The Bakala Foundation will provide the Czech Technical University (CTU) with one million dollars—equivalent to over 21 million crowns—to fund a single scientific position. An open, global recruitment process aims to identify an internationally renowned figure to fill this new role at the Prague-based technical university and begin establishing their own research group starting in March 2027. "We are shifting our philosophy from supporting talented students to building top-tier research capabilities right here in the Czech Republic," said Michaela Bakala, Chair of the Foundation’s Board of Trustees.
The program is structured as a three-year initiative with a total budget of nearly 1.5 million dollars (32 million crowns). The Foundation will cover the aforementioned one million dollars, funding salaries, stipends for doctoral students, research start-up costs, and overhead expenses. The university itself will provide the remaining approximately 460,000 dollars (just under 10 million crowns) through co-financing and institutional support. The recruitment process focuses on fields such as artificial intelligence, quantum technologies, robotics, and sustainable energy.
CTU Rector Michal Pěchouček describes the role as a program designed for senior scientists in the most productive phase of their careers—individuals who will bring not only expertise but also international networks and a culture of scientific excellence to the Czech academic environment. "The partnership with the Bakala Foundation will help CTU reach the level of the best Anglo-Saxon universities," the Rector believes. According to the university's leadership, the agreement aligns with efforts to enhance the quality of the university environment and open the academic sphere to private philanthropy. The foundation chose the Prague technical university partly due to its long-standing collaboration with Michal Pěchouček, who serves on the expert committee of its "Scholarship" program. That program funds the studies of the most talented Czech students at elite global universities; the new partnership builds upon this foundation, though the funds are directed not toward pursuing education abroad, but toward building research capacity right here in Prague.
Foundation founder Zdeněk Bakala sees untapped potential in CTU, pointing to the school's history—noting that a number of prominent scientists have studied or taught at what is the oldest technical university in Europe. "I wish for the team led by Michal Pěchouček to turn CTU into a magnet for top global scientific talent and transform the university into a world-class hub for science and innovation," he stated. Both parties expect the collaboration to strengthen the international standing of the Prague technical university and the domestic academic landscape as a whole.
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The one-million-dollar contribution from the Bakala Foundation follows a series of other private donations received by CTU in recent months. A total of 24 million CZK was contributed to the CTU Future Fund and the Interdisciplinary Near Future Challenge (INFC) program—from which interdisciplinary teams of young scientists can draw up to six million CZK over a period of up to two years—by the Credo Foundation, Pale Fire Capital, the Wood & Company endowment fund, and the IOCB Tech Group. An additional six million CZK was contributed by Simona Kijonková; for her foundation, this marked the largest single donation to date. The growing circle of private-sector partners aligns with the plans Pěchouček outlined when he assumed the role of rector in February of this year. Even before taking office, he emphasized the need for the university to bridge the academic and business worlds and to actively involve Czech entrepreneurs. Pěchouček himself is an entrepreneur alongside his academic career; he sold his startup, Cognitive Security, for hundreds of millions and subsequently spent many years at Avast.
He took the helm at the Prague technical university with the conviction that higher education institutions are currently at a crossroads. "They will either shape future technological development or become completely irrelevant. And I believe we are reaching a tipping point right now," he said earlier this year on the *Money Maker* podcast, adding that his goal is to ensure CTU falls into the former category.
Translated by Google Translate