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1. Nov. 2018
Mentoring from experienced scientists from Austria, Germany and Israel, triplication of publication output, exchange programs or workshops for public and industrial partners. These are among the planned outcomes of the new project SINNCE which was officially introduced at CEITEC BUT at the beginning of October. Three year long program should connect advanced countries with the developing ones and help Czech Republic increase its scientific excellence. Project will specifically focus on the area of nanoscience and nanotechnologies.
CEITEC became the coordinator of new project SINNCE which is a part of the Horizon 2020 Twinning call. “The aim of this project is to align the level of scientific performance in developing countries with the advanced ones such as countries in Western Europe or Israel,” says project manager Božena Čechalová. Besides CEITEC Brno University of Technology and Masaryk University, institutions such as Technical University Wien, Swiss ETH Zürych or Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel are involved.
Czech scientists established six research groups which will focus on areas such as surfaces, new materials and nanostructures, imaging, nanophotonics, nanodevices or biosensing and bioelectronic systems. Each group will be paired with two mentors from foreign institutions. “Our researchers already started working with their mentors on the formulation of research plans. Assigned mentors help them identify areas where to direct their attention and research efforts. In the future they will also provide trainings and workshops for researchers, co-organize seminars or excursions, and they will provide professional guidance during preparation of articles and publications,” lists some of the project activities Božena Čechalová.
Many of the lectures and workshops will be open to public and interested employees of institutions which are not involved in the project. “For example, we plan to organize lectures for high schools and universities, open days or workshops for industrial partners in our surroundings,” adds Čechalová.
First milestone of the project was the official kick-off meeting where most of the groups also got a chance to meet their mentors. “This project is very demanding when it comes to its implementation,” points out project coordinator Tomáš Šikola. “We have so many activities to coordinate that our staff and students will deepen not only their specific expertise but also their communication and organizational skills,” adds Šikola.