News

Procedures, systems and technologies to improve early warning against natural disasters and crisis management in the course of disasters – these were the main topics of a symposium held in Prague in January 2009. The scientists present decided on a "Prague Declaration", which summarized conclusions on how better to collect, coordinate, connect and evaluate data from terrestrial, overhead and space stations and how to use these data in the efficient protection of populations against natural disasters.

One of the participants of the Cyberspace 2008 Conference was Vit Sisler, an associate professor from Charles University in Prague. His research main topic is questions of contemporary Islamic law, the relation between Islam and digital media and political aspects of computer games.

Is sharing music really a crime? Should personal data protection be put above companies´ economic interests or can we give a film distributor personal data about people who illegally download his film? How does one cope with second-hand software?  

A report about Brno, its people and Czech language through German eyes From August to October stayed for the second time german students in Brno. They came here with the Kafka Programme of the german Hertie foundation to do a traineeship in several institutions. Two of them worked at the Masaryk University in the Office of International Studies and in the Office for Marketing and Public Relation of the Rectorate. I was one of these two students got to know the PR-work of the university.

Nearly 300 representatives of universities from over 30 European countries have gathered in Brno, Southern Moravia, which was selected to host the autumn conference of the European University Association. Conferences of the EUA, which is the representative body of European universities and national rectors conferences, generally take place twice a year; for the first time in EUA’s history, it is being held in the Czech Republic.

On Wednesday, 14th December 2005, the Czech Government will be deciding about the future of the project of the International Clinical Research Center, which should be built during the subsequent four years in the city of Brno. On this occasion, the rectors of the three Brno universities - Masaryk University in Brno, Brno University of Technology, University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences Brno - have issued a declaration, in which they express their support and the pledge of the universal collaboration.

On 21-24 September, in co-operation with Brno University of Technology, City of Brno, Brno Centre for European Studies and Union of Czech Mathematicians and Physicists, Masaryk University in Brno was organizing the international symposium in honour of the outstanding theoretical physicist George Placzek, who was born on 26 September 1905 in Brno and died on 9 October 1955 in Zurich. George Placzek belongs among the most important physicists of the 20th century, setting an example not only through his discoveries, but also by the extraordinary stimulating style of his scientific work. Details dealing with life and scientific work of George Placzek as well as with the symposium are available on the symposium website http://dumbell.physics.muni.cz/placzek. In the international symposium was participating also a nephew of George Placzek Mr. F. Anthony Placzek, businessman living in California, who we asked to answer our questions.