Within the next three years a European scientific centre CEITEC will grow in Brno

The Central European Institute of Technology CEITEC will grow to the worth of 5.2 billion in Brno within the next three years. Money for setting up a European centre of scientific excellence has been acquired together by Brno universities and research institutes from the Operational Programme Research and Development for innovation. The institute, which will interconnect research in life sciences and technical fields, will be utilized by up to 600 scientists and by over 1200 students, and also by Czech and foreign companies. It will also help the existing basic and applied research in the whole of the Czech Republic to achieve top levels.

„The signature of the commissioner J. Hahn finally confirms the start of the European centre of scientific excellence CEITEC in Brno, which will surely contribute to further promotion of Czech science in the world and will also have a considerable influence on the increase in receiving European grants for science and research,“ said the Deputy Minister Ivan Wilhelm, referring to the signature.

Multi-field CEITEC is in fact the first type of a scientific centre in the Czech Republic to integrate research and development in the fields of life sciences, advanced materials and technologies in such a large range. The research is divided into seven programmes: nanotechnology and microtechnology, advanced materials, structural biology, genomics and proteomics of plant systems, molecular medicine, brain and mind research and molecular veterinary medicine.

„CEITEC is being built around successful research teams from the participating institutes, which have already achieved international acclaim. CEITEC is creating unique conditions for their further development and bringing a significant increase in their research possibilities. The fact, that there is close cooperation starting among scientists from fields of natural sciences and technical fields, who will interact in joint laboratories and work with the same specialized instruments, is very valued with CEITEC,“ said the Rector of Masaryk University Petr Fiala.           

 New modern laboratories of an area of 25,000 m² will grow in the University Campus of Masaryk University in Brno – Bohunice and in the Brno University of Technology Campus “Pod Palackého vrchem”. Almost 700 special instruments and unique facilities will be selected and acquired based on the specific needs of scientific teams. The research will focus on for instance the production of a subdermal chip, which will measure the patient’s life functions and inform the doctor about them from a distance, the production of biosensors, which will be able to discover an earlier stage of an illness, modification of surfaces for a faster adhesion of disturbed nerve fibres or the production of “SMART materials” built into planes, which will be capable of reporting their defects. They will also examine the safety of foods in the market, look for new ways of vaccination or develop new methods of fast identification of bacteria, which will enable the doctors to choose the most suitable antibiotic for the treatment of the patient within a few minutes. These researches and others will make it possible for practicing doctors to for instance diagnose a tumour, infectious, neurotic and other serious illnesses more easily.

Investment into the future for the whole region

The state-of-the-art instruments and facilities will be also utilized by scientists and companies from the whole of the Czech Republic and abroad. Pharmaceutical and engineering companies are already making enquiries in research, education of experts and the renting of facilities worth more than 1.6 billion crowns. „CEITEC will significantly contribute to the change in the map of sciences in the Czech Republic and central Europe in favour of the South Moravian region,”claimed Karel Rais, the Rector of Brno University of Technology. 

The uniqueness of the centre is, apart from the integration into the international research network, based on the system of management stemming from the experience of the most significant world research institutions. The management and setting of the project is assessed by important foreign experts according to strict international standards; the internal language is English. „We are already occupying research teams and key managerial positions by recognized foreign experts. We have already started cooperation with the  most significant global institutes, the interest to work in CEITEC has been expressed by world experts as well as successful Czech scientists, who will finally have a place to come back to from abroad,“ Tomáš Hruda, the Executive Director of CEITEC, introduced the visions of the centre.

The following participate in the setting up of the centre of excellence: Masaryk University, Brno University of Technology, Mendel University in Brno, University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences in Brno, Institute of Physics of Materials of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic and Veterinary Research Institute.

Petra Střítecká, spokesperson
tel: + 420 602 519 779
e-mail: petra.stritecka@ceitec.cz
www.ceitec.cz