, which had its premiere ceremony on 28 October at the Scala University Cinema and in which they offered an interesting reflection on a nation-wide topic. A separate scholarship programme has been launched at the FSS to support associations mainly in the organization of discussions, lectures, exhibitions, theatre performances or cultural and environmental events. FSS students were also involved in the MUNI HELPS volunteer centre. During the pandemic 14% of students volunteered for this activity. 80 SOCIALLY BENEFICIAL PROJECTS FA K ESCAPE AND SYI1BIOS RECEIVE INTERNATIONAL AWARDS The Faculty of Social Studies is a place where very successful projects with a strong social impact have been created in recent years. In 2021, the prestigious Charlemagne Youth Prize was given to the Fakescape project - an escape game created by political science students that teaches students media literacy and critical. The prize has been awarded since 2008 by the European Parliament and the International Charlemagne Prize Foundation in Aachen. The Symbios project, offering shared housing to young adults from children's homes and students of Brno universities, also originated at the FSS. An international jury granted the project the prestigious Sozial-Marie Central European prize for 2021, which is the oldest prize for social innovation in Europe. Symbios is the result of the efforts of a team from the FSS Department of Environmental Studies led by project guarantor Bohuslav Binka. Photo: Tereza Krdcmarovd, founder of the Fakescape project, took over the Charlemagne Youth Prize MU Faculties and University Institutes Faculty of Sports Studies 2,854 applications submitted 1,489 students in total 127 students from Slovakia students from abroad (outside Slovakia) 384 graduates 107 employees (PTE) international research projects A major achievement, and commitment at the same time, in personnel policy for the Faculty of Sports Studies in 2021 was the HR Award. In 2021, the faculty also focused on wider popularization of its research activities. Under the MUNI Trends brand, it also started to regularly present the results of faculty research in sports on its website. In a clear form, the website publishes findings concerning diet, sports activities of children or recommended physical activities during various illnesses. Due to the pandemic, changes in entrance examinations were made and their scope modified - the theoretical part of the entrance examination in the form of subject tests was carried out in a standard manner, while the practical part was limited to the necessary minimum. Talented students and those who represented the Czech Republic in Olympic disciplines could apply for a waiver of the entrance exam; 53 applicants were eligible for the waiver. The Lifelong Learning Centre expanded its portfolio with new e-courses for the public (First Aid, Sports Nutrition, Power Yoga for Beginners, Pilates for Beginners, Essentials of Core Stabilization and Support of Limbs as Basis for Correct Movement Patterns, and Parkour - Basic Movements and their Use). Over the course of the year, several blocks of training for coaches of rhythmic gymnastics licence level 2 and 3 were implemented. In 2021, the faculty organized the Alumni Meeting, at which primary and secondary school teachers presented the topic of Teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic. The thematic page Methodological Materials for Primary and Secondary School Teachers was added to the FSpS website. 31 students and five academics travelled abroad in the mobility programmes. 51 international students completed a study placement at the FSpS. Through online mobility, four employees of international universities completed a teaching or study period at the faculty. Two new COIL courses were implemented in collaboration with universities abroad. In science and research, two TACR projects were successfully finalized and a GACR project and KOSP project (funded by the Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic) were received for the next period. A major step forward is the progressive increase of articles authored by faculty staff published in Qi and Q2 of the Web of Science. Czech and international staff of the Incubator of Kinanthropology Research are becoming the central driving force of research activities. The faculty was a coordinator of an international project supported under the Eras-mus+ Strategic Partnerships programme and participated in another one as a partner. Another excellent achievement is the MUNI Innovation Award that went to Miriam Kalichová and Petr Hedbávný for the development of equipment used in artistic gymnastics. In