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Vladimír Mařík and Ondřej Velek part of the delegation accompanying Prime Minister Fiala to Jaipur, India

Publication date: 
2024/01/15
On 11 January 2024, Prime Minister Petr Fiala visited Jaipur at the end of his working trip to India. The official delegation accompanying the Prime Minister included Ondřej Velek, Director of CIIRC CTU, and Prof. Vladimír Mařík, Scientific Director of CIIRC. Together they visited NIMS University, where they met with the school management and academics and discussed the development of joint research projects and the expansion of cooperation between universities and research institutions. They also visited the construction of the Centre for Artificial Intelligence, Robotics and Cybernetics, named after Prof. Vladimir Mařík, to be completed this year. During the visit to the university, a Memorandum of Cooperation was signed between the Czech Institute of Informatics, Robotics and Cybernetics CTU and the National Institute of Medical Sciences University (NIMS University), which focuses on creating a digital partnership in the Indo-Pacific. NIMS University is one of the leading private educational institutions in India. In the interview, Vladimir Mařík stressed the importance of opening the path for the Czech engineering community to India as a promising technological and economic power.

"We see this as opening the way for the Czech engineering community to India as a promising power that is technologically and economically moving forward. In fields such as software engineering and artificial intelligence, Indians have a very good reputation," said Prof. Vladimír Mařík to ČTK in an interview. "We see this as a long-term investment. And it is in line with the plans of the European Union, which is also starting to look at the region," he added.

The government visit to India, which was attended by Prof. Vladimír Mařík and Ondřej Velek together with Prime Minister Petr Fiala, followed last year's laying of the foundation stone of the Mařík Centre for Artificial Intelligence, Robotics and Cybernetics at the NIMS University in Jaipur. The foundation stone of the Centre was laid in March 2023 and the Centre is expected to be completed and inaugurated this summer. Following the official opening, student and researcher exchanges and joint research projects in biomedical science and industrial robotics are planned, a key step in strengthening scientific cooperation between the two countries.

"What I consider important, also on the basis of my academic experience, is not to create just some forms of cooperation, but cooperation with proven institutions," Prime Minister Petr Fiala told Czech Television, as he received an honorary doctorate from the university.

"The management of NIMS looked at how our institute is built, how quickly it has gained a reputation in Europe and they would like to replicate that in a way," explains Vladimír Mařík of the CIIRC's involvement in the creation of the new institution.

CIIRC CTU provides methodological support in the construction of the centre and plans to help with equipment compatible with artificial intelligence laboratories in the Czech Republic and Europe. CTU, on the other hand, is interested in tapping the potential of Indian scientists. Already this year, the first academics from India will come to the Czech Republic, and within three years the exchange should work both ways.

The collaboration between NIMS University and CTU is of major strategic importance and is seen as opening the door for the Czech engineering community to prospective India, especially in fields such as software engineering and artificial intelligence.

"We are proud that the Indian university has chosen the Czech Institute of Informatics, Robotics and Cybernetics as a partner. It is another confirmation that our institution has a good reputation abroad," adds Dr. Ondřej Velek, Director of the CIIRC.