About

What is FIHS?

Introduction

In 2021, the First Independent Home Seminar began to crystallize as a space to present one’s research and share one’s interest in advanced topics in mathematics, physics, and related fields. It responded to the lack of university platforms where interested individuals could share their discoveries and interests independently of their department or professional heading. Compared to the conventional conferences and seminars, FIHS provided an almost unlimited space for the presenter to present his/her own findings, as well as sufficient time for the audience to absorb the material. It has become an annual event connecting and inspiring professionals and younger students alike. Its name loosely refers to the rich history of home (or “apartment”) seminars, which, during the deep totalitarian era, enabled hundreds, perhaps thousands, of Czechoslovak students to maintain contact with cutting-edge science and philosophy despite the adversity of the regime of the time. Following this model, each year the event is also held at the home of one of our organizers or participants.

Our philosophy

Anyone who attends our seminar can also give a talk. When selecting topics, we encourage you to focus on its usefulness to other inquisitive researchers, and we encourage you to spare no expense on the didactic treatment of your topic to make it accessible to a wider range of your colleagues’ expertise. Popular topics include reviews in frequently inflected topics or sharing useful (e.g., mathematical) methods with broad applicability. It is a good practice to prepare hand-outs or other materials to accompany the actual lecture that we can provide to the audience. The listeners can then refer back to your work later without taking dense notes throughout. We strive to cater for the widest range of lecture delivery technology so at FIHS you will easily find chalkboards, overhead projectors and optional lecture recording is the norm.

With occasional exceptions, all lectures are given in English, which is conducive to presentation skills and meets the demands of contemporary science.

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What it’s like?

FIHS is a weekend retreat, usually extending into the Friday and Monday, held at least once a year, usually during the summer, and (not only) in the vicinity of Prague, Brno or Liberec. For this reason, we always try to provide a place to sleep for all participants, whether through tents, beds or sleeping bags.

Meals during the seminar are partially paid by the participant if we visit restaurants. Often, however, breakfast, dinner or barbecues are part of our program and are paid for with seminar funds.

Thanks to the support of our organizers and participants providing the event space, we have been able to achieve a fairly low participation fees, which are collected on an informal basis but greatly help the operation of the seminar. In addition to operating costs, there are also repairs and improvements to presentation and recording equipment, of which a considerable amount is needed.

Trips or excursions and workshops are also part of our program. In the workshops you can involve other participants in your topic in a practical way and engage with a smaller group of interested people during the evening or free time. Workshops complement lectures and are placed alongside them in the programme. Trips are an integral part of FIHS and an opportunity to get to know your colleagues more outside the lecture room.

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Organisers