doctoral studies, the admissions procedure was modified (a specialized English reading comprehension part was added). A new scholarship programme was created, supporting doctoral student placements abroad, primarily placements longer than one month. In the first half of 2021, a Memorandum of Cooperation was signed with companies including STAREZ, Emilova sportovní and Lezecká asociace nezávislých odborníků. Cooperation with the Masaryk Memorial Cancer Institute and the Brno-Bohunice district was also extended. The faculty's outpatient clinics of sports medicine and physical therapy performed more than 1,300 examinations. FSpS staff and students were also involved in the activities of the MUNI HELPS volunteer centre and in help for the tornado-stricken villages. In 2021, the faculty continued project preparation work for the completion of an unfinished a sports infrastructure (the MUNI Sports ground in the UCB) and the implementation of the reconstruction of the existing sports infrastructure (the Veslařská sports grounds). 82 THE FACULTY FINISHED THE KIDMOVE INTERNATIONAL PROJECT AND IS NOW SHARING GOOD COACHING PRACTICES The Faculty of Sports Studies finished the two-year KidMove international project, which was to make a collection of proven coaching methods that may help prevent child dropout from sports clubs. Nine educational institutions and sports clubs from Finland, Austria, the Netherlands, Poland and the Czech Republic were involved in the KidMove project. The Czech Republic was represented by FSpS employees and the Bulldogs Brno floorball club coaches. Within the project, successfully used coaching methods were collected. The outcome is shared experience and practical skills of coaches, young athletes, their families and sports clubs. The latest studies show that thanks to coaching methods which are primarily centred on young athletes and their needs injuries may be prevented and children may be motivated to continue their sports activities. MU Faculties and University Institutes Central European Institute of Technology 394 total staff (FTE) 77 employees from abroad (outside Slovakia) 25 international research projects 345 scientific publications published The Central European Institute of Technology (CEITEC) is a research consortium which has been contributing significantly for 10 years now to high quality results in basic research in the Czech Republic and competing well in comparison with international centres. CEITEC Masaryk university (CEITEC MU) is the biggest partner of the CEITEC consortium and also the flagship of Masaryk University. In 2021, its researchers worked on 170 research projects, the results of which contributed again to a higher quality of human life and health. The success of the institute is the collective work of almost 500 employees from 35 countries. In 2021, CEITEC celebrated 10 years of existence. Internationally renowned evolutionary biologist Pavel Tomančak has become the new director of the consortium. In 2021, CEITEC MU researchers published over 300 articles in prestigious peer-reviewed scientific journals, of which more than half were in journals in the top 25% of professional periodicals in the world. A research team led by Jiří Fajkus published a scientific study in which they significantly expanded the range of organisms with known RNA subunit telomerase. Their ground-breaking study has provided entirely new insights into the evolution of key eukaryotic non-coding RNAs spanning more than a billion years back in time. A research team of the CEITEC MU and St. Anne's University Hospital, led by Šárka Pospíšilová, clarified the clinical significance of mutations in a key tumour suppressor called TP53, which serves as a central defender of cells against cancer. A team of plant geneticists, led by Karel Říha from CEITEC MU, recently discovered that proteins involved in RNA quality control play a much more complex role in the regulation of gene expression than previously thought. These new findings pave the way for the creation of crops with improved pest resistance. Marek Mraz's research team proved that the short RNA molecule known as miR-29 coordinates the activation of the pathway causing aggression of malignant cells in chronic lymphocytic leukemia. This scientific study provides new information on the regulation of this pathway and could help improve the current therapeutic approaches to chronic lymphocytic leukemia. A research group led by Pavel Plevka made new discoveries concerning the genome release mechanism of honeybee viruses. Research disproved the existing notions about the behaviour of honeybee viruses while infecting host cells. The South