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UK gov website takes note of CU partnerships

Gov.uk, the official government website of the United Kingdom, which serves as the central online platform for UK government services and information, has highlighted Charles University’s ongoing cooperation and partnerships with top British universities, including its strategic partnership with the University of St Andrews.

The article notes that the cooperation has created “significant new opportunities for collaborative research and development”, outlining the impact at various levels between the institutions. Notably, CU’s rector prioritised the United Kingdom for her first major foreign visit not long after taking up her post in 2022.

According to gov.uk, her team’s approach reinforced the importance of British networks for Charles University, emphasising that policy discussions have focused on best practices and much more. Topics like university sustainability, the website noted, as well as net-zero pledges, energy security, and high inflation, were “key points of discussion” and “showed how important British networks [are] for Charles University”. Since then, cooperation has continued to thrive and evolve, with CU remaining committed after the first wave of results. CU Rector Milena Kralíčková this week herself emphasised the importance for Forum magazine:

“Collaboration with the best British universities has advanced Charles University in many ways. Joint research topics with many of them and strategic partnerships with St Andrews University not only contribute to the excellence of our university and expand opportunities for our students and academics, but also enhance our international visibility.”

The website highlights that the rector of Charles University established a “strategic partnership seed fund” to facilitate collaborations between Charles University staff and their British counterparts, reporting that such partnerships have the “strong potential to create mutually beneficial educational and research connections, contributing to the international advancement of both universities”. This ongoing work was also covered by Forum, which reported on the cooperation with the University of St Andrews in its No. 12 issue in 2023, including an exclusive interview with St Andrews scholar and renowned poet Peter MacKay.

As a comprehensive research-intensive university, CU is part of the prestigious 4EU+ Alliance and has been building newer ties not only in the UK but also in other countries further abroad. Forum discussed those with the Vice-Rector for International Affairs, Eva Voldřichová Beránková, who elaborated on the areas where CU is involved:

“In addition to the University of St Andrews, Charles University has ‘strategic partners’ such as the University of Zurich and Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia. Within these strategic partnerships, we write up to 15 grants a year, and most of our faculties are successfully networked. As part of the 4EU+ inter-university alliance, we are harmonising the curricula of dozens of courses, enabling us to implement the European Degree in time. Charles University is also a successful participant in a large Taiwanese grant, which has led to the establishment of the Supply Chain Resilience Centre. In parallel, our university is coordinating a large scientific ICU-UAAT project, bringing together 14 Czech and 12 Taiwanese universities. Among other collaborations is the upcoming Erasmus Mundus programme with the University of Massachusetts and the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, focused on innovation in healthcare.”

The vice-rector pointed out that next week (March 11) will see “Charles University Day” hosted at the University of St Andrews, followed by a CU Day at the University of Sussex in June. CU is also currently preparing an international conference related to the late Karel Schwarzenberg (former dissident, foreign minister, and friend and colleague of Václav Havel) as part of the Europaeum consortium in the autumn, which will feature key historians and political scientists, including from British universities, Vice-Rector Voldřichová Beránková confirmed.

Text: Jan Velinger (Forum EN)

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