Four institutes of the CAS have gained the HR Excellence in Research Award

The first four institutes of the Czech Academy of Sciences have entered the select group of scientific centres and universities distinguished with the prestigious international HR Excellence in Research Award. The European Commission awards this certificate to institutes that significantly contribute to improvement of strategy of human resources, guaranteeing professional and ethical work conditions.

In the whole Europe, about 460 scientific or scholar centres currently hold the award but in Czech Republic, they still number only a few institutions. In May 2019, the largest institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences – Institute of Physics of the CAS – has received the certificate, following the J. Heyrovsky Institute of Physical Chemistry (January 2019), Biology Centre of the CAS (February 2019), and Institute of Physiology (March 2019).

Excellent employees are indispensable for science

“Top science is the international one. Each country that wishes to succeed in science has to be able to gain as many excellent foreign researches as possible for their research,” emphasises President of the Czech Academy of Sciences Eva Zažímalová.

“Given the size of our institute, which has over 1,300 employees in 34 departments and more than five work centres, systematic care for employees and their selection is a crucial factor that ensures high-quality results throughout the institute. For us, the HR Award is a good news that we are on the right path to create a prestigious research environment in a European scale,” explains Director of the Institute of Physics Michal Prouza.

“The first step that we have taken as soon as November 2017 was the acceptance of the European Charter for Researchers and the Code for Conduct for their Recruitment,” says Director of the J. Heyrovsky Institute Martin Hof. The institute had made similar efforts in the previous years, as well, and now they have been supported by the standardised procedure of the European Commission. “Over 1,100 European scientific institutes with the same priorities follow the Charter and the Code,” adds Martin Hof.

To potential employees of the awarded institutes, the certification guarantees a professional, friendly, ethical and transparent work environment. Therefore, it increases the institutes’ chances in recruiting foreign experts who play key role in further development of their research activities. 

The HR Excellence in Research Award is not awarded for an unlimited time; on the contrary, the institutions need to periodically present achieved results to the European Commission, and they have to renew the certificate, setting further goals in the area of human resources.

Prepared by: Milan Pohl, Department of Media Communication of the Head Office of the CAS
Photo: Institute of Physics of the CAS

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