SemestrON kicked off the new academic year with music, beer, and speedfriending

Student bands, free beer from the Elektrárna brewery at JIS, and the opportunity to quickly make new friends. That was SemestrON, an event that kicked off the 2025/2026 academic year at the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen on Wednesday, September 17, at the Pilsner Urquell brewery.

SemestrON continues the tradition of events that mark the start of a new semester. "It gradually evolved from Beer with the rector to Let's Get the University Going. Starting this year, it is called SemestrON, which symbolically kicks off the academic year," said Tereza Vítová from the Department of External Relations and Communication at the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen (UWB).

The program also included a competition between student bands, with the winner determined by the audience's applause and cheering. Third place went to the band Don't Panic, second place went to The Flip Flops, and first place went to the band Koby Fray, which will return next year as the headliner of the entire event. Last year's winning band was Bonnie. Thanks to the University of West Bohemia, they will also play as the opening act for the band Lucie at their December concert in Pilsen.

"The band plays really well, there are a lot of people here, and it's great," said Katka, a student at the Faculty of Economics. Her classmate Jakub from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering added: "There's a great atmosphere here, the bands are awesome."

The event also included speedfriending, where participants had three minutes to talk to a new person. "I was tempted to meet someone new. We found out where we were from, what we were studying, and how we were doing in school. It's also good for communication as such; I won't be afraid to talk to strangers anymore," said Roman, a student from Nýrsko. Linda, another student, appreciated the diversity of the conversations: "I had a different topic with everyone, and they were all really nice."

"At the University of West Bohemia, we are one team. UWB is, of course, about learning and a lot of work, but let's remember today that it's also a lot of fun," said UWB rector Miroslav Lávička.

The event was primarily intended for students and university employees, but it was also open to the public.

You can see what the event looked and sounded like in the audio report and photo gallery below and here.