People from industry will contribute to the strategic development of BUT

The BUT Industrial Council, established at the end of 2023 as an advisory body to the rector, met at the end of February in a new, expanded composition. Additional prominent representatives from the industry accepted the invitation to join the Industrial Council, bringing the total number of members to 25. During the meeting, members discussed the results of surveys on the employability of STEM graduates and the preferences of primary and secondary school students. The agenda also included a discussion on the profile of BUT graduates and a presentation of the university's STEM activities over the past year. BUT rector provided insights into the preparation of BUT's Strategic Plan and the Czech Semiconductor Center. Additionally, the meeting included an evaluation of projects with commercial potential under a project call supported by the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic.

The BUT Industrial Council consists of representatives of major employers and industrial partners who assist the university in strategic decision-making. The council was established as an advisory group at the end of 2023 and has now been significantly expanded.

“Just as we gather input from the BUT Scientific Council in the field of science and research, we also want to leverage the experience and recommendations of industry representatives in key decisions related to education, research, and knowledge transfer. For us, as a leading technical university, collaboration with the application sector, especially industry, is crucial. Inviting its representatives to discuss our direction, as well as to evaluate our graduates and research outputs, is therefore absolutely essential. I am pleased that highly influential industry leaders, including those from high-tech sectors critical to a knowledge- and innovation-based economy, have accepted our invitation to join the newly expanded Industrial Council. Their participation contributes to discussions on labor market needs and the university's strategic direction,” said BUT Rector Ladislav Janíček, who also serves as the council’s chairman.

During the meeting, the council discussed the results of the “Employability of STEM Graduates in the Czech Republic” survey, which BUT commissioned on a national level last year, involving approximately 400 organizations. The agenda also included a discussion on the preferences and expectations of primary and secondary school students, based on a survey conducted last autumn as part of the STEM project. Another key topic was the profile of BUT graduates in relation to necessary adjustments in study programs and recommendations from industry for marketing interventions aimed at STEM education. The rector also provided an overview of BUT’s STEM-related initiatives over the past 12 months and plans for the upcoming year.

“Supporting technical education is a critical agenda that concerns many of us. My motivation for joining the Council was the fact that BUT is the only university that provides a platform where these issues are not just discussed but concrete steps are taken to actively address the connection between industry and academia,” said Milan Šlapák, CEO of RSBC Holding and Steyr Arms, who is also the president of the American Chamber of Commerce.

As a member of the relevant working group, the VUT rector also informed the council about a major initiative aimed at establishing a contract-based funding system for selected technology fields, coordinated by the Ministry of Education and the Government Office within the Government Committee for Strategic Investments. A funding model for study programs in semiconductor technology has already been developed, and discussions are ongoing regarding the energy sector, particularly nuclear energy. “The goal is to increase the number of students and graduates in these fields in the coming years and ensure sufficient human resource capacity for the relevant industries. Other economic sectors, such as construction and various branches of engineering, are also experiencing a noticeable decline in graduates,” the rector stated during the meeting. He added that the state needs to establish a clear and structured educational policy, backed by the courage to define priorities and allocate appropriate funding. “Only in this way can we achieve the objectives of the newly adopted national economic strategy for developing strategic industries,” he concluded.

The rector also announced that after more than a year of negotiations, a national competence center for semiconductors, called the Czech Semiconductor Center, will be established. Its grand opening as part of the European network of similar national centers for the semiconductor industry in the Czech Republic is scheduled for early April.

Additionally, the rector briefed council members on the preparation of BUT's Strategic Plan for 2026+ and invited them to actively participate, sharing their perspectives on the role of a technical university. “I feel proud that several directors of major companies in the Industrial Council are BUT alumni and are eager to contribute to the development of their alma mater,” the rector concluded.

Support for Projects with Commercial Potential

The Industrial Council includes a working group on knowledge transfer within TA CR projects, which also serves as the Commercialization Council. Before the main part of the meeting, five projects submitted to the first call of the Proof of Concept Acceleration project at BUT, supported by the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic, were presented.

According to the VUT rector, it is crucial that research at BUT leads to applicable results, creating opportunities for meaningful research collaboration with the application sector. He stated that the university’s strategic goal is to generate revenue from knowledge transfer amounting to at least ten percent of the subsidies received for applied research in a given calendar year. “We consider independent knowledge entrepreneurship by our employees and students through start-ups and spin-off companies to be a significant form of transfer, and we provide support for this at the university. Since the beginning of this year, we have launched two new start-ups, and last year, we successfully established four new companies. We highly value the support and guidance from the Industrial Council in this area as well,” the rector added.

After the presentations and discussions, the working group approved the following five projects for further funding:

• Validation of the technological compatibility concept and commercial potential of the Envi4BIM software, Faculty of Civil Engineering, BUT,
• Commercialization of a patent: Universal Facade Anchoring Element, Faculty of Civil Engineering, BUT,
• Proof of Concept for an Evaporation Chamber for Molecular Deposition in Ultra High Vacuum, CEITEC BUT,
• Structured Magnetic Circuit Manufactured by 3D Printing, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, BUT,
• HATS – System for Early Stress, Anxiety, and Depression Assessment and Monitoring for Home Use, Faculty of Information Technology, BUT.