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The three largest universities in Brno invite those interested in space technologies to the third edition of the Brno Space Student Conference, which they are jointly organizing on Wednesday, April 16, at the rectorate of Brno University of Technology. The one-day event's program will feature lectures on systems engineering, satellite payloads, company presentations, a poster session, and networking. Admission is free for students. Registration is required here.

The field of space technologies is one of the fastest-growing industrial sectors in the Czech Republic. Since 2008, when the country became a member of the European Space Agency (ESA), Czech companies have been increasingly involved in European projects, particularly in the development of satellite subsystems and small satellites.

With the growth of the Czech space industry, the demand for qualified professionals is rising. One response to this is the Space Applications study program at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Communication (FEKT) at BUT. Promising developments include the growing community of student space associations and the involvement of students in the space industry through internships. Additionally, crucial STEM promotion activities are being carried out at the elementary and high school levels. Another major motivator is the upcoming space mission featuring a Czech astronaut.

This is just a small sample of activities linked to the Czech space ecosystem, which is on the rise. For #brnoregion, home to many specialized companies and universities offering related education, this is even more significant. It is therefore natural that BUT, MUNI, and MENDELU continue to organize the Brno student conference on space activities in collaboration with the Brno Space Cluster and other partners.

The goal of the conference is to develop a platform for networking, discussions, and collaboration—not only among university student teams but also between universities, the commercial sector, and other partners utilizing space applications in various ways. The event will showcase current and upcoming projects in space engineering, technology, and research. More about the program

Who is welcome? The event is especially aimed at bachelor's, master's, and doctoral students, academic and research staff from universities and research institutes, representatives of industry-related companies, as well as other interested individuals, including high school graduates. Don't forget to register or submit your poster! (by April 4)

Brno Space Student Conference 2025 (event website)

For the 16th time, the city of Brno has awarded young scientists from Brno universities. At a festive meeting on Wednesday 19 March at Brno's New Town Hall, they received cheques for the further development of their research. Among the 25 awardees are Michala Hečka and David Chocholatý from the Department of Intelligent Systems.

Improving software with logic is Michal Hečka's motto. Logic and its use in formal verification, which he is involved in, is an area of theoretical computer science with important practical implications. "When the cost of computer error is high, we turn to formal verification to mathematically prove that the software behaves as we expect. However, the foundations of formal verification logic and decision procedures are fraught with scalability problems, causing huge increases in computation time and inefficiencies in the algorithms used for real-world applications. My project addresses these problems with the aim of paving the way to safe and robust software," explains Michal, adding: "I see living in safety and comfort as a privilege and believe that I should spend my time responsibly by using my curiosity and thirst for knowledge to try to move our society forward."

David Chocholatý focuses on developing methods for systematically discovering bugs in web applications. Together with his colleagues, he uses tools from automata theory, which is also part of theoretical computer science. "Our approach is the fastest in the world, which gives us a unique opportunity to overcome current obstacles and uncover many vulnerabilities. In addition, the project will also help in the areas of verification of control systems for the aerospace industry or in setting access rights to cloud solutions," David explains his research, adding his motivation, "Curiosity and the desire to understand the world around us is what advances us as humanity, and I am happy to be part of this progress."

On Wednesday, March 19, the Werner von Siemens Prize for 2024 was awarded. This was the twenty-seventh time that the Czech Siemens has recognized talented students, young scientists and teachers. The best teacher for 2024 is Jiří Jaroš from our faculty. He was nominated for the Werner von Siemens Award for his outstanding contribution to science, education, innovation and the development of Brno University of Technology.

Associate Professor Jaroš is a renowned figure in the field of supercomputing, and his career includes cutting-edge research, excellent teaching and an active role in academic leadership. He is the co-founder of the k-Wave project, which has become the global standard in medical ultrasound modelling for academia and industry over the past fifteen years. The software currently has more than 25,000 users and supports the development of personalized medicine. However, Jiří Jaroš is also, and perhaps above all, an innovative educator who continuously enriches his courses with the latest findings from research and practice. He is not afraid to introduce new methods into his teaching and motivates his students by participating in international projects. It was he who made national supercomputers available to all students of the faculty, thus enabling them to work with cutting-edge technologies.

Thanks to Michal Rozsíval, the Faculty of Information Technology also won the third place in the category of the best diploma thesis on Industry 4.0. His diploma thesis entitled "Simulated insertion of errors in network communication" was created under the supervision of Dr. Aleš Smrčka.

We congratulate all the winners and wish them much success in the future.