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The first microcertificates at Charles University were awarded by the Institute for Language and Preparatory Studies

To advance and extend your education above and beyond your studies or after graduation. This is the main idea behind the certified education initiated by the European Commission. Successful graduates of such courses will receive a new type of certificate - a microcertificate, which will increase their competitiveness on the labour market. The first fourteen microcertificates at Charles University were awarded on 25 January by the Institute for Language and Preparatory Studies.

The first ever microcertificates awarded at Charles University went to fourteen graduates of Czech for Academic Environment, a course organised by the Institute for Language and Preparatory Studies Charles University (ÚJOP UK). The graduates also earned eight credits together with the microcertificate.

The course consists of 135 in-class lessons and offers the opportunity to master the basics of the language with special focus on the students. Although the students do not aim to pass the general certified examination at A1 or A2 level (CCE), their achieved competence may lie between these two levels, which the micro-certificate will give evidence of. In multilingual Europe, they will be thus able to demonstrate a certified basic knowledge of another language.

"I consider the awarding of the first microcertificates at Charles University to be another important step in the introduction of microcertificates in the Czech Republic. Charles University plans to make it possible to obtain a broad range of microcertificates in various fields, which it will open not only to Charles University students, but also to students of any other universities, i.e. to those coming from outside who will take the courses as part of their lifelong learning," emphasised Milena Králíčková, rector of Charles University.

Milena Králíčková, rector of Charles University.

Her words were subsequently confirmed by Markéta Martínková, vice-rector for student affairs at Charles University. "Thanks to microcertificates, the education achieved in this way will be recognised not only in the Czech Republic, but also in the European academic environment and will provide added value on the labour market. This trend, which was initiated by the European Commission, will guarantee the graduates permanent competitiveness on the labour market," she pointed out.

Conditions for obtaining a microcertificate

The Czech for Academic Environment course provides a so-called integrated microcertificate which consists of two basic modules. The first module is a three-week intensive Czech language course, primarily designed for incoming international students under the Erasmus+ programme. In the winter semester of the academic year 2023/2024, it drew the highest interest. For three weeks, 220 students from thirty-four countries from around the world intensively improved their basic skills in Czech.

A pilot group of twenty-four students then decided to continue in the follow-up semester course, which is the second module leading to the certificate. Fourteen of them successfully completed the course, passed the final exam and obtained the microcertificate. They thus became the first graduates with a microcertificate at Charles University. They come from five European countries - France, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland and Austria.

However, the course is not intended only for Erasmus+ students, but also for Charles University students or for the public with no or little knowledge of Czech, as Dana Hůlková Nývltová, director of UJOP Charles University, pointed out.

Dana Hůlková Nývltová, director of UJOP Charles University.

"It is the connection between the academic and public spheres that adds value to the institution of microcertificates, because they can be obtained by current students of accredited study programmes, as well as by interested individuals from the public, who want to learn something new or expand their knowledge in relevant areas or qualifications. The recent decision of the Internal Evaluation Board to approve two more micro-credential courses for our institute was good news for both students and teachers," says Dana Hůlková Nývltová.

The path to academic success and beyond

Two courses will start at the end of September - a Two-Semester Methodological Course for Teaching Czech as a Foreign Language and a Semester Methodological Course for Teaching Czech as a Foreign Language (on-line course). Both courses are aimed not only at domestic and foreign teachers of Czech, but also at students of Bohemian studies, and are concluded with an internationally recognized certificate of attendance. UJOP UK has obtained all three microcertifications for the maximum possible period of ten years.

Microcertificates offer the possibility of linking selected courses or subjects from accredited study programmes and selected lifelong learning courses that are approved by the Internal Evaluation Board of Charles University. Herein lies the third role of the university and the modern possibility of continuing education in a changing world.

You can read more about the microcertificates and the available courses HERE.

TEXT: Dana Hůlková Nývltová, Helena Zdráhalová

PHOTO: Petra Köppl (ÚJOP UK), Martin Pinkas, Vladimír Šigut