On the evening of 5th December the Faculty of Science of Charles University in Prague held a special event to celebrate St. Nicholas Eve. The evening was aimed at families with young children, and planned give them a fun night whilst encouraging them to take an interest in science. The students and staff of the faculty ran the stalls which each had a different activity.

On Thursday 27th February 2014, Charles University students stepped back in time at the Faculty of Art’s annual ball, which was held in celebration and commemoration of the First Republic of Czechoslovakia, covering the period of 1918-1938. Complete with a swing and jazz band and a dance floor ready to be filled, we headed out to the fancy dress shops and slipped on the suits and flapper dresses…

On Sunday 17 November, members of Charles University in Prague gathered to commemorate International Students' Day. 17 November, also known as Struggle for Freedom and Democracy Day, is a state holiday in the Czech Republic. It remembers two important moments in Czech history in 1939 and 1989.

When we think about archaeology in Italy, we automatically think about Pompeii and Herculaneum. It is the defined topic in schools, the basis of TV programmes, books and films, it is what the media will dedicate some tiny article to at the back of their newspaper. But, as Dr Girolamo Ferdinando de Simone’s lecture on: ‘The Dark Side of Vesuvius: Archaeology beyond Pompeii and Herculaneum‘ demonstrated to me, there is a whole territory undiscovered and unknown, a mystery about to be unravelled by de Simone and his team.

Although Tomson Highway (born 1951) may be a lesser known name in Czech literary circles, or even European for that matter, he is one of Canada’s most influential voices. An Aboriginal Canadian playwright, novelist and composer, Highway has received numerous awards celebrating his work, including the Order of Canada in 1994 in recognition of his services to the nation.

We all know about Medieval Literature, don’t we? We know about Knights in Shining Armour, and Damsels in Distress. We know about the struggle two-thirds of the way through the plot for said Knight to prove plucky, make like a hero, and rescue the biddable babe (as still witness in almost all Hollywood Rom-Coms). We know about this. We know about Princesses in towers, locked up by evil witchy-types, but also bawdy Wife-Of-Bath-types, and Pious Pilgrims.

Loreta Abidini from the Technological Educational Institute of Athens joined the Faculty of Education of Charles University for the Erasmus Practical Placement in the period of summer semester 2011/12, the time when the European Commission set the core of the 25th anniversary of the Erasmus programme.

On Tuesday, May 27, Helena Hradilová from the Erasmus Club of the Faculty of Arts of CU received the annual European Charlemagne Youth Prize for Czech Republic for a common project of the Press Department of CU, European Office of CU and the Erasmus Club of the Faculty of Arts, International iForum.

To help the homeless rediscover their lost self-confidence, give them work and some income, and to give others an unusual experience: these are the goals of the Pragulic social organisation, founded last year by three students of the CU Faculty of Humanities. Initially offering unconventional guided tours of Prague by homeless people, Pragulic is now adding further projects to its programme. People can now experience for themselves an entire day on the street or take part in ‘homeless teambuilding’.

Representatives of universities from all around the world met in Carolinum, the heart of the oldest university in central Europe, on Tuesday 16th September 2014. The Rector of Charles University, Professor Tomáš Zima, invited the representatives of CU partner universities for a gathering on the eve of the 26th annual international educational conference EAIE (European Association for International Education), which was held in Prague this year. 

In the week of 9th to the 13th of April 2018, Charles University hosted the second International Staff Training Week, focusing on issues of internationalization of universities, management of the Erasmus programme and other international exchanges, as well as presentations of selected Charles University faculties to guests from abroad. A total of 35 representatives of partner institutions from 15 countries took part in this year's Staff Training Week.

Healthy body - healthy mind! Come and join the Rector's Sports Day on Thursday 16th May 2013 hosted by the Department of PE of the Faculty of Science CU. This year you can try almost 30 different sports and watch an exhibition of some other disciplines.

On Wednesday, 11^th December, the K4 student club changed into one of the 25 places in the Czech Republic where you could have participated in a Letter Writing Marathon “Write for Rights”– one of the world’s biggest human rights event organised yearly by Amnesty International to mark International Human Rights Day (10^th December).

As we approach Easter weekend we are reminded, whether we wish to be or not, of the passion of Christ narrative. We are told about the great sacrifice Christ made for us, and the story behind it.

A bright Wednesday afternoon in Jinonice campus of CU welcomed the Head of Diplomatic Affairs between the Czech Republic and Italy, His Excellency Pasquale D’Avino for a topical lecture on European immigration. Loudly greeting the people with a warm “Buon giorno, Dobrý den!”, Mr. D’Avino entered a room full of interested social science academics and guests.

The opening of Lost in Translation? (Ztraceni v překladu?), an exhibition dedicated to the history of translation and interpreting studies,  took place at the Institute of Translation Studies of Faculty of Arts of CU, on Sunday 10th November.

When we are born, we believe we are invincible. There is no evidence to the contrary. As we grow, we look at others who are sick, homeless, disabled, and we believe that surely, that could never happen to us. Of course, that is the greatest fallacy. As we grow older, we experience things which teach us that in thousands of little ways, we are all the same. We are all remarkably vulnerable creatures.

The fourth annual Scientia Pragensis event took place as usually on the last Friday of November at the University of Economics, Prague. The science day hosted speakers from Prague’s institutions of higher education, who gave talks about the most recent developments and findings in their fields. Charles University was represented by Dr. Václav Matoušek from the Faculty of Humanities and Professor Zdeněk Sedláček from the 2nd Faculty of Medicine.

The Charles University Faculty of Science’s pre-Christmas concert, at which Jaroslav Svěcený introduced the audience to the mysteries of the Baroque violin, had an unconventional start, as the winners of the fourth edition of the Science is Beautiful competition were announced.

On the 30th October Charles University in Prague awarded Professor Aravind Joshi the honorary title of doctor honoris causa in physics and mathematics. This was done in recognition of his achievements and contributions to his field of computational and formal linguistics. The ceremony was held in the Great Aula of the historic Carolinum Building.