The current emergency situation in the Czech Republic – and the special measures at Palacký University that go with it – has sparked many questions and uncertainties from both students and staff. UP management chose the format of live stream video to provide some answers. The themes came from students and employees, who sent their questions via e-mail in advance.
Hundreds of questions were received, making it impossible to answer each in turn. Since many of the questions were similar, UP management divided them into themes in order to fully comment upon them.
After a few introductory words and a brief English summary for foreign students, UP Rector Jaroslav Miller, Vice-Rector for Studies Vít Zouhar, Vice-Rector for External Relations Petr Bilík, and Director of UP Accommodation and Dining Josef Suchánek covered the following themes:
- the timetable for the rest of the summer semester, including exams, state degree exams, graduation ceremonies, and submitting final theses;
- the situation at the dormitories, and adjustments to dorm fees with respect to the emergency;
- UP communication strategy and communication platforms to provide the latest information;
- volunteer activities at UP during the emergency;
- the situation of foreign students at UP, who are currently “stuck” in their home countries and fear they may not be able to return to Czechia due to the closed borders;
- foreign study stays (Erasmus, et al.) in the coming academic year;
- the situation of students who need to carry out internships and lab work, and the situation regarding additional fees if exceeding the normal number of degree semesters;
- the form and dates of entrance exams for the coming academic year.
A recording of the video stream with English subtitles can be found here:
(English transcription of the video)