Do you have a colleague or a student in your surroundings who significantly contributes to equal opportunities? Nominate them as candidates for a new university prize! This prize, established by Charles University to raise awareness about equality issues and to emphasize its importance, is intended for individuals and groups from the academic community and university staff. The activity for which the prize can be awarded does not need to take place on the university premises, but there must always be a clear impact on balancing opportunities for disadvantaged groups in society. Both individuals and collective bodies of the university can nominate.

How to nominate

Prize in 2024

In the first year of the Cori Prize, a total of 13 nominations were received in various areas of equal opportunities, both for the benefit of individuals and collectives. This gave the Equal Opportunities Board of CU the opportunity to read and judge a truly wide range of extremely interesting and important activities undertaken by students and staff at CU. Charles University understands equal opportunities not only in the sense of gender equality, but as a complex issue in which other signs of vulnerability need to be addressed, which corresponds to the diversity of the nominations.

The nominations covered the areas of:

- creating a safe environment for all;

- equal opportunities for people with disabilities;

- support for students with special needs;

- mental health support;

- science communication with an emphasis on women in science;

- equal opportunities in science and gender sensitive cultivation of the academic environment;

- development of the academic community, including support for international PhD students;

- support for people with visual impairments;

- support for reconciliation of family and working life;

- equality awareness-raising activities.

All this with an emphasis on exceptional personal commitment far beyond basic duties.

The 2024 Carl and Gerty Cori Prize was awarded to:

PhDr. Hana Havelková, Ph.D. (in memoriam)

Hana Havelková (1949–2019) was a prominent, internationally recognized figure in the field of feminist sociology and political philosophy. She was the author of more than 70 scholarly publications in Czech, English, and German, in which she formulated original arguments and hypotheses about the position of women in science, feminist epistemology, the gender culture of state socialism, and the representation of women in politics and the media.

She worked at Charles University from 1994, where she also co-founded and directed the Master's program in Gender Studies at FHS UK – the first of its kind in Central Europe. She made a significant contribution to theorizing the relationship between "East" and "West" feminisms after 1989. Her edited volume Politics of Gender Culture under State Socialism won the prestigious 2015 British Association for Slavic and East European Studies (BASEES) award for the best academic publication on gender in Central and Eastern Europe.

She supervised over 200 qualifying theses, inspired thousands of students who are now active in society, and had a long history of public engagement, including with the Czech Helsinki Committee, the Government Council for Equal Opportunities, and UNESCO. Her academic, pedagogical, and civic work had a profound impact on Czech society, the university environment, and the professional and public debate on gender equality.

prof. PhDr. Alena Macurová, CSc.

Alena Macurová (*1946) is the founder of sign language linguistics and deaf studies in the Czech Republic. In 1998, she participated in the birth of the Czech in Deaf Communication program at the Faculty of Philosophy of Charles University, which developed into the current Bachelor's and Master's degree programs in Deaf Languages and Communication.

Thanks to her fundamental efforts, Czech sign language was legally codified in 1998 and raised to the level of spoken languages. She has made a significant contribution to changing the perception of deafness - she has promoted a cultural-linguistic approach that has helped deaf people to see themselves as a linguistic and cultural minority. Her work has led to the expansion of access to education for Deaf people at all levels, including higher education.

As an educator, scholar and popularizer, she has raised a number of key issues in the fields of communication, culture and Deaf education. After the attack on the UK Faculty of Arts in December 2023, in which she was seriously injured, she returned to teaching and professional work despite the personal trauma. Her outstanding professional and human qualities make her a prominent figure in the promotion of equal opportunities.

Nominations for the Carl and Gerty Cori Prize 2024

We greatly appreciate the activities of all the nominees and would like to congratulate them on their nomination and thank them for their very valuable work. Nominations can be made repeatedly, so please feel free to nominate the individuals and collectives listed below for the Award in 2025.

The following nominees have been shortlisted for the Award by the CU Equal Opportunities Board:

Ing. Bc. Pavla Hubálková, Ph.D.

Pavla Hubálková has a long history of communicating science and popularizing research to the public and professional community. She started her scientific career in the field of neuroscience as a Fulbright scholar at Northwestern University in Chicago. Currently, she publishes mainly in WIRED.cz, but in the past she has also written for UK Forum magazine, Hospodářské noviny, Aktuálně, Vědavýzkum.cz and Universitas. She focuses not only on current research topics, but also on systemic issues such as conditions for scientific work, sustainability and equal opportunities.