Moravian Region Award for contribution to science was given to research group leader Jiří Fajkus, who is an internationally recognized expert in telomere biology. Jiří Fajkus was also elected member of the prestigious European Molecular Biology Association EMBO, which makes him one of the world's leaders in research. CEITEC MU also coordinates the international Alliance4Life partnership, which aims to improve the strategic management of research institutions in life sciences and to contribute to significant positive changes at the national level. CEITEC MU also partnered with the international EU-LIFE consortium of 15 leading European biomedical research institutions. The institute is a proud holder of the HR Award; in 2019 it was the second economic unit of Masaryk University to receive it. 84 /Vbmen > CEITEC WINS AWARDS FOR EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES AND FOR WOMEN I SCIENCE The CEITEC MU ranked high in the national Company of the Year: Equal Opportunities 2020 competition, and thus became the very first research institution in the Czech Republic to occupy one of the leading positions. The award has been announced annually since 2004 by the Gender Studies civic association. The main topic of the 13th year, announced in June 2021, was maternity and parental leave management and flexible forms of work with special attention to the comparison of the situation before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. The CEITEC MU secured the second place also thanks to an increase in the numbers of women in senior positions. An important global award went to CEITEC MU cytogeneticist Terezie Mandáková. She is the winner of the L'Oreal-UNESCO For Women in Science competition, which helps women scientists create better working conditions. She received the award for her project investigating the structure of the Boechera plant genome. Photo: Terezie Mandáková, award-winning scientist from CEITEC MU MU Faculties and University Institutes Institute of Computer Science 150 total staff (FTE) 147,949 cyber-attacks averted 10 international research projects 45 scientific publications published The Institute of Computer Science is a central university unit with dual responsibility for application-oriented research in information technologies and care for the university-wide infrastructure and related IT services. Research focuses primarily on two complementary areas - the development and use of e-infrastructures and cybersecu-rity - and guarantees cutting-edge expertise for MU's information infrastructure. In 2021, the ICS received the HR Award and kicked off the implementation of the prepared action plan. The ongoing support of the university's activities in an environment where physical interaction was restricted by the pandemic measures over the entire year was very significant in 2021. The fully remote or hybrid mode of work and teaching required further development and deployment of the Microsoft Office 365 tools and continuation of the support of online teaching and examination methodologies, as well as training in efficient use of these tools in routine activities. The Prevention application in INET was also continually developed and modified as per current instructions, which made keeping records of testing, including employees who tested who positive, vaccinations and the fulfilment of the O-N-T principles in a virtually fully automated mode much easier. The pandemic and the transfer of activities of the university and other units to cyberspace also increased the need for cybersecurity at the university, which is ensured by the internationally certified CSIRT-MU team. The ICS also coordinated the collaboration of all the higher education institutions within the CRP-KYBER21 project, aiming to increase the security of the M365 environment. The extensive e-learning five module Cybersecurity Course was also created, both in Czech as well as in English. The cooperation with state security services, primarily the NCISA, continued. The OP RDE project Czech CyberCrime Centre of Excellence (C4E), which integrates information security with legal and sociological aspects through the involvement of the FI and the FLaw, provides a top research environment in cybersecurity. The ICS's infrastructural orientation is primarily built on its direct integration in two large research infrastructures and intensive collaboration with others. The CERIT-SC centre at the ICS is part of the national e-INFRA CZ e-infrastructure and is also directly integrated in the large ELIXIR CZ research infrastructure. In both cases, the national level involvement is complemented by participation in key H2020 