Currently, similar collaboration with MIT is being undertaken by only 16 country-specific programs around the world, including Germany, Japan, and Israel. The goal of the new program is to support collaboration between researchers in the early phase, which is not covered by standard grant funding.
“We consider it our first foray into this type of collaboration, and it’s also an important indicator of the quality of science in the Czech Republic. We have no doubt that it will significantly expand our institutions’ horizons and their opportunities for research. Those are some of the reasons the Czech Academy of Sciences has actively pursued such an agreement with MIT,” says Eva Zažímalová, president of the Czech Academy of Sciences.
Applications: from September to mid-December
The fund is made possible by financial support from IOCB Tech, the technology transfer office of IOCB Prague.
“For IOCB, the international collaboration embodies one of the fundamental prerequisites for leading-edge science, and MIT is, without a doubt, among the very best in a whole range of fields,” says Zdeněk Hostomský, director of IOCB Prague.
“It’s an honor for us to financially support this outstanding project, which will help all research institutions in the Czech Republic establish productive collaboration with MIT. We look forward to the results,” adds Martin Fusek, director of IOCB Tech.
In each of the next three years, the MIT-Czech Republic Seed Fund will divide 100,000 USD among three to five new collaborations. The money can be used to cover travel and accommodation expenses relating to work meetings and research internships. Joint research teams from MIT and the Czech Republic will apply for the financial support. MIT will host two webinars this late spring and summer with details and practical information for applicants. Applications can be submitted from September to the middle of December, and recipients will be chosen by April of the following year, meaning the first journeys can be undertaken in June of 2022.
In the Czech Republic, the program will be coordinated by the Czech Academy of Sciences and will be open to scientists from research and academic institutions in the Czech Republic and their partners at MIT.
Source: Press release UOCHB
