South Moravian Region ranks among strong European innovators. BUT plays a key role

The latest data report of the innovation ecosystem, which maps research and technological progress, has shown that the South Moravian Region (#brnoregion) ranks among strong European innovators. After Prague, it is the second most progressive region in the Czech Republic, and the region's development is also reflected in the fact that it was the first in the country to receive an award for its long-term strategy to support entrepreneurship and innovation. Brno University of Technology has also contributed to this success, with its projects making a significant contribution to the region's development.

One of the university's strategic areas is electron microscopy. The CEITEC Research Centre of the Brno University of Technology has long been cooperating with other Brno institutions and companies in the development of electron microscopes, new methods and applications. As a result, every third electron microscope in the world comes from Brno.

Among other things, #brnoregion is an important centre of the space industry. University experts do not slack off in this area either and are involved in several space missions or projects. The first of these is the HERA planetary defence science mission, which will launch into space this year. Another project, on which scientists from BUT are collaborating, focuses on the composition of meteorites and the possibility of mining asteroids. The student group YSpace from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Communication Technologies of the BUT (FEEC) is working on the first Czech student satellite to study cells in space. Additionally, researchers at the same faculty are working to create a low-pressure plasma source to power satellites.

In addition, the University cooperates with the Brno Space Cluster. Apart from business matters, the Cluster focuses on the popularisation of the space industry and education in the field, which Brno technology offers. This includes a Master's degree programme in Space Applications, which opened at the Brno University of Technology two years ago.

South Moravian Region is also the only region in the Czech Republic to become a member of the newly established Alliance of Semiconductor Regions. A total of nineteen institutions from South Moravia, including tBUT and CEITEC, are part of the semiconductor value chain, mainly in the areas of design, instrumentation and materials research.

The #brnoregion has also been successful in the student section, with the number of students slightly increasing. More than half of the region's male and female university students prefer to study engineering, science or medicine. However, the demand for studying information and communication technologies (ICT) has also increased. There was a total of 6,310 ICT students in the Brno region, accounting for more than a quarter of all ICT students in the country. Most South Moravian students are educated in ICT at Brno University of Technology (3318). In terms of doctoral students and ICT graduates, students from Brno universities represent one third of the national number.

Data report #brnoregion 2024 is available here.


Electron microscopy, Space Applications, semiconductor technologies and cyber security are among the key themes of the 125th anniversary of BUT.

Author: Lenka Hubáčková