How did you become involved with Brnoregion Microscopy?
Radka Martínková and Jan Neuman introduced me to this platform. Brnoregion Microscopy is really pushing forward concrete actions, rather than (blurry) visions and philosophical questions. And you can see that these actions are actually materializing, which is very rewarding.
What role do you play in the community?
I am the head of CEITEC Nano, an academic user facility for nanocience and nanotechnology research. Our facility is used by hundreds of students and researchers from dozens of academic institutions as well as from private companies. This puts me in a unique position – being close to different kinds of users (students, academic researchers, R&D staff from companies) and observing their needs gives me the opportunity to collect valuable feedback and contribute actively, by proposing focused actions, to the local microscopy ecosystem.
What benefits does it bring to you?
The main benefit stems from my role. Thanks to that, I can gain insight into the research activities and needs of our users. This enables me to connect fundamental research with market opportunities. My main focus is commercialisation. I work closely with Veronika Štěpánková and her colleagues at JIC. Together, we explore the ways to apply research outcomes in real-world markets and to reduce hesitation surrounding the establishment of new spin-offs and start-ups. A key initiative is the CEITEC Innovation Accelerator, which helps students and researchers test, validate, and develop their commercialisation ideas before founding their own spin-off company.
Do you have a message for the community?
Brnoregion Microscopy aims to establish Brno as the world’s leading hub for electron microscopy. Personally, I believe it already is. We just need to work together to strengthen this position and make sure that our global reputation continues to grow.
