Published: 08.04.2026
The University of Pardubice will host a gathering of leading healthcare experts from the Czech Republic and abroad. The MEKON conference of global leaders in healthcare is organised by the Faculty of Health Studies at the University of Pardubice (UPCE) in cooperation with the Faculty of Health Sciences at the Catholic University in Ružomberok and the Department of Nursing at the State University of Applied Sciences in Piła, Poland.
The conference Quality of Care and Its Future Prospects, subtitled “Health Promotion and Education,” will begin on Wednesday, 15th April, in the university auditorium. This professional event is aimed at academics, researchers, students, and experts and professionals working across multiple disciplines in patient and client care. Interested parties from all related fields are also invited.
Among the most notable guests at this year’s event is Prof. Qing Li, MD, Ph.D., from Nippon Medical School in Tokyo. Professor Li is a world-renowned expert in forest medicine and immunology. His research has long focused on the impact of the natural environment on human health, and he is the author of internationally acclaimed publications. His book Shinrin-yoku has been translated into 26 languages, and he is also the author of Forest Bathing, which became a bestseller in the United States.
“I view the arrival of this distinguished guest from Japan as a unique opportunity to bring attention in the Czech Republic to a topic that is crucial for the future of healthcare. Preventive approaches inspired by scientific research in forest medicine yield demonstrable and measurable results in mental health care, stress management, immunity boosting, and recovery support, particularly for cancer patients. This is an approach that combines scientific knowledge with a holistic view of the human being and has the potential to significantly enrich our healthcare practice,” said the Dean of the Faculty of Health Studies at UPCE, Doc. RNDr. ThLic. Karel Sládek, Ph.D., MBA.
The invited speakers will include Alice Strnadová, M.A., Ph.D., Chief Nurse of the Czech Republic; representatives of the Institute of Health Information and Statistics of the Czech Republic (ÚZIS), Miloslav Klugar, Ph.D., and Jitka Jírová, Ph.D.; and, from abroad, Prof. Vlastimil Kozoň, Vice-Rector of St. Elizabeth University of Health and Social Work in Bratislava, Assoc. Prof. Daniela Schoberer from the Medical University of Graz in Austria, and Assoc. Prof. Dominika Vrbnjak from the University of Maribor in Slovenia.
“Hosting the ninth edition of this conference builds on our long-standing tradition of translating the latest findings into practice, disseminating research results, and successfully promoting the faculty. We now have more than 220 participants from a total of eight countries registered for the conference,” added Mgr. Vít Blanař, Ph.D., Vice Dean for Research and Development at the Faculty of Health Studies, UPCE.
The event will cover a wide range of topics, form current trends in Czech, Slovak, and global nursing to the integration of evidence into practice, and global challenges. The conference programme is available here.
The event also includes the National Student Research Conference for bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral programmes in non-medical health care fields, which will constitute one of the conference’s sections. Participation in this year’s conference is an opportunity for all professionals in the field, as well as students, who wish to contribute to the development of high-quality care and broaden their professional horizons.
For more information about the conference and the registration form, please visit the website: Kvalita a její perspektivy 2026 | Univerzita Pardubice
WHEN: Wednesday, 15 April 2026
WHERE: Arnošt of Pardubice Auditorium, University of Pardubice, Campus, Studentská 519, Pardubice
Pardubice, 25 March 2026
Mgr. Martina Macková
Head of the Promotion and External Affairs, University of Pardubice
