Over the last few years there has been much talk about so-called researchexcellence in both Czechia and Germany. Yet what exactly does it mean? Whatdefines high-quality science? One thing is clear: research excellence requiresnot only excellent working conditions, including the most modern laboratoryequipment, but also excellent minds. What are the most efficient ways toattract leading international scientists? What are the institutional toolsavailable in Czechia and Germany? And what can the two neighbouring countrieslearn from each other in this respect?
Speakers
🗨️ Pavel Tomančák
Research group leader at the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics in Dresden
Director of the CEITEC consortium in Brno
Pavel Tomančák is one of the most respected Czech scientists. He hasworked as a research group leader at the Max Planck Institute for MolecularCell Biology and Genetics in Dresden since 2005. He started his scientificcareer at the Masaryk University in Brno, and completed his doctoral studies atthe prestigious European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg,Germany. He then worked for five years at the University of California,Berkeley, in the group of the well-known American geneticist Gerald M. Rubin. Hehas co-authored more than a hundred scientific publications that have beencited more than 38,000 times, which makes him one of the most cited scientistsof Czech origin. Since February 2021, he is theDirector of the CEITEC consortium in Brno.
🗨️ Enno Aufderheide
Secretary General of the Alexander von Humboldt-Foundation
Enno Aufderheide studied Biology in Bielefeld and Bonn (Germany) as wellas at CU Boulder (USA). After conducting research at the Centre for Heavy IonResearch GSI in Darmstadt and at a Max-Planck Institute in Tübingen, Germany,he took a position in science management in 1988. He worked on strategies forfunding life sciences and their implementation and later became head of theresearch policy division at the German Science Advisory Council. From 2002 to2006 he was Managing Director for Science of the Helmholtz-Association, theassociation of Germany’s large National Research Centers, and from 2006 to 2010he served as a Director for Research Policy and External Relations at theMax-Planck-Society in Munich. In July 2010 joined the Alexander vonHumboldt-Foundation as its Secretary General.
Moderator
KateřinaKrálová, Head of the Department of Russian and East European Studies at theInstitute of International Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, CharlesUniversity, Prague