BUT plans to expand cooperation with Japan and the Republic of Korea

Brno University of Technology (BUT), as one of the representatives of technical education, participated last week in a business mission organized by the Confederation of Industry of the Czech Republic. The delegation headed to the world leaders in the technology industry, namely Japan and the Republic of Korea. Participation in the mission provided BUT a unique opportunity to map the possibilities of cooperation in these destinations in the field of quantum technologies, artificial intelligence, digitalization, semiconductors, cooperation between municipalities and universities and with the commercial sector.

The delegation was led by Deputy Prime Minister for Digitalization and Minister of Regional Development Ivan Bartoš, accompanied by Vice President of Confederation of Industry of the Czech Republic Milena Jabůrková. The mission included meetings with representatives of Japanese universities and one Korean university, during which, among other things, the possibilities of exchange visits of students and scientists were discussed. "I consider it a great success to meet representatives of so many universities in one week. I am glad that they perceive the BUT and the Czech Republic in general as a potential partner with something to offer. We have agreed with the representatives of the universities that negotiations of specific possibilities of cooperation will continue in the near future," said Viktor Fiala, Knowledge Transfer Coordinator of the BUT, who participated in the mission.

Mariana Tesařová, International Cooperation Manager, also sees the mission as a great benefit for the BUT. "We visited top institutions that are leaders in their field, as well as universities that are close to Brno technology in their focus and deal, among other things, with the area of digitalization, which is a very topical issue at the BUT."

The mission participants had the opportunity to visit selected sites and learn about Japanese and Korean research. For example, the robotic system "hinotori" from Hiroshima University was on display. This is a surgical robot with eight movable axes to which medical instruments such as endoscopic cameras and forceps can be attached. Representatives of the BUT who took part in the mission saw great benefit in visiting a Tokyo University facility equipped with an IBM quantum computer, where they are also involved in semiconductor development in collaboration with several companies. This is an area that the BUT is actively addressing and developing.