Reports

Czech Technical University in Prague awarded its best students with the Stanislav Hanzel Prize on the occasion of the International Student Day on 17 November. The award was presented at the end of November 2024 in the Bethlehem Chapel during the gala concert of the Czech Engineering Academy from the hands of the Rector of Czech Technical University in Prague doc. Vojtěch Petráček, Chairman of the Board of the CTU Stanislav Hanzel Foundation doc. Dr. Ing. Václav Liška, Dean of Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, doc. Ing. Miroslav Španiel, CSc. and the Rector Emeritus of CTU, prof. Ing. Petr Zuna, CSc. D.Eng. h. c.

On 21 November 2024, the community of students, innovators, educators and industry representatives that make up the EuroTeQ consortium gathered at all partner universities as part of the EuroTeQ Day hybrid event. This unique event took place both in a virtual environment, where more than 550 people registered, and in the form of meetings on the campuses of the universities, where hundreds of students and staff participants gathered. The EuroTeQ stand was in the atrium of Faculty of Architecture at CTU. Thank you to all of you who came to learn about the project and to those of you who came to support us and celebrate this day together.

A new ice rink was built in Jugoslávských partisans street below the CTU Technical Canteen. You can skate on it for a great price of CZK 140 for the whole day for adults and CZK 90 for children. Schools and kindergartens are free of charge!

Nowadays, the European manufacturing industry is facing multiple challenges: Increasing international competition, political tensions, material shortages or unpredictable natural events. These factors have exposed the weaknesses of traditional, rigid supply chains. The ability to adapt flexibly to changes is becoming a decisive success factor for manufacturers and suppliers. The new European research project RAASCEMAN addresses these challenges and is dedicated to the question of how supply chains can be made resilient and resistant. For the Czech Republic, the project involves the Czech Institute of Informatics, Robotics and Cybernetics of the Czech Technical University in Prague and its long-standing industrial partner, Continental Automotive Czech Republic, based in Brandýs nad Labem.

Our student Jára is fighting for his life and his mother is asking for a donation for an operation in Germany.

Quantum technologies are booming. Along with it, the number of scientific publications exploring this technology is also growing significantly. These range from hundred-page articles admitting that the algorithms will not be deployable for a decade, to three-page reports announcing successful implementation of the algorithms, but with very limited results. Few technical articles do both, and so it is challenging even for many experts to navigate the issues surrounding algorithms for quantum computers. A new overview paper by Jakub Mareček from the Centre for Artificial Intelligence at CTU FEE and 44 other authors from universities and the private sector tries to fill this gap. The study, entitled "Challenges and Opportunities in Quantum Optimization", was published by the renowned journal Nature Reviews Physics.

An international conference on the topic of 17 November 1939 was held in Bethlehem Chapel. The opening speech was given by Ing. Zdeňka Valouchová, chairwoman of the Association of Liberated Political Prisoners and Survivors, prof. JUDr. Václav Pavlíček, CSc., chairman of the Foundation "Endowment of Josef, Marie and Zdeňka Hlávková", prof. RNDr. Marketa Martínková, Ph.D., vice-rector of Charles University, and doc. RNDr. Vojtěch Petráček, CSc., Rector of Czech Technical University in Prague. The event was held under the auspices of Czech Technical University.

Automation, digitalisation and robotics are areas in the construction industry with significant potential for improving efficiency, quality and safety. The Automation Laboratory, which is being developed at Faculty of Civil Engineering of Czech Technical University in Prague, should help their development in the field of student education and practical use in the construction sector. The laboratory is being developed in cooperation with CTU Faculty of Architecture.

The Faculty of Architecture of CTU hosted a ceremony to announce the winning projects of the fourth year of the Dean's Award on Thursday, 21 November. The jury awarded the best studio and diploma works of the past academic year. The final projects are on display at the exhibition on the ground floor of the faculty until 15 January 2025.

Ing. Marek Sokol, a PhD student of the Department of Health Sciences and Population Protection, who in his dissertation is dedicated to the development of technologies for space applications, has become a member of the Antarctic Expedition 2025! Marek will spend almost three months at the Czech Scientific Station Johann Gregor Mendel on James Ross Island, where he will conduct research on the impact of extreme environments on the human body and biomedical technology.