Scholarship Seekers

Today's law was created for a world that no longer exists. The climate crisis confronts us with questions that legal provisions alone cannot answer: How can we ensure a habitable planet for 9 billion people in 2040 while protecting their human rights? What do we need to do today to prevent the green transition from having unfair consequences for the most vulnerable? And what role should courts play in addressing problems that extend beyond national borders and electoral terms?

It was the complexity of these challenges that led me to environmental studies after studying law. I am trying to understand how to ensure that our rules are finally grounded in clear scientific evidence. By this I mean not only important figures and charts, but also a deep understanding of social realities, including the voices of people who fear the transition and may have believed misinformation about wind turbines. I believe that law often lacks this social science perspective, and this is the gap I am trying to fill.

I am already putting this comprehensive approach into practice. As a judicial assistant at the Constitutional Court, I work on protecting fundamental rights in the most complex cases every day. Recently, for example, I discovered that a lawyer had cited fictitious decisions generated by artificial intelligence in a constitutional complaint. This resulted in the first procedural fine of its kind in twenty years, because virtually nothing remained of the complaint once the AI fabrications were removed. We were thus able to establish clear boundaries for these exceptional cases while protecting the complainant's procedural rights, giving them an opportunity to supplement their constitutional complaint.

Scouting inspired my desire to help society face today's challenges, and I now pass that motivation on to others. For ten years, I have led courses preparing future Scout leaders to educate young people meaningfully in a turbulent world. Through the academic association Lexicon, I also organise seminars with leading experts from Czechia and across Europe, seeking to improve the Czech legal community and strengthen students' belief that law can make the world a better place. This is something I want to continue after returning to Czechia.

At the University of Oxford, I plan to focus on environmental law, human rights and constitutional law: fields that are essential to asking the right questions and finding the best answers in a time of climate crisis. Inspired by the Oxford Martin School and the Environmental Change Institute, I hope to establish the first Czech interdisciplinary centre for environmental challenges, bringing together law and environmental sciences. In this way, I will contribute to a future that is not only sustainable but also fair for everyone.

What role does conflict play in the cycle of rising prices and wages? What can game theory tell us about inflation? And how can we best incorporate insights from behavioural psychology into macroeconomic forecasts?

Economics affects our lives every day. Whether you are an employee looking for a new job, an entrepreneur considering opening a new business location, or a couple starting a family, the incentives, opportunities and constraints around us fundamentally shape, or even dictate, our choices. What we often fail to realise, however, is that “our” system is not some kind of “manna from heaven”, but a combination of market principles, social norms and rules defined by the state.

Studying and improving this mix is the mission of economics as a science. As someone with a somewhat troubled family background, I know how crucial it is to get this mix, including support systems, right for the economy to function. This was also the subject of my economics study in the Czech secondary school research competition SOČ, which the jury awarded fourth place nationally. Yet, as my current work in the British civil service reminds me every day, without realistic models and precise data analysis, we can easily reach inconclusive or even counterproductive conclusions.

My research interest is therefore in strengthening mainstream macroeconomic models with more realistic game-theoretic modelling. This should be based on actual behaviour, rather than interactions between individuals and organisations assumed to reason entirely rationally at all times.

Only through robust models, which I would eventually like to develop into a full doctoral project with applications in the Czech civil service, can we find a policy mix that leads to a healthier, more stable and fairer economy.

Does law help people obtain justice? I try to find an answer to this question through my extracurricular activities. I reached the final of a simulated human rights court proceeding in the International High School Moot Court competition, which I won with my team. I also won the Debate League final, took part in the superfinal of the Human Rights Olympiad, and explored law through internships at the Institute of State and Law of the Czech Academy of Sciences and two law firms. Through the international Advanced Placement programme, I took the Macroeconomics and Microeconomics exams and received the highest grade in both. I applied my economics knowledge in the international final of the Economics Olympiad in Olympia, Greece, where I won a bronze medal among competitors from 29 countries. My activities also earned me recognition in the TOP25 category of the Czech Secondary School Student of the Year competition and an award from the Governor of the Central Bohemian Region.

Although I have learnt a great deal about law through my extracurricular activities, I still cannot satisfactorily resolve the question of justice. I believe that studying law at Oxford will help me better understand not only what law is, but also what it should be. The University of Oxford emphasises a thorough understanding of legal theory and teaches in small groups led by internationally recognised experts. I will use this deep legal knowledge for the benefit of Czechia. I would like to work in international institutions, represent Czechia and help Czech people assert their rights. I would like to organise seminars at law faculties and give talks about studying abroad at secondary schools. I want to inspire students to find the courage to study at prestigious universities and enhance the Czech Republic's international standing.

How do we create fair laws that can serve an evolving society? I find this question at the heart of most contemporary social problems. Studying Jurisprudence at the University of Oxford would give me the best possible grounding in legal theory, which I could then use to help society by seeking answers to this question.

I encountered this question in research projects during the IB programme at UWC Adriatic, where, across different subjects, I studied the philosophy of the authors of the Napoleonic Civil Code, the justification for social regulation in the United Kingdom, and efforts to ban the AfD party on constitutional grounds in Germany. Through my long-term work for Politika (nejen) pro mladé, a project that explains political developments to young people in Czechia, cooperation with European institutions allowed me to gain insight into the EU legislative process and add a new dimension to my theoretical knowledge through discussions with Members of the European Parliament.

