Funded by Visegrad Grant 

Three institutions with strong backgrounds in taxonomy, phylogenetics, and genomics of insect-related fungi bring together researchers to share expertise with each other and students. In a series of workshops organized in three V4 countries we will tighten collaborations and stimulate knowledge exchange. A citizen science campaign and lectures open to the general public will also be organized. 

Project No. 22420237

Role of FSci in the project: Principal applicant

Project duration: 01 October 2024 - 31 March 2026

Total project cost: 37 878 EUR

Head of project: Danny Haelewaters, PhD (he/him/his)

                           Ghent University & Meise Botanic Garden

                           University of South Bohemia | Universidad Autónoma de Chiriquí

                           Website | X | Beetlehangers

Upcoming events and meetings

31 March to 4 April 2025: Citizen science campaign, workshop, and open lecture, České Budějovice, Czechia

https://fb.me/e/2vyolN3FV

FUNGAL GENOMICS
8 to 12 September 2025: Workshop on fungal genomics and open lecture, Szeged, Hungary
https://fb.me/e/7LFch4JtW

FUNGAL PHYLOGENETICS
16 to 20 February 2026: Workshop on fungal phylogenetics and open lecture, Urwitałt, Poland
https://fb.me/e/4Tbh84ai1 

Read about our latest papers:

• Biological knowledge shortfalls impede conservation efforts in poorly studied taxa—A case study of Laboulbeniomycetes
• Singleton-based species names and fungal rarity: Does the number really matter?
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnrrCY-IeBw

Polish partner (Julia Pawłowska):

University webpage: https://en.uw.edu.pl/
Faculty of Biology webpage: https://www.biol.uw.edu.pl/en/home-page/
Institute webpage: https://ibe.biol.uw.edu.pl/en/835-2/

Hungarian partner (László Nagy):

Institute webpage: https://www.brc.hu/en 
Lab webpage: http://group.szbk.u-szeged.hu/sysbiol/nagy-laszlo-lab-index.html

Sources

de Groot MD, Christou M, Pan JY, Adriaens T, Maes D, Martinou AF, Roy HE, Verbeken A, Haelewaters D. Beetlehangers.org: harmonizing host–parasite records of Harmonia axyridis and Hesperomyces harmoniae. Arthropod-Plant Interactions 18(4): 665-679. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11829-023-10037-2

Haelewaters D, Matthews TJ, Wayman JP, Cazabonne J, Heyman F, Quandt CA, Martin TE. 2024. Laboulbeniomycetes as a case study for biodiversity shortfalls in poorly studied groups. Journal of Biogeography 51(1): 29-39. https://doi.org/10.1111/jbi.14725

Haelewaters D, Okrasińska A, Gorczak M, Pfister DH. 2020. Draft genome sequence of the globally distributed cockroach-infecting fungus Herpomyces periplanetae strain D. Haelew. 1187d. Microbiology Resource Announcements 9(6): e01458-19. https://doi.org/10.1128/MRA.01458-19

Fruiting bodies of Hesperomyces harmoniae (Laboulbeniales) on the integument of the invasive alien ladybird Harmonia axyridis Coccinellidae)

https://www.visegradfund.org/

In accordance with Sections 48 - 50 of Act 111/1998 Coll. on Higher Education Institutions and the Modifications and Amendments of Other Acts, I announce the rules of admission for entrance into the cross-border master study programme Artificial Intelligence and Data Science at the Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice (hereafter FSci USB) for the academic year 2025/2026.

Article 1. Study programmes opened

* Enrolled applicants can apply for a fee reduction, if not granted, students can apply for a scholarship of up to €2000/year.

Article 2. Admission deadlines

Applications can be submitted until 4 January 2025. Applicants must include information about their studies ("transcript of records", a copy of the successful completion of the Bachelor's degree and, if applicable, a B2 language certificate).

A certified copy of the proof of successful completion of the bachelor's degree according to the required verification according to the country in which the education was obtained shall be delivered by the applicant no later than 28 February 2025, 11:00 a.m., to the address specified in Article 4, paragraph 1.

Entrance exams will be held during the week of 27 January - 31 January 2025.

The exact date of the interview will be communicated to applicants fulfilling the conditions set out in Article 4(2) at least five days before the interview.

