On the 4th of March, 2014, Charles University of Prague and a number of other academic and personal supporters gathered in a farewell to former rector, Prof. RNDr. Václav Hampl, DrSc. and in celebration of our new Rector, Prof. MUDr. Tomáš Zima, DrSc., MBA. Steeped in historical tradition and ceremony, the inauguration was highly successful in celebrating these two men and the institution they devote themselves to. I personally walked away with a proud sense of our flourishing institution’s academic integrity and commitment, even as a temporary member of this inspiring community.

2014 will see the birth of the next stage in the European Union’s Erasmus programme, one that is the most comprehensive and ambitious yet. Succeeding the Lifelong Learning Programme, which ran from 2007 to 2014, will be the Erasmus Plus programme, and like all previous Erasmus programmes, will last 7 years ending in 2020.

Few topics are messier to discuss than the Greek economic crisis and the Eurozone. It’s one big interconnected, over-lapping, multi-dimensional, fuzzy and frustrating mess, with many bright minds currently engaged in untangling the layers. Amidst the brightest, and most highly respected is Professor Nikolaos Zahariadis of the University of Alabama, Birmingham, USA. 

On the 19th of March a lecture entitled “Classical Learning and the Insular World” was presented by Dr Máire Ní Mhaonaigh of Cambridge University in the library of the Centre for Medieval Studies of Charles University.

CU Rector Tomáš Zima has received American Fulbright scholars currently studying and teaching at Charles University. At the meeting, which took place in the Carolinum on Monday 14 April, the scholars discussed their research interests and their experiences with Czech students.

On Thursday, the 10th of April, the Common Law Society at the Charles University Faculty of Law hosted a lecture in the company of Assistant Professor Arndt Künnecke of the Okan University in Istanbul. A native of Hannover in Germany, but now living in Istanbul, selected a very appropriate title of his lecture “Turkey and the EU”, a discussion on Turkey’s relationship with the European Union.

The 25^th of April marked the third annual Cultural Exchange event hosted by the Catholic Theological Faculty of Charles University. The event, a student conference officially called “Cultural Transfer. Art Exchange between Italy and Central Europe”, was held at the main faculty building and saw a series of lectures given by post-graduates from various European universities. The lectures aimed to discuss the ways in which Italian art has, and continues, to influence European art, especially that of Central European countries.

Visit a popular historical site this summer and it’s likely you’ll encounter someone in historical dress from centuries past, re-living an older period, whether it’ll be Roman times or World War II, and undertaking activities such as giving guided tours, and making 18th century cakes amongst other things. Such people are historical re-enactors, and being one myself I can say that we may be a group of people who might bemuse many, but who are just like you… in period dress that is… possibly carrying a sword.

Introducing secondary-school pupils to the fascinating world of geology is the aim of the CU Faculty of Science’s Internet-based correspondence seminar Kamenožrout (‘Rockbiter’, after the Neverending Story character). Apart from the Czech-language version of the course, the organisers are now preparing versions in English and Russian. The most successful participants do not have to sit university entrance exams.

I was confused when I left the Municipal Library in Prague at 12 o clock on Tuesday the 3rd of June, after working all morning (well, sort of) to go and get lunch. Surely this crowd gathered outside could not be here for the lecture, which was to start in an hour and a half? They must be here for some other thing, I thought to myself. 45 minutes later and they were still there, their numbers in the meantime having doubled. In a somewhat surreal situation it seemed that people were queuing for almost two hours, not to see a politician, a celebrity or a sports personality, but to see a scholar. And for good reason too it seems, since within minutes of opening the doors the lecture theatre was filled to the brim, exasperated staff having to stop eager punters from perching on the stairs and other inconvenient places.