The aim of the activity is to transparently support sustainable initiatives with a positive impact on the university community and the wider environment, while strengthening cooperation across faculties and departments.
In its two years of operation, the fund has demonstrated that there is strong potential at Masaryk University for high-quality, well-thought-out grassroots projects. In the pilot year, 11 projects were supported with CZK 2 million, and in the second year, 21 projects applied for support, of which the expert committee selected nine and distributed a total of CZK 1 million among them. The evaluation focused not only on the intention itself, but also on its feasibility, sustainability and potential for further use within and outside the university. The projects focused, for example, on the education of primary and secondary school pupils, environmental protection, health, inclusion and recycling.
From 2026, the ComMUNIty Fund will enter a new phase. “Its concept reflects experience from abroad, including a visit to the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, and also responds to the needs of the faculties. A new two-round model has been introduced, the first part of which will be a Call for Problems – collecting specific suggestions and challenges for solutions directly from the faculties. Student proposals will then respond to these suggestions,” said Blanka Machová, Sustainability Manager at MU. A total of 14 suggestions have now been collected from seven faculties and the CEITEC institute.
The theme of this year´s edition is Water and Biodiversity, directly linked to the forthcoming MU Strategy for Responsible Water Management and Biodiversity Support for 2026–2028.
The project can be submitted by a Masaryk University student at any level or form of study together with a selected MU employee as a mandatory co-researcher and guarantor. Financial support of CZK 50,000 to 200,000 can be requested for each project. The call for projects is open from 2 March to 30 April 2026, and the projects themselves will be implemented from June 2026 to the end of 2027. Projects are submitted entirely electronically via the Project Information System (ISEP).
The new concept of the ComMUNIty Fund will thus link the university´s strategic priorities even more closely with the initiative and creativity of its students and staff.