At the Discover summer academy, I first discovered the connection between legal theory and artificial intelligence. This became my main interest in the field, because I consider AI's role in society the greatest challenge for law in the coming years. At the NATO Youth Summit, I discussed the military use of AI with NATO's Chief of the General Staff. Together with closely following security policy in recent years and successfully participating in the EuropaSecura competition, co-organised by the Ministry of Defence, these experiences led me to aim to work on the legal aspects of new technologies in the defence industry.

After studying at the University of Oxford, I would like to apply my knowledge in the private sector in Czechia and later through work at NATO. During my studies, I would also like to build on my student work in my home region of Olomouc, where I try to encourage interest in public affairs.

How did a relatively unremarkable species of primates become the creators of civilisation? Why does society work the way it does, and how did our cities take shape? What about forests, fields and rivers: how did people give the landscape its present form? This fascination with human beings has come to define my studies and career.

A one-year secondary school scholarship in the USA through FLEX Slovakia gave me access to education abroad. I then studied archaeology at Leiden University in the Netherlands, specialising in World Archaeology, and graduated with honours. During my studies, I worked as an archaeologist in Slovakia, Mallorca and Jordan. This year, I am broadening my education in the humanities at the Anton Neuwirth Collegium, where I study philosophy, history and art.

At Cambridge, I would like to study the long-term interactions between people and nature. By combining the natural and social sciences, we can at least partly reconstruct people's relationship with their environment: where trade routes ran, how they changed over time, where raw materials were obtained, and so on. I believe that after my studies I will return to Slovakia and contribute these approaches to research at home.

For a young person, today's world can be a source of many concerns. With the climate crisis, armed conflicts, the rise of artificial intelligence and the continuing development of modern technologies, it is understandable to see the future as uncertain and difficult to grasp. Which direction is worth taking in life? How can we succeed in today's world? And what does success actually mean? These questions are not easy to answer. Yet when we explore them in conversation with another person, something remarkable can happen.

I have long been involved in developing young people's personal potential, particularly in sport and education. I am interested in how coaching and philosophical dialogue can help children and adolescents understand themselves and discover their place in the world. I want to explore this subject in depth and become an expert in it. This will enable me to create excellent programmes not only for the younger generation, but also for their parents, teachers and coaches. These include experiential summer camps, individual coaching and accessible educational writing for the general public.

I am currently completing the first year of a two-year master's programme at the University of Cambridge. I managed to fund the first year through a charitable collection, public support through an auction, personal savings and help from my family. I am now seeking a sponsor to help cover tuition fees for the second year. Although it is a part-time programme that allows me to work alongside my studies, the course is intensive and limits how much work I can do. As the father of a two-year-old daughter, with family responsibilities as well, I cannot afford to pay the tuition fees on my own.

Most people my age have no idea what their path through life will look like. I am no exception. I admire my peers who have a clearly defined career plan, but that is not my story yet, so why pretend otherwise?

Nevertheless, I certainly did not apply to Cambridge blindly. I consider myself a generalist, able to put my greatest effort into activities in the public sphere that I find meaningful. This is why I have been drawn to a broad humanities field since childhood. In the future, I see myself as a diplomat, journalist, writer, or in a role connecting these areas. At secondary school, I convened, prepared and moderated regular whole-school assemblies.

I also led the school parliament and the student team organising the graduation ball. Activities like these, in which I bring people together to achieve goals that none of us could accomplish alone, give me a sense of achievement. After the US presidential election, I secured an opportunity to address the student community as a whole. As neutrally as possible, I urged them not to turn away from politics. Similarly, I had the opportunity to give a TEDx talk about the importance and personal value of habits. Opportunities to speak to people in this way and positively influence their lives are deeply meaningful to me, and I would like to pursue them further in the future.

I am currently taking a gap year, during which I founded and now lead a debating club at Gymnázium Jana Nerudy. I also joined the international communications department of the non-profit organisation Charita ČR as an intern, creating media content for fundraising. Projects like these, which go beyond theory to reach people and bring real benefits, motivate me to develop my professional skills at a leading university.

I firmly believe that having this experience without a subsequent financial burden will allow me, on returning to the Czech Republic, to devote myself as effectively as possible to work for the public good, which is my goal. I therefore plan to use my studies at Cambridge and the environment of world-leading experts and talented peers not only for personal growth, but also to build valuable connections for the future.

“Home is not always where we are born, but where we learn to belong.” This thought was inspired by the story of Prince Pribina, who was forced to leave Nitra and seek his place elsewhere. I grew up between two worlds and often felt that I did not fully belong to either. This is why I became interested in how identities form, how cultures work and why some people find themselves on their margins.

I have loved history since childhood, so I began taking part in history olympiads at primary school and successfully competed at regional level several times.

The real turning point came when I started volunteering at Hrušov Castle. There I developed a love for archaeology and a connection with the people around it. Under the guidance of Jozef Blaho and Stanislava Blahová, I learnt fieldwork skills, but even more importantly, I learnt to collaborate and be part of something larger. Hrušov became a place of acceptance for me, where archaeology took on a human dimension.

Meeting the anthropologist Dr Jaroslava Panáková at the Slovak Academy of Sciences first showed me fully how anthropology helps us understand the world around us and how memory, environment and history shape our lives today.

The opportunity to study in the United Kingdom and receive a scholarship is one I want to make the most of. It would be a privilege, and I do not take it for granted. This is also why, alongside school, I work on nationwide initiatives for young people, where I can contribute to decisions with a real impact.

I want to understand the world better and help change it. Your support can make that possible.