When she was born, Dominika Hysková says she was a whirlwind that swept into her otherwise largely quiet family. She is eloquent and full of energy and her enthusiasm as the sole female student studying Military Physical Education in Czechia is contagious. One question? Which military unit she’ll serve with upon completing her Master’s degree.

“Being a tour guide at the historic Kuks Hospital taught me a lot,” says Jaroslav Matějka, a third-year student at the Third Faculty of Medicine of Charles University. Above all, he credits it with teaching him how to communicate better with others.

A banana peel has become the central motif of the Czech round of the international student competition Map the System. The winning team, consisting of four students from different disciplines at Charles University, dealt with the problem of bio-waste. They will represent the Czech Republic at the final in June.

Burning, tingling, and a loss of sensation in the fingers – these are common symptoms of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. Students Vasil Kostin from the Third Faculty of Medicine of CU and Tomáš Trejdl from CTU are looking to prevent this occupational disease.

The 2021 Czech film Occupation underperformed at the box office but eventually began picking up awards such the Czech Film Critics’ Prize and the Czech Lion. The script was co-written by Marek Šindelka - a Ph.D. student at Charles University.

Students from Charles University across all faculties have been helping to raise money for refugees from Ukraine. Most recently, students from two medical faculties at Charles University organised a charity hockey match that helped raise hundreds of thousands of crowns in support.

“The Russian occupiers are dropping bombs on civilians,” says Tamara Bardina from Chernihiv, Ukraine, a student at Charles University. Her indignation was in immediate response to the invasion on 24 February. Since, the situation in Ukraine has only grown worse.

Jan Exner has taken part in more Olympic Games than many, first as a volunteer and later as a lawyer for the Czech Olympic Committee. He was in PyeongChang and Tokyo, but he won’t be headed to Beijing; he discovered he enjoys teaching at university most of all.

A specialist in North Korean studies, activist and feminist. That is how the Czech media describe Nina Špitálníková, a student of Oral and Contemporary History at the Faculty of Humanities of Charles University. Her book Witnessing Life in the DPRK (2020) became a bestseller and won the Magnesia Litera Award in the category of journalism.

The Church of St. Bartholomew in Kolín is a national cultural monument and for  good reason. It is one of the most impressive examples of Gothic architecture in Central Bohemia. Among the church’s many gems are extraordinary stained glass windows. These caught Anna Bartoňová's eye.; she is a student at the Catholic Theological Faculty.