Three Outstanding Representatives of BUT Receive Awards from Ministry of Education

The annual awarding of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports (MŠMT) Prizes in the field of higher education, science and research took place on 4 November 2025 at the Liechtenstein Palace in Prague. The Minister of Education Mikuláš Bek honored twenty laureates from Czech universities and the Academy of Sciences for outstanding academic, pedagogical and scientific achievements and for lifetime contributions to the development of science. Among the awardees were also three representatives of Brno University of Technology. The award for outstanding educational activity went to computer scientist Jiří Jaroš, and two physicists, Jan Klíma and Ondřej Wojewoda, joined the list of outstanding graduates.

Professor Jiří Jaroš with the MŠMT Award. | Author: MŠMT

“Among the awardees are personalities who significantly advance teaching, research, and collaboration within the academic environment. Their work is an example of what Czech higher education and science have to offer,” said Minister of Education Mikuláš Bek during the ceremony.

Jiří Jaroš – a top scientist and showman-educator

The success of Professor Jiří Jaroš demonstrates the quality of teaching at the Faculty of Information Technology of BUT (FIT BUT). He is an innovative educator who continuously enriches his courses with the latest findings from both research and practice. He is not afraid to introduce new teaching methods and motivates his students by involving them in international projects. It was he who secured access for FIT students to the supercomputing technologies of the IT4Innovations center in Ostrava. He sees this as opening the door to the future: “At FIT BUT, our students gain the opportunity to work with technologies that will enter standard practice in about ten years. This allows them to develop skills that are highly valued on the job market,” explained Jaroš.

Jiří Jaroš is an innovative educator who continuously enriches his courses with the latest insights from both research and practice. | Author: Martin Horný

His name is associated with the important project Czech AI Factory, in which he is responsible for training activities (for both students and commercial entities) and for the creation of the related student hub directly at FIT BUT.

Jaroš’s pedagogical talent and contributions were already recognized in March of this year with the Werner von Siemens Award. In an interview given on that occasion, he described his teaching style as a kind of theatrical performance: “Since childhood, I have been something of a showman, an extrovert who always felt the need to be the center of attention. I rehearse every lecture carefully, review recordings from previous years, add new insights, and fine-tune details so everything fits together nicely. In essence, I construct a story – with an introduction, a plot twist, resolution, and lesson.”

Full profile of Jiří Jaroš on the FIT BUT website.

Exceptional achievements of young physicists from BUT

Jan Klíma graduated in Physical Engineering at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering of BUT (FSI BUT). Since 2021, he has been actively involved in research in the field of magnetism and solid-state physics at CEITEC BUT, focusing mainly on spin wave physics and materials research of ferromagnet-superconductor hybrid systems. “In this research activity, he achieved significant advances when he was the first in the world to demonstrate a way to propagate spin waves ‘around a corner’ without distortion — in waveguides with sharp turns. This is a necessary prerequisite for implementing a new generation of low-energy signal processing chips and logical computations based on spin wave technology,” explained the Institute of Physical Engineering of FSI BUT, where he successfully completed his master's studies before continuing with his doctoral research at CEITEC BUT.

Since his studies, Jan Klíma has shown both talent and enthusiasm for science. | Author: MŠMT

Klíma’s first-author paper was even published in the prestigious journal Applied Physics Letters, and he co-authored four additional publications in other high-quality journals, which is an unusually advanced level for a master's student.

Full profile of Jan Klíma on the FSI BUT website (CZ only)

Ondřej Wojewoda, who specializes in laser spectroscopy, works in the Nanostructure Preparation and Characterization group of Professor Šikola at CEITEC BUT. Like Jan Klíma, he previously studied Physical Engineering and Nanotechnology at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering of BUT. He completed his PhD with a dissertation on information transfer using short spin waves in magnetic materials.

Ondřej Wojewoda from CEITEC BUT is conducting research on short spin waves in magnetic materials. | Author: CEITEC BUT Archives

In his dissertation, Wojewoda introduces a groundbreaking solution: using Mie resonances in dielectric materials, he developed a method that enables efficient measurement of short spin waves using standard laboratory equipment, representing a major improvement in accessibility. With this method, a nanofabrication lab and an optical setup for Brillouin light scattering measurement are sufficient. This is a fundamental advancement — previously, imaging spin waves at the nanoscale was only possible at synchrotron accelerators, which are logistically and financially demanding.

The discovery by Ondřej Wojewoda (CZ only) may have significant impact on energy-efficient data transmission and processing, helping reduce the energy demands of AI, but also in medicine and mechanobiology.

The MŠMT Award for Ondřej Wojewoda, who is currently on a research stay in the USA, was accepted on his behalf by his father. | Author: MŠMT

For his outstanding academic performance and exceptional contribution in the field of laser spectroscopy, Ondřej Wojewoda received the Hlávka Foundation Award at the end of last year. In the Werner von Siemens Awards, he placed 8th in the Best Dissertation category. He also previously received the Brno Ph.D. Talent award, which includes a three-year scholarship for talented doctoral students in natural and technical sciences.

He is currently on a two-year research stay at the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he studies magnetic materials for applications in microwave technologies.

We congratulate all the awardees and wish them success in their further scientific careers!