Recent graduates may already have been lucky to hear the newly installed pipe organ at the Carolinum; additional invited guests will have the pleasure on Tuesday, 5 October, at a concert including works by Bach and Mozart. The new pipe organ in the Carolinum’s Great Hall has been described as a “resonant jewel”.

“It’s not so much about gaining knowledge. For me it’s mainly about participants outperforming themselves. It’s an experiential course in which students are pushed beyond their comfort zones,” says Jan Veselý. He’s guiding a cohort of creative students – his sixth round already – and “toughening them up.”

With vaccines widely available in Europe, it is easy to forget, even just a year-and-a-half later, the urgency with which they were developed. Duncan Matthews, an expert on IP law at Queen Mary University of London, was a key guest at the WIPO Summer School at Charles University. One of his lectures focused on the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.

“At Kampus Hybernská we are offering all Charles University faculties and components a common space to meet each other as well as city partners or others in the application sphere,” says Marcel Kraus, project manager of Hyb4City since January of this year.

“We both have degrees in international relations and we like to talk about what’s going on in the world, so we decided to record our conversations. Let’s see what’s next door,” is how Barbora Chaloupková and Hana Martínková explain their podcast Za Humny (Not far from home) which examines international relations and public affairs.

“My respect for the novel coronavirus grew proportionately the more we learned,” recalls Dr. Milan Trojánek from the Second Faculty of Medicine and Bulovka University Hospital. He admits there were many aspects of the virus that caught the medical profession by surprise.

“Pharmacy is unique because it both opens a door for students to learn more about the natural sciences and provides the stability of a good career,” says the dean of the Faculty of Pharmacy in Hradec Králové Tomáš Šimůnek. in the following Forum interview, he discusses not only life at the faculty but also vaccines against the coronavirus.

Last month, the rectors of the 4EU+ Alliance established a new legal entity. The association, based in Heidelberg, aims to strengthen cooperation among all six member universities, says Charles University’s Vice-Rector for European Affairs Lenka Rovná.

For viewers of public broadcaster Czech TV, he is both a trusted reporter and a familiar face: Charles University graduate Lukáš Dolanský. The reporter began in domestic affairs 11 years ago but has focused on foreign affairs for the last four or so, reporting as Czech TV's man in Belgium.

“Of all the countries I have visited, Israel is among the most exceptional. It’s admirable that in such unfavourable conditions – both natural and political – they’ve built such a well-functioning society,” says hydrogeologist Zbyněk Hrkal, who has travelled to an incredible 79 countries around the globe.