projects, namely EOSC Future and EOSC-Life. In the second project, MU is the provider of the Life Science AAI authentication and authorisation infrastructure for the entire field of life sciences and medicine within the EU. In 2021, the ICS Director became the head of the ELIXIR CZ Board and a representative of the Czech Republic in the analogous body of the ELIXIR infrastructure at the European level. Through its involvement in the RECETOX research infrastructure, the ICS has also become part of the ESFRI infrastructure through the newly included pan-European EIRENE project. Other infrastructures with which the ICS collaborates include the BBMRI and the CzechGlobe. The development of the SensitiveCloud infrastructure for storage and processing of sensitive data also continued. The ICS further supported university-level Open Science activities by finalizing the proposal for the MU OS Strategy. At the national level, the ICS contributed by collaborating on the Architecture of Implementing the EOSC in the Czech Republic project (MEYS). The preparation of the integrated EOSC-CZ project was launched. From 2023, it should provide the necessary facilities for the implementation of the EOSC and the FAIR data principles, primarily through the establishment of the EOSC-CZ Secretariat and creation and operation of the National Metadata Directorate as a key component of the future National Data Infrastructure of the Czech Republic. 86 THE CYBERNETIC PROVING GROUND PROVIDE SECURITY SOFTWARE FOR FREE, WHICH AWARDED EUROPEAN COMMISSION Cybercrime is on the rise, but cybersecurity experts are scarce. For this reason IT specialists from the Cybernetic Proving Ground decided to release the unique KYPO CRP security platform for free use. Now anyone can freely download, modify and further distribute the KYPO CRP as open-source security software. Its original developers are ready to provide consultations, training and other services to all potential users. This unusual approach to the software also caught the attention of the jury of the European Commission's Innovation Radar competition, in which the KYPO CRP won the Disruptive Technologies category, intended for technologies with the potential to significantly impact the entire field. The Cybernetic Proving Ground is a training platform where people may prepare for cybernetic threats. MU Organizational Structure Masaryk University MU Rector's Office RMU Žerotínovo nám. 617/9, 60177 Brno, Česká republika, www.muni.cz Žerotínovo nám. 617/9, 60177 Brno Faculties Faculty Faculty Faculty of Law FLaw of Medicine FMed of Science FSci Veveří 158/70, 61180 Brno Kamenice 753/5, 625 00 Brno Kotlářská 267/2, 61137 Brno Faculty Faculty Faculty of Arts FA of Education FEdu of Pharmacy FPharm Arna Nováka 1/1, 602 00 Brno Poříčí 623/7, 603 00 Brno Palackého třída 1946/1, 612 00 Brno Faculty of Economics Faculty Faculty and Administration FEA of Informatics Fl of Social Studies FSS Lipová 507/413, 602 00 Brno Botanická 554/68a, 602 00 Brno Joštova 218/10, 602 00 Brno Faculty of Sports Studies FSpS Kamenice 753/5, 625 00 Brno 88 University Institutes Institute of Computer Science ICS Botanická 554768a, 602 00 Brno Central European Institute of Technology CEITEC Kamenice 753/5, 625 00 Brno University Facilities Language Centre Masaryk University LC Archives Komenského nám. 220/2, 662 43 Brno Centre for International Cooperation CIC Žerotínovo nám. 449/3, 602 00 Brno Komenského nám. 220/2, 662 43 Brno Support Centre for Students with Special Needs (Teiresiás) Komenského nám. 220/2, 662 43 Brno Technology Transfer Office Mendel TTO Museum Komenského nám. 220/2, 662 43 Brno Mendlovo náměstí 907/ia, 603 00 Brno University Centre Accommodation and Masaryk University Press Telč UCT Catering Services ACS (Munipress) Náměstí Zachariase z Hradce 2, Vinařská 47i/5a, 603 00 Brno Rybkova 987/19, 602 00 Brno 588 56 Telč Management of the University Campus at Bohunice MUCB Kamenice 753/5, 625 00 Brno Career Centre CC Komenského nám. 220/2, 662 43 Brno Pedagogical Competence Development Centre CERPEK Komenského nám. 220/2, 662 43 Brno 89 List of Abbreviations University ASMU Masaryk University Academic Senate FMed Faculty of Medicine BBMRIbm Biobanking and Biomolecular MIMSA Association of International Medical Resources Research Infrastructure Students at Masaryk University C4E CyberCrime Centre of Excellence MU Masaryk University CEITEC Central European Institute of Technology MUST week Masaryk University Staff Training Week CERIT-SC Centre for Education, Research FEdu Faculty of Education and Innovation in ICT P-P00L Undergraduate programme for CERPEK Pedagogical Competence Development Centre