UNIVERZITA JANA EVANGELISTY PURKYNE V USTI NAD LABEM

Their core work

Jan Evangelista Purkyně University (UJEP) is a regional Czech university based in Ústí nad Labem, contributing academic expertise in social sciences and digital humanities to European research networks. Their recorded H2020 work spans two distinct areas: the long-term social and ethical consequences of children born from wartime relationships (CHIBOW), and the analysis of visual communication and imaging technologies in art, urban environments, and social scientific inquiry (TICASS). They participate in MSCA networks — doctoral training consortia and staff exchange programs — meaning their role is to embed researchers into wider European collaborations rather than to build and run projects independently. Their disciplinary home sits at the intersection of history, sociology, visual studies, and digital media.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

UJEP entered H2020 through a social history and ethics lens, contributing to CHIBOW's examination of war-born children — a topic grounded in qualitative social research, archival work, and human rights frameworks. Their second project, TICASS, marked a notable shift toward technology-mediated humanities: imaging software, digital representation, and the visual grammar of art and urban environments. The trajectory moves from studying human consequences of conflict to studying how images construct and communicate meaning in contemporary society — a shift from historical social science toward digital humanities and visual studies.

UJEP appears to be moving toward digital humanities and visual communication research, making them a relevant partner for projects combining arts, social sciences, and image-based analytical methods.

How they like to work

UJEP has participated exclusively as a consortium member across both projects, never taking on a coordinating role — a pattern consistent with a regional university building international research connections rather than leading large-scale EU initiatives. Both projects were MSCA instruments (ITN and RISE), which are specifically designed to move researchers across institutions, suggesting UJEP's contribution is disciplinary expertise and hosting capacity rather than project management infrastructure. With 30 distinct partners across 16 countries from just two projects, they engage in large open consortia rather than tight repeated partnerships.

UJEP has built connections with 30 unique partners across 16 countries through only two projects, reflecting the broad consortium structure typical of MSCA training networks and staff exchange programs. No clear geographic concentration is evident from the available data.

What sets them apart

UJEP is one of the few Czech regional universities with recorded H2020 participation in both social memory studies and digital visual humanities — a combination that positions them at an unusual disciplinary crossroads rarely found in a single institution. For consortium builders targeting Central European humanities expertise, UJEP offers a Czech academic node with demonstrated capacity to participate in MSCA mobility and training networks. Their regional location in Ústí nad Labem — a post-industrial city with its own distinctive social history — may also make them relevant for urban studies and regional transformation projects.

Highlights from their portfolio

• CHIBOW
  The largest of UJEP's two funded projects (EUR 232,422), CHIBOW addressed the underexplored subject of children born from wartime relationships — a topic bridging history, ethics, international law, and social policy across multiple European conflicts.
• TICASS
  TICASS represents UJEP's turn toward digital humanities, using imaging technologies as an analytical lens across art, urban space, and social science — an interdisciplinary combination with clear relevance to cultural heritage digitization and visual analytics.