Press Releases

Berlin, Paris, Rome, Bucharest, Warsaw and last but not least Brno! These are the towns in which the Central European Institute of Technology (CEITEC) will introduce itself to young researchers from the whole of Europe as the sole Czech representative. The aim is to find successful and talented scientists and offer them an opportunity to continue their careers in CEITEC. The purpose of the “Marie Curie Actions Road Show 2012” is to introduce scientific centres in the seven participating countries. The outcome will be mediation of dozens of international research stays for young scientists with the financial support of the EU. The three-month tour started in Berlin on the 16th February; foreign research organizations will be introduced in Brno itself on the 27th of March.

The Central European Institute of Technology (CEITEC) is presenting itself at the Open Day of the Faculty of Chemistry of the Brno University of Technology today, where there is the fourth year of a Chemistry Day being held today. Scientists from CEITEC will introduce their particular research activities and projects there and for the students of secondary schools and universities they will outline the possibilities of future employment in the centre of excellence. The institute is one of the options, where not only students within the fields of chemistry can start their promising career.

A representative of IMEC, one of the world’s most important research institutes in the areas of nano-electronics and nano-technologies based in Leuven, Belgium, is giving a lecture to Brno scientists and the general public today. In his lecture, “IMEC – The Past and the Future”, Professor Gustaaf Borghs will introduce the centre’s functions, its research activities and the developing cooperation with the Central European Institute of Technology, CEITEC. Following the lecture, he will attend a meeting of the CEITEC Coordination Board taking place in Brno, which, as the centre’s highest authority, approves all key documents.

On 17^th March the representatives of the Central European Institute of Technology and the South Moravian Innovation Centre met with the Indian ambassador D.P. Srivastavov. They showed him around the scientific laboratories on the premises of the Masaryk University campus and negotiated about the possibilities of their future cooperation.

A delegation of experts from the Central European Institute of Technology, CEITEC, negotiated cooperation with counterparts at the London university, Imperial College, on 8 December 2011; they were also seen by the Pro Rector for International Affairs, Simon Buckle. The parties agreed on the importance and merit of mutual cooperation based on the needs of specific research groups of both institutions. Their cooperation is already successful on a smaller scale and should develop further in the future. As an example of the results of this collaboration, students from both participating organizations’ doctoral programmes will have the opportunity to participate in exchange programmes.

Representatives of CEITEC established new contacts and cooperative relationships at the “Centrope 120 Seconds” international workshop held on 15 November 2011 at the Vienna University of Technology. Dozens of representatives from companies, universities, and research institutes from the Centrope region and elsewhere met there for a Day of Life Sciences.

Scientists from CEITEC and EMBL met in Brno in order to enhance working relationships and begin new specific areas of cooperation. A two-day visit took place in Brno on 20 – 21 October 2011.

On 12 October, representatives of the British Chamber of Commerce and the British Ambassador to the Czech Republic, Sian MacLeod, met with prestigious Brno companies, scientific-research institutions and Brno’s political leadership led by the Mayor of the City of Brno Roman Onderka. CEITEC Representatives introduced the ambition of the Central European Institute of Technology to become a European centre of excellence within a few years, its connection with the commercial sector and the possibilities of cooperation with both Czech and foreign companies.

The CEITEC centre of scientific excellence project, which is the first of its kind in the Czech Republic, will be officially introduced to the experts and the general public at an opening conference today. The institute, for which 5.2 billion Czech crowns have been allocated, was approved by the European Commission on 6 June 2011. A consortium of universities and research institutions in Brno secured the funding for its establishment through the Operational Programme Research and Development for Innovations. The institute, which will bridge research activities in life sciences and technical fields, will be built up in Brno over the next three years.

It has only been three weeks since its approval and the Central European Institute of Technology has already welcomed its international management. During 19th – 21st June there is the first meeting of the International Scientific Advisory Board in Brno – the highest scientific advisory body of CEITEC, whose members are solely the important representatives of leading foreign scientific institutes. These independent experts assess and approve fundamental decisions concerning key issues and principles of the management of the centre. CEITEC has fully started its ambition to become a European centre of excellence.