motivated medical students LC Language Centre FLaw Faculty of Law CSIRT-MU Computer Security Incident Response Team FSci Faculty of Science TTO Technology Transfer Office RECETOX Research Centre for Toxic Compounds CIC Centre for International Cooperation in the Environment LL Lifelong learning RMU Masaryk University's Rector's Office EDUC European Digital UniverCity IEB Internal Evaluation Board (consortium of universities) SIMU+ Strategic Investments of Masaryk EIRENE European Environmental Exposure Assessment University in Education Network, project coordinated by MU ACS Accommodation and Catering Services ECR Ethics Committee for Research AIP Association of Industrial Partners FEA Faculty of Economics and Administration SCSSN Support Centre for Students with FPharm Faculty of Pharmacy Special Needs (Teiresias) FA Faculty of Arts BTMU Board of Trustees of Masaryk University FI Faculty of Informatics MUCB Management of the University FSpS Faculty of Sports Studies Campus at Bohunice FSS Faculty of Social Studies SUPO System of Payment of Claims GAMU Grant Agency of Masaryk University FSE Final state examination GEP Masaryk University Gender Equality Plan TopSeC Top Students Centre HR4MU Human resources development and LPT Learning potential test international research orientation at MU U3V University of the Third Age IGAMU Internal Grant Agency of Masaryk University UCT University Centre Tele INET Enterprise resource planning system UCB University Campus at Bohunice ISMU Masaryk University Information System ICS Institute of Computer Science MUISAB Masaryk University International SBMU Scientific Board of Masaryk University Scientific Advisory Board Til MUNI Prospective Teachers' Training ISO International Staff Office Improvement and Innovation at MUNI CC Career Centre 90 Other 7. FP Seventh Framework Programme AZV Czech Health Research Council COIL Collaborative Online International Learning CDP Centralized development projects CzechELib National Centre for Electronic Information Resources CR Czech Republic ECTS European Credit Transfer System EIR Electronic information resources EMBO European Molecular Biology Organization EOSC European Open Science Cloud ERC European Research Council ESFRI European Strategic Forum for Research Infrastructure EU European Union EULETA European Legal English Teachers' Association FTE Full Time Equivalent GACR Czech Science Foundation HE higher education H2020 EU Research and Innovation Framework Programme IATEFL International Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language ICM International Credit Mobility CIN Company Identification Number ISEP International Student Exchange Programs IT Information technologies SMR South Moravian Region MENDELU Mendel University in Brno MC Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic MSCA Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions MIT Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic MEYS Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic MI Ministry of Interior of the Czech Republic MA Ministry of Agriculture of the Czech Republic NAKIT National Agency for Communication and Information Technologies NCISA National Cyber and Information Security Agency OP JAK Operational Programme Jan Amos Comenius OPRDE Operational Programme Research, Development and Education PF Postdoctoral Fellowship RIV Information Register of R&D results RDIC Research, Development and Innovation Council SDGs Sustainable Development Goals SR Slovak Republic SSH Social Sciences & Humanities SS Secondary school STM Science, Technology and Medicine SPA Students' Professional Activities TACR Technology Agency of the Czech Republic TB Terabyte TGM Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk UIN University identification number USA United States of America R&D Research and Development BUT Brno University of Technology (P)U (public) university WoS Web of Science PS Primary school 91 Annual Activity Report Masaryk University 2021 Published by Masaryk University, Žerotínovo nám. 617/9, 601 77 Brno Editor: Šárka Řehořová, Strategy Office, MU Rector's Office Content and editorial collaboration: Ivana Stavenik, Martina Vidová, Mariya Sydoruk, Petra Čačková Translation: Lenka Bělková and František Rulík Proofreading: Ailsa Randall Production: Pavla Hudcová, Communication and External Relations Office, MU Rector's Office Edition series design: Milan Katovský, Kateřina Katovská Graphic design and DTP: Milan Katovský, Pavel Kotrla Photo authors: Martin Indruch, Aleš Ležatka, Tomáš Hájek, Irina Matusevich, Ondřej Požár and archives of the MU faculties 1st edition, 2022 © Masaryk University, 2022 © Masaryk University, 2022