Charles University maintains its excellent reputation as one of Europe’s most exciting institutions for international and Erasmus students – for Thursday, the 20th of November, was an incredible evening enriched with knowledge and culture on the topic of Azerbaijan. 

Throughout the first International Staff Training Week held at Charles University from March 7 until March 11, 2016, sharing ideas and practices was a key theme. On Thursday morning representatives had the opportunity to share strategies which they use in their universities to improve the experience of both incoming and outgoing exchange students. 

The opportunity to undertake an Erasmus in Prague cannot be justified by any amount of words. Situated in the heart of central Europe, the Czech Republic is the ultimate portal to the rest of Europe, that boasts cost and time effective means of travel, and is host to the distinguished Charles University.

On the 19th March, I went to view the Charles University Workshop production of Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice; an evening which turned out to be an enjoyable and interesting endeavour. In looking at it visually, it was a stripped back adaptation of Shakespeare, which in some places I found rather static and flat.

A crowded room of academics, senators, rectors and guests welcomed his Excellency Joachim Gauck, President of the Federal Republic of Germany for a speech on European Diversity and Wealth in relation with the Czech Republic. Invited rectors and vice-rectors from distinguished Czech and Slovakian universities filled the front rows. Additional guests were present, such as Miroslava Němcová, Karel Schwarzenberg as well as President of Czech Republic, Miloš Zeman.

The first season of archaeological research in the site Burgut Kurgan in South Uzbekistan has recently ended. The expedition was led by staff and students from the Faculty of Arts. The research team, consisting of Czech, Uzbek, and French participants, was exploring the settlement of the Yaz I culture, which is generally considered a bridge between Late Bronze and Early Iron Ages in the southern part of Central Asia.

‘What does it mean to bear witness in a moment of crisis?’ was the first question posed to the audience by Professor Stuart Allan, in his lecture Revisioning Photojournalism: Citizen Witnessing and the Politics of Visual Truths. The Deputy Head of Cardiff University’s School of Journalism, Media and Culture, was invited by Charles University’s Social Sciences Faculty on the 21st of October, to speak about photojournalism.

As does a number of other universities around the world, Charles University in Prague possesses a collection of plaster casts depicting the most important creations of the Ancient Greek and Roman sculpture art. The collection, created mainly in the 19th and in the very beginning of the 20th century, contains today 550 copies of the most significant, as well as some less known, ancient time pieces of art.

In the northeast corner of Hyde Park in London, is a compelling little place known as ‘Speaker’s Corner.’ It is tradition that in Speaker’s Corner, any person can decide to stand up and orate freely to a crowd - on any topic they wish. If we were to go there now, we would likely find someone doing just that.

25 years on from the Velvet Revolution in the Czech Republic (back then Czechoslovakia), Charles University was honoured to host the international conference 'For Your Freedom and Ours' highlighting the responsibility of those who have fought successfully for democracy in their countries to continue to support those nations still in the midst of their own endeavours for freedom.