The Central European Institute of Technology (CEITEC, CZ) is a multidisciplinary scientific centre in the fields of life sciences, advanced materials and technologies whose aim is to establish itself as a recognized centre for both basic and applied research. Since the launch of its full operation it has followed a rapid growth curve of scientific performance. However, it is still lagging behind leading European research institutions, and its international reputation is handicapped by its short history and as yet not fully exploited research potential. To contribute to the remedy of this state and to further CEITEC on its growth trajectory, we propose to form a consortium of CEITEC and three leading research institutions from research intensive countries (ETH Zurich, Weizmann Institute of Science, Vienna University of Technology) around a Twinning action.
The proposed project lies within the Smart Specialisation Strategy (S3) of the Czech Republic addressing several problematic areas in the research and development, e.g. large discrepancies in a quality of publicly funded research, its poor cooperation with industrial partners and insufficient involvement in international research. The research field of nanoscience and nanotechnology is one of the key knowledge domains defined in S3 of the Czech Republic. The proposed project will significantly contribute to the realisation of this vision by enhancing the performance of the key institutions in the region. It is also of primary interest to local high-tech companies acting in nanotechnology and related areas (Thermo-Fischer (FEI), ON Semiconductor, MEOPTA, Nenovision, Tescan-Orsay Holding, Delong Instruments…). In addition, the project scientific focus is in line with the Key Enabling Technologies (KET), a group of six technologies that are among the priority action lines of European industrial policy.
The overall objective is the significant strengthening of nanoscience and nanotechnology research on CEITEC to become a co-equal partner of excellent European research institutions.
