Objectives of the Fund

• Creating conditions to support scholarly and artistic projects by talented UP students, including students with a health or social disadvantage, as well as foreign students studying at UP.
• Supporting international cooperation, fostering the exchange of best practices, know-how and mutual inter-cultural understanding.
• Supporting meaningful scholarly and artistic activities by UP students, enhancing the personal and professional growth of young researchers and helping deal with society-wide as well as environmental problems.
• Supporting the creativity and independence of young researchers as well as their responsibility for their work and commitment towards themselves, UP and society.
• Establishing and building mutually beneficial partnerships with companies that share the vision of UP with regards to the development of society.
• Valuing and developing philanthropy in the Czech Republic.

Our values and the principles behind our activities

Science benefiting the society

Science pushes the limits of our knowledge. We believe that discussing the use of science for society should be part of the public debate. We are interested in encouraging young scholars to think about what they deal with in their respective fields of science, what benefit their activity has for them, for UP and for society in general. We are also interested in helping young scholars present the results of their work to various target groups, be it the academic community or the general public.

The personal and professional development of talented young people

The UP Endowment Fund enables young researchers to carry out their independent research and artistic projects. They thereby receive the opportunity to develop and acquire competences which they need to meet the objectives they have set for themselves. We feel it is important that the students reflect upon their own development with regard to designing and conducting research, teamwork, inter-cultural competences, time management and presentation skills.

Sharing visions and synergies

“A vision is a projection of the future we are striving to create described in the present tense as if happening right now.” Sharing visions and synergies is a fundamental prerequisite for building successful partnerships and establishing cooperation between both individuals and organizations. We want to cooperate with companies and individuals willing to share the objectives of the UP Endowment Fund. We believe in cooperation which is mutually beneficial and enriching which can push our limits.

Transparency, responsibility and trust

Relationships with the partners and young researchers we support cannot be built without trust. The steps taken have to both predictable and meaningful. Just as we want our partners to trust us, we have to trust our partners. We pride ourselves on a simple application form, a simple final report and final accounts as to how the contributions we grant to successful students have been used.

Bodies of the Fund

Board of Directors

Supervisory Board

Petra Jungová, Bursar of UP

Jiří Langer, Chairman of the Academic Senate of UP

Martin Šmajser – individual donor of the UP Endowment Fund

Contact details

UP Endowment Fund

Křížkovského 511/8, 779 00 Olomouc

IN: 04187334

UP Endowment Fund Coordinator: Mgr. Katrin Stark 

katrin.stark@upol.cz

+420 739 302 169

Constitution

FAQ

1. How much time can I take to carry out research funded from the UP Endowment Fund?

The contribution from the Fund is granted for 1 year. During this time, it is necessary to implement the supported project and prepare outputs you agree to deliver in your application. It is mainly the outputs that you will submit to the Endowment Fund. The Fund will usually not require the accounts of how the contribution was used; however, in some cases the applicant may be requested to provide such accounts. The requirements for using the contribution and all deadlines are included in a contract entered into by the Fund and successful applicants.

2. Where will the funds be sent if my application is successful?

The contributions will be sent to personal bank accounts of successful applicants.

3. Who will review and evaluate the applications? Are the applications to be written for laymen or for experts?

The Fund will not have the applications reviewed. The applications will be considered by the Board of Directors of the Fund; members of the Board of Directors are representatives of various fields, both from the Humanities and Natural Sciences. The members of the Board also include representatives of Česká spořitelna, a.s. Write your application in such a style that will take into account that it may be evaluated by people who are not experts on your research project. It is important to provide a comprehensible description of the benefits your research project.

4. Whom should I ask to write an opinion on my research project and how long should the opinion be?

The rationale behind such an opinion is to provide the Board of Directors of the Fund with a guarantee that the research project is meaningful, realistic and beneficial. It is up to the authors how long it will be; however, it is not supposed to be a long review of many pages and thus it should not longer than 1 standard page. If you have doubts whom to ask to write the opinion (e.g. your area is interdisciplinary), ask such an expert who is in the best position to evaluate the content of your project and its benefits.

5. May I apply for a contribution if I exceed the standard length of study?

The call for applications issued by the Fund states that a contribution may be applied for only be students who do not exceed the standard length of study. The standard length of study in Master’s degree programmes is at least 4 years and at most 6 years, for Follow-up Master’s programmes it is at least 1 year and at most 3 years.. The standard length of study in doctoral degree programmes is at least 3 years and at most 4 years.

6. Which items may be included in the budget of the project?

The following items may be included in the budget of the project if you demonstrate that they are clearly related to the implementation of your research project:

• Travel expenses
• Cost of visas
• Accommodation costs
• Meal costs (a maximum of CZK 500/day for travelling abroad depending on the prices in the final destination; a maximum of CZK 200/day for travelling within the Czech Republic).
• Purchase of relevant literature
• Purchase of tools and equipment required for the implementation of the research project
• Research software
• Vaccination
• Other costs depending on the type and area of research; the individual items and amounts must be justified in relation to the objectives and content of the research project.

A private car of the researcher may not be included in the budget and neither can the bursary be increased from the contribution. The Board of Directors of the Fund may make changes in your draft budgets and reduce the items at its discretion.

7. How detailed should the attached budget be?

The budget must contain items for the funding of which the student applies; in an ideal case, these items should be expressed in relevant units and the number of such units. The budget should not exceed 1 page in a word processor or spreadsheet. It goes without saying that the more specific the budget, the more credibility it has, and it is evidence of thorough preparation. On the other hand, it is not necessary to include detailed information which cannot be provided in advance, or such information that is not relevant or meaningful for the evaluators (e.g. detailed composition of chemicals etc.).

8. Is it possible to use the contribution to buy lab equipment for the implementation of the research project?

It is possible to buy the required material, but the applicant must find out in advance whether it is technically feasible. The successful applicants will receive the funding to their personal accounts. However, to buy certain chemicals, it is required provide an institutional ID No. If this is the case, students must discuss the possible solutions at their departments.

9. Is it possible to apply for the contribution as a team?

The contributions from the Fund are granted on an individual basis, and team projects cannot be supported. If it is desirable that students cooperate on the project, they may apply individually and emphasize the importance of cooperation in the application.