Doctoral School UO

Are you starting your doctoral studies and are not sure how to design research and process data, how to write a proper scientific paper, which journals to publish in or how to be a great teacher? Choose from a core range of courses at the Doctoral School UO.

Do you want to write a project, collaborate on research with a company or travel abroad? Follow the offer of workshops organized by the Doctoral School UO.

What is the Doctoral School UO?

Doctoral School is a new tool of the UO which represents innovative supportive educational system for students of doctoral study programmes accredited at the UO. The aim is to develop such competences that will increase the attractiveness and employability of the graduate in practice at research institutions and in the application sphere (publishing, language, pedagogical skills, ability to design research, analyze data, preparation and management of projects, communication and presentation, cooperation with commercial entities).

During the academic year, the Doctoral School UO offers standard courses ending with course credit as well as one-off unique workshops and lectures for doctoral students. Courses ending with course credit are labelled as electives (in some cases compulsory) in all doctoral study programmes and awarded with credits. Events are designed to be interesting and beneficial to students in the social sciences, humanities, natural sciences and medicine. This interdisciplinary networking is a major added value as it develops inspiring approaches and enables the sharing of good practice.

Academic English

Are you not sure how to write a formal or informal email in English? Do you want to introduce yourself to colleagues from abroad or write a cover letter? Are you going to a conference and are worried that you will not you be able to give a presentation? This course is aimed at improving your communication skills.

Language of instruction: English

Academic Writing

If you live in the idea that writing an article is similar to writing a thesis, you are mistaken. Writing scientific articles for peer-reviewed journals is a craft that requires adherence to a number of rules and general practices that can be quite crucial for acceptance into print. Many of these are not to be found in any handbook. If you want to do really good science and have great outputs, this course is the ideal place to start.

Language of instruction: English

Scientrometry: Publication strategies and supportive IT tools in science

How to find a suitable journal for the article you are writing? What is a quality publication and where can you find this out? Who are the top scientists in your field and how can you tell? What is an ORCID or ResearcherID for and why have a Google Scholar profile? IT technologies offer scientists a range of tools to help connect research teams, set up an appropriate publishing strategy or facilitate the preparation of articles. This course will help you understand publishing strategy and learn how to use a number of very useful tools for the modern scientist.

Language of instruction: Czech, also English

Increasing of Pedagogical Skills

Are you looking forward to your own teaching or thesis supervision? Do you want to know how to effectively transfer knowledge and develop students' skills in the process? How to communicate with students? Sign up for a course for doctoral students and aspiring teachers! Together we will look at how to keep students' attention, how to motivate them to prepare for class, what questions to ask and how to keep students engaged. You will also learn what your role is in leading an undergraduate class and what is already the student's responsibility. Experienced didacticians and lecturers will give you this and much more from good practice.

Language of instruction: Czech

Methodology of Qualitative Research

In your research, would you like to gain a deeper understanding of a particular social phenomenon and its mechanisms of functioning in the social world or interpersonal interactions, the motivations of human action and the ways in which it can be rationalized? Would you like to identify and describe the perspectives of the different actors participating in a particular social situation? To focus on their interpretations of lived social reality or their reconstructions of a particular situation or event? In this case it is appropriate to use qualitative research. A qualitative research strategy is not "better" or "worse" than a quantitative one - it is simply different. Moreover, the two can be appropriately combined. In this course you will gain insight into qualitative research methodology. In relation to the research problem, the research aim and the research question, you will be confident about the suitability of applying a qualitative research strategy, choosing the appropriate approach, analysis methods and data collection techniques.

Language of instruction: Czech (from AY 23/24 also in English)

Methodology of Quantitative Research

Research is not just about collecting data (be it numbers or other types of values), that is only the first step. The next step, which is absolutely crucial, is to process, interpret and present them. Moreover, a more advanced scientist will tell you that even the actual research design and data collection requires a good understanding of quantitative analysis methodology. A crucial skill for anyone attempting to process data is the selection of an appropriate method and the interpretation of its outputs. If you want to learn more about quantitative data collection methodology, quantitative research design, quantitative data processing and putting together a quality presentation of that data, this course is for you.

Language of instruction: Czech, also English

The courses are led by experienced academics from the UO, from other universities and scientific institutes. The language of instruction is either Czech or English and students may gain credits in case of their successful completion. There is a wide range of support services to the courses: Centre for International Cooperation, Couseling and Career Centre and Pyramida Centre – for students with needs, University Library a University Bookstore etc. Within the Doctoral School UO an annual event “Welcome Day for Doctoral Students” is organized, always at the beginning of a new academic year.

Where to find useful information about the Doctoral School UO?

• news is sent either directly to students or to the relevant Vice-Deans, administrators and chairs of the subject-area boards in the faculties,
• all necessary information about the study subjects including a list of possibilities for doctoral students to be involved in research at the UO, information about scholarship and grant programmes can be found in MOODLE in a course called Doctoral School (DS),
• basic documents from the field of science can be found in IS MOODLE in the course The UO Science Guide (PRVOU), or on the UO University Library website in the Support of Science and Research section (only in Czech).

Updated: 04. 01. 2024