The beginning of the year 2023 at the faculty was, among other things, in the spirit of continuous evaluation of the faculty's HR strategy and its implementation with regard to the activities that were written into the HR Award Action Plan in 2021 and based on which the European Commission awarded FM MU the HR Excellence in Research Award. In April 2023, a self-assessment report and the revised Action Plan were sent to the European Commission. The faculty received feedback on these documents in May.
The HR Excellence in Research Award (HR Award) certificate is awarded by the European Commission to research institutions that guarantee a professional, open and ethical working environment for current and potential employees by implementing The Human Resources Strategy for Researchers (HRS4R).
"The HR Award is a mark of quality in the European environment in employee care. The key is to know your strengths and weaknesses and to continuously move forward in improving internal processes and working conditions. The certification has a clear timetable and rules. The awarded institution is not a permanent holder of the award. At regular intervals, it is necessary to document the progress of the processes and individual activities we have decided to implement with the help of self-assessment reports." says Gabriela Tomaštíková, HR Award Manager at FM MU. "I perceive this faculty self-evaluation process very positively. We have the opportunity to see comprehensively the activities that have already succeeded, what a long way we have come and what to focus on next. It is important for us to focus on meaningful activities that will benefit the faculty and our employees concerning the faculty's strategic priorities", she adds.
The institution regularly demonstrates that it meets the quality human resource management conditions according to the European Charter for Researchers and the Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers. Earlier this year, the faculty's self-evaluation took place two years after the HR Award and was evaluated very positively by the European Commission. The so-called Internal Review and revision of the Action Plan took place, and the European Commission rated our implementation as thorough, systematic and in line with the set Action Plan. We received the Embedded status and defended the award without any remarks.
The European Commission assessed our objectives as comprehensive and very ambitious. In the report, the independent evaluator states, "Compared to the evaluation in the initial phase, FM MU has made great efforts and not only implemented key elements of the Action Plan but also adapted its management processes and strategic development objectives to HRS4R. The implemented measures are the result of an in-depth analysis of resources and needs, and expectations - both from the academic community and the external environment. This approach is admirable and very professional." The internal communication and the opportunity for staff involved in implementing the various activities offered by the faculty on its website were also highlighted.
The European Commission evaluates very positively our activities in the area of recruitment and selection of employees, our activities to support research, i.e. information and support services, or internal grant schemes, our orientation towards raising awareness and promoting gender equality, and sees our activities in education and training of employees as a great advantage.
For 2021 - 2026, FM MU has initially identified 20 comprehensive areas, comprising 111 measures, which it is progressively addressing in cooperation with ten working groups. During the revision of the Action Plan, three additional strategic areas were added, and the number of measures was thus increased to 123. An inventory of all activities already implemented is available on the HR Award faculty website.
The HR Award is one of the strategic priorities embedded in the MU Faculty of Arts Strategic Plan 2021 - 2028. Activities linked across the institution have strong faculty and university leadership support. Without this support and background, it would not be possible to fulfil such ambitious goals.
"I am very pleased that the Faculty of Medicine has succeeded in fulfilling its ambitious implementation plan and that the evaluators have so positively received it. I am very grateful to Gábina Tomaštíková and Petra Voráčová, who were and are the leaders of our project, and to all the people around them. The process of thinking about what needs to be improved and responded to never ends. I know that many in the faculty did not even notice that something had changed. I know that for a large part of the academic community, the faculty is a second employer - next to the University Hospital - and that even on the "campus", some may not have noticed that something was happening. Indeed, bringing new operating methods into being is a more complex process. But I believe that it is slowly (sometimes very quickly!) starting to happen, and we will all soon notice that the faculty is transforming - whether it is project support, career development opportunities, "safe faculty" measures, the environment for research and academic activities... Another important dimension of the HR award is important to remember - it makes us eligible to participate in European projects. You may have noticed that not every institution in our area has this opportunity." says Tomáš Kašpárek, Vice Dean for Science, Doctoral Studies and Organisational Development of the MU Faculty of Medicine.
The next milestone will be the so-called "recertification" for the Faculty of Medicine in the first half 2026. The self-assessment report will be followed at this stage by a visit of the European Commission evaluators directly to our faculty.
Do you work at the MU Faculty of Medicine? Would you like to become part of the HR Award working group and help implement the individual parts of the Action Plan? We would be glad if you contact us at gabriela.tomastikova@med.muni.cz and got involved in the areas that are close to your heart.
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