Do you have anything to say about the working environment and atmosphere at UP? Do you feel that everyone has the same opportunities and is rewarded equally? Do you have any experiences you’d like to share? Join the focus group and help improve working conditions at UP.
Palacký University is currently preparing its third Equal Opportunities Plan, and we once again need the perspectives of UP female staff to help shape it.
“This is not merely a formal document required by grant providers, but an action plan with specific objectives and measures through which we respond to the needs of our staff. It focuses on the quality of working conditions, professional development, work-life balance and fair treatment across the academic community,” explains Markéta Šupplerová, Head of the Human Resources Department at UP.
According to her, the participation of staff members in focus groups will help to reflect the reality of everyday life at the university in the document and will contribute to making UP a fair place for work, research and study.
The face-to-face meetings planned for September form part of the ongoing gender re-audit at UP, the aim of which is to ensure that the new Equal Opportunities Plan reflects as accurately as possible the current and real-life experiences of those working at the university. “The aim is to have an open discussion about what works well at the university, what challenges staff face, and which measures should be prioritised in the future. It is precisely these specific experiences and suggestions that will help ensure our next steps are based on the real needs of people across the university,” adds Šupplerová.
The focus groups will be led by the external organisation Gender Information Centre Nora, and the findings will be processed anonymously and will form one of the key inputs for the development of the new Equal Opportunities Plan.
We are inviting staff members from across the university to join the focus groups:
- academic staff
- managers
- who care for children or another close relative
- technical and administrative staff
- international staff
- doctoral students and early-career researchers.
How will the sessions be structured?
- moderated group discussion
- 6–12 participants per group
- duration: 90 minutes
Get involved
You can register for individual groups via the links below:
- academic staff, 21 September, 11:00–12:30
- Managers, 21 September, 14:00–15:30
- Those caring for children or another close relative, 22 September, 9:00–10:30
- Technical and administrative staff, 22 September, 11:00–12:30
- foreign staff, 22 September, 14:00–15:30
- doctoral students and early-career researchers, 21 September, 9:00–10:30
You can also share your views on this topic via an anonymous online questionnaire until 23 August
The Equal Opportunities Plan is one of the conditions for participation in prestigious European research and innovation programmes, including Horizon Europe. Its existence is important not only for securing international grants and advancing research, but also for strengthening the university’s competitiveness and standing within the European Research Area.