After four years in office as the first woman to lead Charles University, Milena Králíčková is stepping down as rector. “Being a rector is a service that involves seeking paths and connecting worlds. I'm sure we succeeded in some cases, but four years isn't enough time to do everything, ” she says, looking back on her time in office.

"Academics of the 20th century were personalities. We should be inspired by them and support originality and the search for one's own path, because it leads to knowledge and great ideas," says Libuše Heczková from the Faculty of Arts.

Can you imagine analysing a buried vessel once used in a ritual? Or investigating an ancient burial site for elites from the Hallstatt culture in the Moravian Karst? Archaeologist and Charles University doctoral student Zuzana Golec Mírová has done that - and more.

Ever wondered how women in top positions handle their jobs and what they prioritise in terms of their teams or why so many find the time to pursue sports in their free time? This year the Faculty of Physical Education and Sport marked International Women's Day. 

She is an internationally recognised Czech scientist and recently became the first woman to receive the Czech Head Award. Professor Zuzana Moťovská received the government’s top scientific prize for 2023 for her outstanding contribution to the field of cardiology.

“Doing science these days is generally quite stressful - you're constantly writing grants or explaining in evaluation reports why it's not working out the way you thought it would,” warns molecular geneticist Eva Froňková from the Second Medical Faculty of Charles University.

Professor Milena Králíčková, the rector of Charles University, is one of the most influential women in the Czech Republic. She is ranked 36th on the list of the most influential women published annually by the Czech edition of Forbes magazine.

The celebrations of International Women's Day and the International Day of Women and Girls in Science were truly "international" at CU this year. More than 20 international women scientists who work at the university met at Kampus Hybernská to share their stories, experiences and motivations. 

The whole world celebrates the International Day of Women and Girls in Science on 11 February. This year, Charles University decided to celebrate "internationally". We reached out to international female scientists working at Charles University and bring you two dozen experiences and stories.

Linda Štucbartova, a CU alumna and a member of the CU Commercialisation Council, has also studied at Oxford and Geneva. She has experience in the public and private sphere, technology startups, mentoring programs for women and transferring scientific knowledge into practice. How does it all come together?

A European Research Council junior grant (ERC Starting) has gone to Erin Carson from the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics at Charles University. She will analyse numerical computations and search for new algorithms for computational systems.

When she was born, Dominika Hysková says she was a whirlwind that swept into her otherwise largely quiet family. She is eloquent and full of energy and her enthusiasm as the sole female student studying Military Physical Education in Czechia is contagious. One question? Which military unit she’ll serve with upon completing her Master’s degree.

Anežka Kuzmičová is a researcher at Charles University who, for the last two years, has conducted creative research into children’s reading. Scientists often study or emphasise literacy and language acquisition but there has been relatively little study of what children actually experience as they read.

“It has to be talked about, even though personally it hurts a lot...” Belarusian-born historian Alena Marková from the Faculty of Humanities warns that the ‘normalisation’ now in Belarus is similar to Czechoslovakia after 1968.

Friday, 11 February, marks the seventh International Day of Women and Girls in Science, celebrating the role of women in the scientific world and promoting gender equality. What do women scientists at Charles University enjoy the most about their work and what kind of challenges did they face?

Kuks Hospital, located just outside the town of Jaroměř, dates back to the 17^th century, and is also home to a stunning Baroque pharmacy overseen by the Czech Pharmaceutical Museum. CU's Jana Karlíčková highly recommends the museum for anyone interested in medicinal history.

A specialist in North Korean studies, activist and feminist. That is how the Czech media describe Nina Špitálníková, a student of Oral and Contemporary History at the Faculty of Humanities of Charles University. Her book Witnessing Life in the DPRK (2020) became a bestseller and won the Magnesia Litera Award in the category of journalism.

Last Thursday, Charles University hosted the long-awaited Women in Science seminar, examining conditions of female experts in the Czech scientific and research environments. Invited speakers discussed both opportunities and barriers and as well as what needs to change.

Stunning landscapes, diverse in languages, home to different cultural traditions: all that and more are the Caucasus bridging Western Asia and Eastern Europe. The region has long been the focus of Faculty of Arts’ Associate Professor Petra Košťálová.

Lucie Bankovská Motlová teaches at the Dept. of Psychiatry and Medical Psychology at the Third Faculty of Medicine at Charles University. She is outspoken about her field, how it can help patients live regular lives and gives valuable advice on how to maintain good mental health during the pandemic.