On the basis of the applicant's request, the Vice-Dean for Studies may grant an extension of the deadline for the delivery of proof of education.

Article 3. Application submission

Applications must be submitted online at https://wstag.jcu.cz/portal/studium/uchazec/eprihlaska.html?pc_lang=en . A copy of the proof of payment of the admission fee is a mandatory attachment to the e-application form, unless the applicant pays by credit card directly from the application environment. The document can be added to the e-application after it has been submitted, but if it is not submitted by the end of the application period by the relevant deadline, the application will be excluded from the admission procedure. Instructions for payment of the fee by bank transfer are given in Article 8 of this Decision.

Article 4. Admission criteria

1.    Admission is conditional upon completion of higher education at the Bachelor's degree level or above - proof of attainment of this education (officially certified copy of diploma, for applicants from abroad certified documents of education and courses taken; The faculty reserves the right to request higher forms of verification or nostrification) must be delivered to the Study Department of the FSci USB no later than the deadlines specified in Article 2 of this Decision (hand it over in person at the Study Department of the FSci USB or send it by post to the address of the Study Department of the Faculty of Science of the USB, Branišovská 1760, 370 05 České Budějovice so that it can be delivered by the specified deadline - the date of delivery is decisive).

2.    Applicants who have earned at least 90 ECTS credits in computer science and 18 ECTS credits in artificial intelligence and data science, with a weighted average of 2.0, are eligible for admission.

3.    Subject to the above conditions, candidates who satisfy the requirements set out in Article 5 or 6 may be admitted up to the number indicated in Article 1 of this Decision. The ranking of candidates will be established in accordance with the rules set out in Article 5(5).

4.    A candidate applying to a study programme in which he/she is already studying at the Faculty of Science cannot be admitted to this programme.

5.    An applicant whose studies in the same programme have been terminated cannot be admitted.

Article 5. Entrance examinations

1.    The Admissions Examination Board is appointed by the Dean on the basis of a proposal from the programme guarantor. Its members are academic staff of the Faculty.

2.    The entrance examination consists of two parts: a knowledge examination in computer science and an English language examination, which tests whether the applicant's language skills are at least B2 SERR level. The English language examination may be replaced by a certificate. Certificates at level B2 and above according to the standardised examination list of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports are accepted. An official TOEFL ibT score of at least 72, a TOEFL ITP score of at least 543, a TOEIC score of at least 785, and an IELTS band 6.5 or higher are also accepted. Applicants do not need to submit the document if they have passed the final English Baccalaureate examination at the Faculty of Arts at JU with a grade better than or equal to "very good minus" or if they come from a country where English is the main language.

3.    The knowledge part of the entrance examination is oral, conducted in English. This part of the examination assesses candidates' knowledge of computer science.

4.    To be shortlisted for admission, a candidate must obtain at least 50 % of the points in each part of the examination. Candidates who fail to comply with the rules of any part of the examination will receive zero points.

5.    The exam is held at the seat of the Faculty of Science of JU. At the written request of the candidate, the examination may be conducted by distance learning. Requests to hold the entrance examination by distance mode are approved by the Vice-Dean for Studies on the basis of the opinion of the study programme guarantor.

6.    The result of each part of the examination is classified by points.

7.    Candidates shall be admitted up to the number specified in Article 1 (after deduction of the places filled by candidates admitted under Article 6 without an entrance examination). Any candidate with the same score as the last candidate determined by the number in Article 1 will also be admitted.

Article 6. Admissions without entrance examinations

A graduate of a bachelor's degree in computer science at the FSci USB who applies for the master's degree in direct continuity with the bachelor's degree and who had a weighted average of no more than 1.90 for the entire study will be admitted to the study without an entrance examination.

Article 7. Applicants with special needs

An applicant with special needs (with disability, chronic illness, or other health problems) has the right to use the support measures and services provided by the university during the entrance examination and, if accepted, also during their study. If they wish to assert this claim, they must select the option YES in the column “Consideration of special needs” in the online application form. After fulfilling all the administrative requirements associated with the application for study, they will be contacted by the staff of the Support Centre for Students with Special Needs and acquainted with the next steps. More detailed information can be obtained on the centre's website (www.centrumssp.jcu.cz), by email (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) or by telephone (00420 389 036 026). It is also possible to consult with the staff of the centre about the suitability of choice of a study programme before submitting an application for study.

