The event was opened by Vice-Rector for Entrepreneurship Jakub Nešetřil, who presented the main objectives of the program and its importance for the development of interdisciplinary cooperation. The introduction also included a presentation of the UniConnect tool, which helps to search for experts and topics across the university.
The main guest of the evening was Prof. Pavel Jungwirth from the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, holder of the highly prestigious ERC Advanced Grant. In his speech, he shared his experience with leading interdisciplinary teams, building scientific partnerships in an international environment, and how to recognize balanced cooperation between investigators.
A key part of the program was networking, during which participants had the opportunity to meet colleagues from other faculties and institutes, look for mutually enriching thematic intersections and discuss potentially promising ideas in the early stages of their development. Conversation cards and a list of registered participants were available, which facilitated the establishment of contacts and orientation in the professional focus of individual researchers.
The event was also supported by the visit of the CTU Rector, Prof. Michal Pěchouček, who initiated the creation of INFC grants at our university and who appreciated the interest in interdisciplinary cooperation and the creation of new research partnerships. The meeting will be followed by online matchmaking, which is intended to support the formation of interdisciplinary teams at CTU in the long term.
So far, four private donors have now decided to support INFC. These include the Credo Foundation, Pale Fire Capital, the WOOD & Company Endowment Fund and the IOCB Tech Group.
The deadline for submitting applications is July 31, 2026.
Photos by: Kristýna Dvořáková
