Sunday, 28 March, was Teachers’ Day in the Czech Republic, held on the anniversary of the birth of the renowned Czech educational reformer and theologian Jan Amos Komenský (Comenius) in 1592. Do today's teachers still rely on principles laid down by the great educationalist? And how have they fared during the pandemic?

Václav Šňupárek is a Master’s student at the Faculty of Physical Education and Sport who competed in many sports before becoming a professional cyclist. He is a member of Team Novo Nordisk, a team unlike any other whose athletes all have Type-1 diabetes. 

Speakers at a one-day conference at Charles University focusing on the pandemic more than a year on agreed: an outbreak  such as the one we have seen was a ticking time bomb. Despite how prepared we might be in terms of knowledge, virologist Ladislav Machala said globalisation had shown we have never been “more vulnerable.“

Even as a little girl she dreamed of being a doctor one day and later admired the organisation Doctors without Borders. Now, med student Markéta Malecová is a few months away from completing her studies and becoming a doctor herself. She has already made an impact, helping children at a very special hospital in Uganda.

Winning the “Book of the Year” award in one of Europe’s largest countries is a major success, not just for the author but for Czech culture as a whole. When it happens twice in a row, it speaks to something more: obsession, in a positive sense. That is the kind of success scientist Stanislav Komárek has enjoyed in Ukraine.

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. 

The debate over whether to give birth in hospital or at home is one that has continued in the Czech Republic for years. Sociologist Anna Pospěch Durnová wanted to get to the heart of the issue and headed extensive research to find out what influenced expectant mothers' decisions. 

The Carpathian Mountains, ranging across seven countries including neighbouring Slovakia, are often considered one of the last areas of true wilderness in Central Europe, and for zoologist, microbiologist and ecologist Pavel Hulva they are something like a second home.

The idea to sew face masks came to her long before they were widely needed during the pandemic: Faculty of Arts student Kristýna Šimralová attended a lecture on opportunities for the Deaf, showing how even tough barriers can be overcome. She opted to make face masks with a clear window, which make it easier to read lips.

A new study by economists at the CERGE-EI think-tank IDEA researching social interaction and the spread of Covid-19, provides answers to where mistakes were made during the pandemic. March 1 marks exactly one year since the Czech Republic registered its first two cases of the novel coronavirus.

If you understand Czech and are interested in Czech cuisine, you will want to look up the popular internet series Zmlsané dějiny co-hosted by historian Martin Franc. Franc, who teaches at Charles University, delights in debunking culinary myths but also gives credit where it is historically due.

Hematologist Jan Trka grew up in a family of teacher-scientists, so from an early age science was an integral part of life. Perhaps it is why he became the head of the scientific-diagnostic laboratory at  Motol University Hospital and is now the vice-dean at CU’s Second Faculty of Medicine.

It was apparent that the complete but darkened skeleton of a small whale at the Museum of Human and Comparative Anatomy would eventually fall apart. But restorers achieved something remarkable: returning the skeleton – one of only two in the Czech Republic – to its former glory, while also preserving soft tissue. The team was headed by anthropologist and anatomist Andrej Shbat.

Kateřina Chládková is one of the few researchers in the world who study the earliest stages of language acquisition, which means she is often in contact with babies – even in the maternity ward. Her aim is to find out how we learn to speak from the very first moments of life.

TESS, the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite has been searching the sky for exoplanets outside our solar system since 2018. Charles University’s Petr Zasche was part of the international team that made a new sensational find: an eclipsing six-star system.

Vaccination has gotten underway at Bulovka University Hospital in Prague - a hospital that cooperates closely with Charles University medical faculties 1-3. Forum photographer Vladimír Šigut got a closer look.

Next month it will be a year that Czechs first went into lockdown because of Covid-19. There are concerns that over that time more and more people are drinking at home and in excess. I spoke to Dr. Miroslav Barták of the Department of Addictology at Charles University about the growing risk.

He has degrees from three universities, worked for a couple of years for the Office of the Government and lectures at CU’s Faculty of Law. His next ambition, though, is decidedly non-academic: he wants to fight in mixed martial arts (MMA). Meet Petr Agha.

This week Charles University hosted a webinar as part of its continuing public debate series Česko a jak dál. The topic was disinformation and fake news in connection with Covid-19. Disinformation has been part of the mix from the very beginning of the pandemic.

Following vaccinations of health care workers and personnel and clients at senior homes, the Czech Republic rolled out the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for seniors 80 and over just a few days ago. Our photographer took a closer look.