Article 8. Admission process fee

1.    The admission process fee is set to 700 CZK.

2.    Payment details are as follows:

Bank: ČSOB

Account Number: 104725778 / 0300

Variable symbol: 6020106

Specific symbol: application ID

3. The application fee can be paid by the applicant by bank transfer or through the JU payment gateway directly from the e-application.

Article 9. Decision on admission/non-admission

1.    A decision on acceptance or non-acceptance will be sent to each applicant immediately after the evaluation of the overall ranking of applicants.

2.    Unsuccessful applicants shall have the right to appeal to the Dean within 30 days after receiving the decision. If the appeal is rejected, the candidate may present it to the Rector of the University for a final decision. The appeal is to target paragraph 5 of this Decision, otherwise it is to be deemed to be without basis. In formulating the appeal, the applicant has the right to view the documentation of her/his admission process but does not have the right to see the documentation of other applicants or the committee protocols.

Article 10. Closing remarks

An informative English translation is issued for this Decision. In the event of a conflict between the language versions, the Czech version shall prevail.

These conditions for admission were discussed and agreed upon by the Academic Senate of Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice on 30 August 2024.

České Budějovice, 3 September 2024                                                     

prof. RNDr. František Vácha, Ph.D.

The Dean of the Faculty of Science

as amended on 5 November 2024

Article I
General Provisions

This provision of the Dean of the Faculty of Science (hereinafter referred to as FSc) has been updated in response to the upcoming amendment to Act No. 111/1998 Coll. on Higher Education, and its purpose is to prepare the environment of the FSc for the future legal obligation of providing guaranteed doctoral study income.

According to this provision, students who are undertaking their first study in one of the doctoral study programmes at FSc are entitled to a doctoral study income, if they are studying within the standard study period in full-time form.

Article II
Amount of Support

Effective from the winter admission procedure term to doctoral study programmes (DSP), held in January 2025 and onwards, newly admitted students are required to receive financial support (in addition to the regular doctoral scholarship) for the entire standard period of study. The amount of financial support is determined for different sources of funding as follows:

   1) at least a 50% employment contract with a minimum gross salary base of CZK 34,000, provided from any grant title (especially GAČR) for the duration of the project or usually for at least two consecutive years

or

   2) when the support is not provided from a grant title, the doctoral student is supported by a stipend amounting to at least CZK 14,000 or by at least a 50% employment contract with a minimum base of CZK 34,000 gross salary, funded by the department's resources, or by the budget of institutions with extended accreditation of a specific DSP.

The decision on the form of support is within the authority of the heads of departments or directors of institutions with extended accreditation of a specific DSP, with consideration of the current situation of individual students and their mandatory participation in health insurance, as outlined in Annex 1 of this provision.

Financial support is guaranteed for the entire duration of the standard study period by the signatures of the department head, or the director of the institution with extended accreditation of a specific DSP, and the grant principal investigator or grant proposal author on the admission protocol, particularly the Planned dissertation project form.

Article III
Other Provisions

This provision replaces the version dated April 26, 2024.
This document comes into effect on the day of issuance.

In České Budějovice

prof. RNDr. František Vácha, Ph.D.
Dean of the Faculty of Science USB

Annex 1

Information on compulsory participation of doctoral students in health insurance*:

1. student (citizen of the Czech Republic) – health insurance is covered by the state during the standard period of full-time form of the first doctoral study

Exceptions are cases where the student is over 26 years old and is also employed (regardless of the extent of employment) or is self-employed.

Student from the EU countries – up to 26 years of age, they are insured in the country where the family's primary earner is a resident, i.e. most often where the parents live. In the Czech Republic, their EU health insurance card is valid for necessary health care. Over 26 years old, they must arrange commercial insurance in the Czech Republic

Exceptions are cases where the student has permanent residence in the Czech Republic, or is employed or self-employed.

2. student from non-EU countries (i.e. third countries) - must always arrange commercial insurance in the Czech Republic.

Exceptions are cases where the student has permanent residence in the Czech Republic, or is employed or self-employed.

In case the student is employed at USB, the payment of health insurance to the relevant health insurance company is handled by the USB payroll office.

* This information may change with changes in Czech legislation.