The PhD Academy has had a successful year, showcasing its achievements both domestically and internationally.

"When the PhD Academy was established, we announced that in addition to the courses aimed at improving competencies, we would also organize events to enable PhD students to meet, share their experience, or find a space for collaboration. We are happy that we have been able to do this, whether it is an Info Day or, for example, a Scientific Writing Camp. Given their success, we intend to organize them again in the coming years," said Lucie Hofrichterová, administrator of the PhD Academy.

One of the most successful events, she said, featured workshops with Dana Lynn Driscoll, director of the Jones-White Writing Centre at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. The academic writing expert will be sharing her experience with teachers, thesis supervisors, and PhD students again this September. Registration is now open.

The PhD Academy showcased its services at the Open Day for PhD students which was held at the VSB-TUO for the first time this year. Visitors to Careers + or the Science Fair in Prague Letnany could also get acquainted with its activities. Moreover, The PhD Academy presented its know-how abroad at the U!REKA conference in Amsterdam.

The PhD Academy offers short-term and semester courses, guest lectures, and workshops. The aim is to help early career scientists advance in their careers and to support them in acquiring the competencies crucial for the scientific profession. These include courses on writing scientific publications, working with data, presenting research results at conferences, and preparing projects.

Some of these courses are also open to doctoral supervisors and advisors.

"We are pleased that alongside our domestic lecturers, we are able to attract experts who can provide an external viewpoint. Examples include Conor O'Carroll's Open Science course which has received great popularity or seminars by the world's leading expert on science communication, Sam Illingworth from Edinburgh Napier University. The journey "from Strahov to NASA" was presented online by Martin Kroupa, an experimental physicist and data scientist.

The PhD Academy plans to reduce the number of courses for Ph.D. students for the upcoming academic year and target them specifically to the required skills. On the other hand, it intends to enhance the training of lecturers. It will also work closely with the newly established Writing Support Centre.