The beginning of the new academic year has also brought new get togethers. Some programs and departments organized introductory events for their first-year students. Freshmen could meet students with more experience, as well as their teachers, so that the newcomers had the opportunity to get a better grasp of their fields and university life more quickly. Read some of the insights and details from the meet-and greets held by Security and Strategic Studies, Psychology, Sociology, or Social Anthropology. In addition, a BBQ was organized for the international student community.
Like every year, before the beginning of the semester, there was a SSS Boot camp meeting organized by SSS senior students for incoming freshmen. This is an informal student meeting that takes place outside of the city in a cottage area near Lelekovice close to Brno. It gives the older students several days and nights a chance to help the younger ones become a team. They play teambuilding games with a security theme, introduce the younger students to the various ins and outs of their studies, provide information about its course of study and pitfalls, and give newcomers valuable recommendations for the coming years. Traditionally SSS teachers also join this meeting for one evening. This year, four of them arrived - Josef Kraus, head of the study program, Miroslav Mareš, guarantor of the program, Jakub Drmola, study advisor, and Miriam Matejová, lecturer.
Josef Kraus
Psychointegrák is a weekend event that has had a long history in our department. This year we organized it in the Drak camp in Křižanov. Although it is traditionally intended only for first-year students, this year we also invited sophomores who couldn't participate in it last year. For this reason, this year's Psychointegrák, with almost ninety participants and another fifteen from the ranks of the organizational team, was the largest ever. We prepared a comprehensive program for the participants, where the individual blocks were broken up into various areas of psychology that the students will come into contact with during their studies (for example, psychoanalysis, positive psychology, etc.). The first day ended with a ritual path associated with taking a psychological oath, the second day with an informal discussion with our esteemed teachers. The whole program was completely voluntary - our main goals were to help the participants have a good time, get to know each other and be able to decide more easily from the beginning of the semester who they want to sit next to during their lectures.
Psychointegrák received very positive reactions from both the participants and the teachers, and we are excited that hopefully, despite Covid, this long-standing tradition will not disappear any time soon.
Daniel Vokál
On Tuesday, after this year's first lectures on sociology and demography, an orienteering socio-picnic of the Department of Sociology took place in Lužánky Park. For the third consecutive time we had nice weather, so our "date with teachers and students", where we rotated between groups of first-year students and introduced them to our research topics and the courses in which we are going to meet, while also giving everyone a chance to say something about themselves and to enjoy being pleasantly warmed by the autumn sun. Senior students prepared snacks for the picnic. Drinks were poured into the mugs everyone brought. Under the leadership of Eliška Beránková and her organizational team, a number of members of the department merged with the groups of this year's aspiring sociologists to have a lively debate.
Iva Šmídová
First-year students of social anthropology met on the first Thursday of the semester at the Initiation Picnic in Lužánky Park. This year, for the first time, a picnic was organized separately for sociologists and anthropologists. Social anthropologists were able to get to know their teachers better, thanks to the organized rotation of academics in the groups of students. On the same evening, a community of social anthropologists met in the Absenter pub on AnthropoThursday. In one day, the freshest, as well as the most grown-up additions to the socio-anthropological community of the FSS, were able to meet.
editors
On Thursday, 23 September a BBQ at Špilberk Castle was organized by the International Office at FSS to bring together international full degree and visiting exchange students. In total about 120 students attended. Food was prepared on the grill by vice-dean Suchý, and other teachers from the department of International Relations and European Politics. This event was the kick off event of the monthly social get together events organized for the international student community. In October, a hike to Veveři Castle will be organized, followed by a breakfast in November, and Christmas Cookie event in December.
Erin Anna Smith
The last Friday in September was quite different from the usual routine. Ten non-academic women from various faculty offices had the opportunity to slow down, take a deep breath, and recharge for the new academic year.
Read the next installment of our series introducing colleagues from different departments, institutes, and offices of the Faculty. Each episode features the same seven questions for one person. This time, we interviewed Vojtěch Pelikán, Head of Department of the Environmental Studies at the Faculty of Social Studies.