An important area of her activities is the promotion of women in science. She has created an author project in which she has introduced more than seventy women scientists working in various fields of science. She volunteers for the Czexpats in Science initiative and regularly conducts training sessions for academic and research institutions on effective and ethical science communication.

She is the co-author of Science Communication - Introduction to Science Communication (2023), the first book of its kind in the Czech Republic. Her work combines academic, media and popularization approaches, and she has long advocated for a more inclusive and open scientific environment.

doc. PhDr. PaedDr. Anna Kucharská, Ph.D.

Anna Kucharská, Vice Dean for Accreditation and Quality of Educational Activities at the Faculty of Education, Charles University, is a prominent Czech psychologist and special educator who has long been engaged in supporting students with special needs at the university level. Since 2010, she has served as the contact person for students with special needs at the Faculty of Education, where she initiated the establishment of a unique support system that is now embedded in the Faculty’s statute. One of its key features is the presence of a coordinator for students with special needs in each department, working in cooperation with the Academic Advising Center. She initiated the creation of this dedicated faculty-wide department and has served as its head since 2023.

At the university level, she contributes to conceptual, legislative, and methodological frameworks as a member of the Standing Working Group for Students with Special Needs, with a particular focus on functional diagnostics. She also coordinates the preparation of expert assessments for students across all faculties of the University.

Anna Kucharská has played an important role in implementing educational initiatives aimed at promoting well-being and preventing academic failure. She has participated in major projects of the Ministry of Education and Charles University, and is the author and editor of professional publications on distance learning for students with special needs. She also serves as the organizer of the conference University Counselling – Current Trends and Challenges, which will hold its third edition in 2025. Her work continues to cultivate an inclusive academic environment and strengthen the University’s institutional responsibility toward all disadvantaged groups of learners.

doc. PhDr. Alice Němcová Tejkalová, Ph.D.

Alice Němcová Tejkalová is a journalist, academic, and expert on minority representation in the media who has been systematically promoting equal opportunities in the academic, media, and sports environments for over two decades. As a member of the Rector's Board and the first female Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences at Charles University, she has promoted structural changes for the benefit of students and staff with disabilities, parents, and those from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds - from introducing childcare support and mapping accessibility to launching mentoring programs for women in academia.

She has made a significant contribution to the professionalization and media visibility of parasports - as a commentator, founder of the platform Handisport.cz, and author of scientific publications on the stereotyping of athletes with disabilities. She leads the first all-female research team at the Faculty of Social Sciences, co-recipient of a prestigious Horizon Europe grant.

As Vice-Chair of the Czech Olympic Committee's Commission for Equal Opportunities in Sport, she was instrumental in developing an action plan to support women in leadership roles within sports institutions. Her work represents a unique combination of scientific expertise, institutional change and long-term public engagement in the field of equality and inclusion.

Individuals and teams also nominated for the Cori Family Prize in 2024:

Mgr. Petra Černá, Faculty of Science

RNDr. Dana Fialová, Ph.D., Faculty of Science

PhDr. Zdeňka Kudláčková, Ph.D., Faculty of Pharmacy

Mgr. Pavel Ruzyak, Hussite Theological Faculty

JUDr. Lucie Široká, Faculty of Law

RNDr. Olga Vindušková, Ph.D., Faculty of Science

safe space kolektiv - student association

Ženy, které inspirují - organizing team of the first edition of the event at the Third Faculty of Medicine

Our heartfelt congratulations to all nominees, and sincere thanks for their ongoing efforts in promoting equality!

How to nominate?

How to proceed with submitting a nomination?

- Download and fill out the nomination form (send it signed with a digital signature or scanned with a handwritten signature and in an editable version)

- Prepare documentation proving the contribution of the nominated activity or project

- Send everything by May 31, 2025, to the email .

The award will be presented along with the Arnošt of Pardubice Prize during the celebrations on November 17, 2025. More information can be found in the Rector´s Directive.

We look forward to your nominations!

Contact for additional information: Iveta Bayerová, Coordinator of the Equal Opportunities Agenda, CU Point, .