Reports

The expected press release from Amazon has delighted not only the students who are developing the Alquist conversational bot at CTU Czech Institute of Informatics, Robotics and Cybernetics as part of the fifth annual Alexa Prize Socialbot Grand Challenge (SGC5), but also all their fans who follow the competition closely this year. Chatbot Alquist is once again one of the finalists, and in early August we will find out if the team, which has been participating in the competition since its inception, will defend last year's victory.

Experts from Faculty of Electrical Engineering, in cooperation with scientists from the Czech Academy of Sciences, managed to capture a lightning bolt whose size exceeded the boundary of a larger size county and which lasted several seconds. Research into the complexity and duration of natural discharges has confirmed that lightning bolts are significantly larger and last much longer than previously thought. They can also be detected much more frequently than was possible with existing conventional methods, thanks to the new ground-based measurement method.

Agrovoltaics is looking forward to better times. It will be laid down in law and farmers will no longer have to choose whether to use their land for growing crops or generating electricity. The amendment to the Act on the Protection of the Agricultural Land Fund, prepared by the Ministry of the Environment of the Czech Republic (MEP), provides for this. It will not only contribute to its own energy independence, but will also increase the usability of agricultural land. The problem remains the relationship between agrovoltaics and spatial planning, which is the responsibility of the Ministry of Regional Development of the Czech Republic (MMR).

The European university alliance EuroTeQ can continue its joint training of engineers. The EU has extended funding for the successful program until 2027. Under the leadership of the Technical University of Munich (TUM), EuroTeQ is dedicated to expand the cooperation between eight universities in the future, in the areas of study, teaching, research and lifelong learning.

The Thai ambassador to the Czech Republic, J. E. Phasporn Sangasubana today visited the Czech Technical University in Prague and had a meeting with CTU rector Vojtěch Petráček.

The vanished historical buildings and landscape of the royal city of Hradec Králové are coming to life thanks to the unique project The Dowry Cities of Czech Queens. Historians and IT specialists have managed to virtually reconstruct the history of the city dedicated to the Czech queens, create 3D models of historical buildings and objects and make them accessible to the Czech public using augmented virtual reality and a mobile application. The project is carried out by Faculty of Information Technology of Czech Technical University in Prague (FIT CTU) in cooperation with University of Hradec Králové, Museum of East Bohemia in Hradec Králové and Historical Institute of Czech Academy of Sciences.

Artificial intelligence (AI) poses a number of risks, while offering many opportunities across society. However, there has been no comprehensive analysis of AI in the context of human rights. Starting in 2021, joint research by FEL CTU, MUNI, Ambis and prg.ai aims to do just that.

Quacquarelli Symonds has published its global university rankings for 2024. CTU in Prague has maintained its position as the third best school in the Czech Republic compared to last year and has seen significant improvements in areas such as academic reputation, teacher-student ratio and employer reputation. However, the new methodology launched by QS this year has introduced several new indicators that pose challenges for both CTU and Czech universities in general.

In response to a proposal of the Scientific Council of CTU in Prague, seven new professors have been appointed. President Petr Pavel handed the decree of appointment to them in person in the Carolinum in Prague on Wednesday, June 21st. A total of 92 new professors were appointed.

The CzeCCAM (Association for Autonomous and Cooperative Mobility) non-profit organization was set up in the Czech Republic in January 2023. Its main aim is to support the development of autonomous technologies. The main partners are the Faculty of Transportation Sciences of CTU in Prague and VDT Technology, Yunex, SÜD, Smart Plan, the Prague Advanced Technology and Research Innovation Centre (PATRIC), and IDIADA.