The French Ambassador to the Czech Republic, Stéphane Crouzat, visited BUT

The Ambassador of the French Republic to the Czech Republic, His Excellency Stéphane Crouzat, visited the Brno University of Technology (BUT) on Thursday, March 13, 2025, accompanied by the Attaché for Science and Higher Education, Mrs. Stéphanie Legoupy. The meeting focused on presenting the university's activities and the cooperation between BUT and French institutions, followed by a discussion on opportunities to further develop this collaboration.

The program began with a presentation of student creative teams in the BUT Rectorate Hall. The students presented their works to the Ambassador, which are the results of their creative activities that they develop and produce themselves, and with which they successfully participate in international competitions. The Ambassador was introduced to a fully electric formula, a car powered by air, a planetary rover, drones, a vertical takeoff aircraft model, a water drone, and nanosatellites being developed for launch into orbit. “The presentations of university teams made a great impression on me. They excellently reflect the dynamics of your work and the enthusiasm and motivation of the students, which was very, very impressive,” the Ambassador praised the students' works in front of faculty representatives and the university leadership.

The Rector introduced the Ambassador to the university and its profile as a comprehensive technical university. In the presentation, the Rector highlighted the main strategic areas that define the university, such as electron microscopy, nanotechnology and semiconductor technology, automotive engineering and electromobility, as well as aerospace and environmental technologies, renewable energy, batteries and accumulators, artificial intelligence, and cybersecurity. The university will soon open a national competence center for semiconductors. The university works closely with industry. Approximately 10% of the research activity income comes from contract research. Nuclear energy was also discussed. The university's knowledge transfer program, business support, and the creation of spin-offs and start-up companies, including student companies, were also presented. The tight connection of the university with the Brno Technology Park, located next to BUT, and with the South Moravian Innovation Centre for incubating companies in two technology incubators and one creative incubator located directly in the BUT campus was presented.

Furthermore, the European University Alliance EULiST was introduced, a registered European university consortium composed of 10 universities, which BUT currently presides over, and in which the French IMT (Institut Mines-Télécom) is also a partner. Active membership and cooperation in European associations EUA and CESAER were also mentioned. The expected topic was the presentation of BUT's international cooperation, especially mobility with French universities, which was presented to His Excellency by the head of the internationalization department, Mariana Tesařová. France is one of the significant partners in student exchanges. In 2024, there were 150 French students at BUT, and in the last five years, their number reached 680. From BUT to France, 28 students went in the academic year 2024/25, and in the last five years, the number was about 160. The lower number of mobilities to France was discussed, the cause being fewer study programs in English. However, the Ambassador stated that the number of English-language programs in France is increasing.

Subsequently, faculty representatives took the floor and presented specific examples of cooperation with France.

The Faculty of Chemistry presented scientific cooperation including significant publications and articles with French co-authors. The Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Communication introduced cooperation in education, offering semester courses ISEP and ESIEE for students from Paris, international research collaboration, such as the COST INTERACT project consortium, and ten years of collaboration with the Laboratoire d'Acoustique from Le Mans Université in electroacoustics. The Faculty of Civil Engineering expressed interest in deepening research collaboration. The Ambassador was informed about the successful collaboration in education, where for several years they have hosted 30 students from ESTP Paris in an eight-week study course focused on civil engineering. The faculty also works closely with the French industry. One of the main partners of the FAST faculty is Vinci Construction Group. A representative of FAST mentioned interest in finding partnerships in the field of high-speed rail. The Faculty of Mechanical Engineering develops cooperation in both education and research. Through the Erasmus+ program, 40 to 50 students from France visit it regularly. Ondřej Cejpek, who works at the Energy Institute researching CO2 capture, won second place in the scientific competition of the French Institute in Prague with his work on the development of atomizers. This pleased the Ambassador, who reminded that proposals can still be submitted for the current year. Further cooperation on projects and education was presented by the Faculty of Business, the Central European Institute of Technology CEITEC, and the Faculty of Information Technology, focusing on the research group activities of BUT Speech@FIT.

The Rector also mentioned cooperation with the French Gymnasium Matyáš Lerch, whose graduates often continue their studies in technical fields. There was also discussion about cooperation at the doctoral study level and other topics. The visit of the French Ambassador to BUT provided an opportunity to present the strong and diverse cooperation between the Brno university and French institutions. Both sides expressed interest in continuing to develop this cooperation, which promises further opportunities to deepen mutual relations and support innovation in both countries.

Ambassador Crouzat was pleasantly surprised by the number and depth of the collaborations. “It is amazing that BUT's cooperation with French institutions is already taking place at so many different levels and faculties, which we hadn't even realized.” He added: “I was also very interested in the cooperation you have with companies. You have immense know-how in the nuclear industry.”

“We are very pleased with this joint meeting and the opportunity to present our university. We consider cooperation with France to be one of the strategic priorities of our international activities. We are connected not only by a number of common and traditional technological topics, such as energy, aviation, telecommunications, etc., but also by the historical alliance of our countries. We recognize the need for technical and natural sciences studies as one of the main priorities of the European Union and, in fact, all EU countries to ensure the competitiveness of national economies. Effective international cooperation enables not only student and academic staff exchanges but also the sharing of best practices, knowledge, and experiences, including infrastructure and technologies. I believe that this meeting will be an impetus for further development of effective cooperation between our university and existing and future French partners,” concluded Rector of BUT, Ladislav Janíček, and added: “I am also proud that among our students and staff, we have those who today were able to communicate fluently in French, in addition to English, with His Excellency, the Ambassador.”