Palacký University Olomouc is aware of its responsibility towards society and the environment. Therefore the decision has been made to focus on sustainable development and promote its principles at our university and among the greater public. The means to achieve it are through innovations that strengthen social responsibility and promote environmentally friendly behaviour, and through a greater focus on related research as well as education in this field.

Vision

Palacký University Olomouc
is fully environmentally, socially, and economically sustainable


Palacký University is environmentally responsible in all respects, minimising the impact of its activities on climate change and systematically teaching and guiding its students and employees to environmentally responsible behaviour.

Palacký University behaves responsibly towards society, helps to develop the regional and local community, and is an inspiring model to all members of society, both general and professional.

Palacký University acts sustainably in relation to its economic requirements; it effectively manages and strategically uses its finances, its material as well as immaterial resources and values, and always makes responsible economic decisions considering the long-term perspective with regard to what is currently needed for its functioning.

Mission

Palacký University Olomouc will focus on the systematic fulfilment of its target objectives. UP will implement measures aimed at an urgent response to the climate crisis and contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set by the UN.

UP will minimise all its behaviour which contributes to a negative impact on sustainable development. UP will adapt its infrastructure to climate change and will also inspire other institutions to act in this spirit at the local, regional, national, and transnational levels.

UP will act in accordance with the Strategic Framework Czech Republic 2030. In compliance with the Czech Republic’s membership in the European Union, UP will move towards carbon neutrality, in line with the commitments of the Paris Agreement and the Green Deal for Europe, by the end of 2050.

UP will use science and research to find new solutions for sustainable development, implement them in its daily operations and activities, and offer them to the wider public, thus fulfilling the university’s third mission – that of service to the community.

Priorities

The UP Sustainability Strategy defines three basic priority areas: operations and administration; educational and creative activities; social responsibility and the third role of the university. Their design corresponds to the thematic focus and nature of their relevant potentials, activities, and results. The priority areas are complementary and cross-cutting. You can find out more about them and their specific focus on our page What we do.

Sustainable University

The persons in charge of sustainability at Palacký University Olomouc are Mgr. Zuzana Huňková, UP Sustainable Development Coordinator, and Mgr. Miroslava Zavadil, UP Sustainable Development Officer. This unit falls under the office of the Vice-Rector for Strategy and Regional Affairs, JUDr. Mag. iur. Michal Malacka, Ph.D., MBA. Within the Sustainable University concept, a sustainable development strategy and an action plan have been developed to address sustainable development issues, propose long-term solutions for the university, prepare activities to promote sustainable development, and also educate and motivate students and staff in this regard. If you have any suggestions, inquiries, and ideas, please do not hesitate to contact us by email: zuzana.hunkova@upol.cz, or by phone +420 585 631 195.

Mgr. Zuzana Huňková

She graduated in International Development Studies at the UP Faculty of Science. During her studies she did several internships and studies abroad. One of them was a two-month development internship in Bauru, Brazil in 2013, where she worked in an international team of students on a project based on the Millennium Development Goals, known today as the Sustainable Development Goals. As part of her undergraduate thesis, she conducted research on food waste in the Olomouc region. She also studied sustainability management for universities and is a co-founder of the Czech Association for Sustainable Universities.

Mgr. Miroslava Zavadil

Miroslava graduated in International Development Studies at the UP Faculty of Science. The subject of her Master’s thesis was sustainability, specifically “Sustainable Management of Southeast Asian Rainforests”. During her studies, she worked for UNICEF and attended an internship in the Netherlands within the EU’s Youth in Action programme. She also worked as a tour guide at the interactive museum Fort Science. Her personal motto is that there is no sustainability without responsibility. She is a member of the association Hravě v Doubravě, which sponsors the activities of the Forest Club where her children are members. She enjoys spending her leisure time with her family in nature, hiking, travelling, sports, and playing the piano.

Committee for Sustainable UP

This committee under the UP Academic Senate was established in 2020 as an initiating body that aims to focus on sustainability issues and their feasibility at UP. The UP AS thus responded not only to social demand but above all to the necessity to address this issue. A university with thousands of students and employees must be responsible in this regard and should set an example of how to be active in the public space to fulfil the third role of the university.

Members of the committee

Mgr. Jan Bělka, Ph.D.

Chair of the committee
jan.belka@upol.cz
He graduated in Applied Physical Education and Kinanthropology at the UP Faculty of Physical Education and currently works therein at the Department of Sport as an assistant professor. He is a guarantor of the Bachelor’s degree programme Physical Education and Sport with Specialisations. He also works as an assistant coach for the Czech national women’s handball team; he has been coaching women's handball teams for a long time, which makes him well acquainted with issues related to gender imbalance in society and their specifics. In the context of sustainable development, he deems it particularly important to engage the current generation “to move from words to actions” and to pass on all knowledge and motivation to the next generations.

doc. RNDr. Martin Rulík, Ph.D. (FS)

Vice-chair
martin.rulik@upol.cz
Graduated in Systematic Biology and Ecology at the UP Faculty of Science (1992), currently at the Department of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, where he is the guarantor of the Master’s programme Hydrobiology. He is involved in microbial ecology of waters and general issues of ecology and protection of aquatic ecosystems.

Mgr. Martin Bernátek, Ph.D. (FA)

martin.bernatek@upol.cz
He works as an assistant professor, head of the theatre section, and deputy head of the Department of Theatre and Film Studies at the UP Faculty of Arts. He is actively engaged in the initiative Universities for Climate and is one of the founders of the Czech Association for Sustainable Universities. He emphasises the responsibility of institutions towards sustainability and the need for comprehensive and systematic responses to the climate crisis. He sees individual responsibility and sustainable lifestyles as a prerequisite rather than a tool for mitigating the impacts of climate change.

doc. RNDr. Irena Smolová, Ph.D. (FS)

irena.smolova@upol.cz
She graduated from the Faculty of Science at Masaryk University in Brno. She has been working at the Department of Geography at the UP Faculty of Science (FS) since 1995, currently an associate professor in Physical and Environmental Geography. During her professional career she has supervised more than 270 qualification theses. She is the guarantor of the Bachelor’s degree programme Geography for Education and the Master’s degree programme Teaching Geography for Secondary Schools. She is also a member of the UP Academic Senate, the UP FS Academic Senate, and the UP Internal Assessment Board, and besides that she represents UP in the Board of Czech Universities. Her scientific research activities include anthropogenic geomorphology, natural hazards and their anthropogenic influences, as well as regional geography and regional development. She tries to implement the principles of sustainability into her own life and considers sustainable development as the only possible direction for the future.

JUDr. Veronika Tomoszková, Ph.D. (FL)

veronika.tomoszkova@upol.cz
She works as an assistant professor at the Department of Administrative Law and Financial Law at the UP Faculty of Law (UP FL), where she specialises in environmental and construction law. She also teaches professional skills, especially in courses related to legal clinics. She actively engaged in the re-establishment of the first legal clinic in Central Europe at the UP FL in 1996, which today operates there as the Student Legal Clinic. From 2016 to 2019, she headed the Centre for Clinical Legal Education at the UP FL. She is a member of the UP FL Academic Senate and the UP Academic Senate and the chairperson of the UP AS Legislative Commission. She is also an Honorary Ambassador of the Fulbright Program at UP. In addition to academic degrees in law, she holds a Bachelor’s degree in Sport Management and Coaching, which she obtained in 2009 at the UP Faculty of Physical Culture.

Mgr. Dominik Voráč (FE)

dominik.vorac01@upol.cz
He graduated in Teaching Czech Language and Social Sciences at the UP Faculty of Education, where he has followed the doctoral programme in Literacy and Media Education. He investigates the influence of new media in human life, especially the phenomenon of disinformation and social networks. He is also a member of the UP Academic Senate.

doc. PhDr. Matúš Šucha, Ph.D. (FA)

matus.sucha@upol.cz
His professional focus is on the field of traffic psychology, namely mobility and traffic safety issues. In 2012–2019 he headed the Department of Psychology at Palacký University Olomouc. He is a forensic expert and EuroPsy mentor in the field of traffic psychology. In 2020 he was listed among the prominent personalities of Central Moravia. He is the author of many publications dealing with the issue of human factor in transport. Šucha is an active member of many prestigious international organisations, including ICTCT – International Co-operation on Theories and Concepts in Traffic safety, TPI – Traffic Psychology International, DGVP – Deutsche Gesselschaft für Verkehrpsychologie, and NTSA – Nordic Traffic Safety Academy.

Student organisations

Palacký University Olomouc has many student organisations that touch upon or intersect with sustainability issues in various ways. UP supports student organisations focussing on sustainability in all regards and encourages students to get involved in individual initiatives.

Student associations that address sustainability in their activities:

If your association is also concerned with sustainability issues, please do not hesitate to contact us and tell us more about your activities. We will happily promote and support you and establish cooperation with you.

With whom we cooperate

Sluňákov – the center for ecological activities of the city of Olomouc offers environmentally oriented activities for schools, teachers, families with children and other general public in a modern low-energy house on the edge of the Litovelské Pomoraví Protected Landscape Area in Horka nad Moravou. The house is surrounded by a unique natural art gallery called the Nature House of Litovelské Pomoraví, where visitors and program participants can experience extraordinary encounters with the floodplain landscape. It organises educational and awareness-raising programmes for schools and the public, regular Ecological evenings, the Ecological Days Olomouc festival and runs an open-air exhibition.

ARPOK is an Olomouc educational organisation founded by Palacký University. It is dedicated to global development education and teaching about current issues in today's world. It offers a wide range of educational programmes for pupils, seminars for teachers of kindergartens, primary and secondary schools and proven methodological materials on global development education (some of them can be found in the UP Library collection). It also organises conferences and public talks for the public, known as development evenings.

The Association of Social Responsibility (A-CSR) is the largest initiative of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) from the UN in the Czech Republic. Its vision is to make social responsibility and sustainability a natural part of business and the functioning of every organisation in the Czech Republic.

The Statutory City of Olomouc

Olomouc Region

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