21–23 Mar
Events
CIISB Events Calendar
Important and interesting events in the domain of large research infrastructures
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CERN launches its new startup support programme
The new programme, CERN Venture Connect, aims at support of deep-tech startups in all of CERN´s Member States, including Czech Republic. The programme will help the startups succeed by giving them access to selected CERN technologies and partner investor companies or venture incubators that will provide further possibilities for investment, expert mentoring and service providers. In the Czech Republic, CERN cooperates with three important players in local startup support environment – Tensor Ventures, Startup Kitchen and Business and Investment Development Agency CzechInvest. (CERN Venture Connect, Image: CERN) The technologies developed in CERN have applications in various areas like metrology, interferometry, telecommunications, finance, quantum computing and smart grids which may be used to create game-changing solutions in the domains of healthcare, aerospace or environment. For the moment, following state-of-the-art CERN technologies spanning a wide range of fields, from laser technology and cryogenics to data management and precision-synchronization are available under CERN Venture Connect programme (CVC): * Structured Laser Beam * Ultralight Cold Plate * Single Mode Laser * RUCIO – data management solution * White Rabbit – ultra-precise synchronization tool * Accurate chip – ASIC to measure smallest currents (Femto Amperes to Atto Amperes) Czech startups seeing potential in using CERN technologies are invited to apply on a continuous basis. Selected applicants will benefit from access to CERN technologies and a CVC support ecosystem – network of venture capitalists, incubators, mentors and service providers. (The Timepix3 chip developed by the Medipix3 collaboration and used by several Czech startup companies, Image: CERN) In the Czech Republic, there are already several examples of commercialization of CERN technologies and knowledge transfer from CERN. The company Advacam is using the Timepix/Medipix detectors developed in CERN in imaging cameras for industrial and academic applications. Radalytica, a provider of portable robotic 3D computed tomography (CT) and ultrasound scanning, is using the same technology, as well InsightArt which uses x-ray imaging technology to assist art restoration experts and to unmask forgeries. The Institute of Plasma Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences is co-developer and co-owner of licence for the generation of special optical structured beam (laser), which is already exploited by a Dutch start-up for developing technologies for a next-generation telecommunication links. CERN is an international research and development organisation, which operates the world’s largest laboratory in the field of particle and nuclear physics. The Czech Republic is a Member State of CERN since 1993, resp. Czechoslovakia as of 1991. CERN currently has 23 Member States. The Czech contribution to CERN amounts to approximately 14,5 million CHF per year (i.e. approximately CZK 380 million), while its payment is ensured by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, which is also responsible for the Czech membership in CERN.
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The Rare Disease Day is also commemorated by CZECRIN and the CREATIC
At the end of February, the World Rare Disease Day is celebrated globally, an opportunity to highlight diseases that occur only rarely but still require our attention. In this context, the Faculty of Medicine of Masaryk University organized a seminar open to all – the public, experts, and families affected. The co-organizer was the Faculty of Medicine MU’s center of excellence CREATIC, which develops and manufactures medicinal products for modern therapies for rare diseases. On February 22, discussions on topics related to diagnosis, research, and the development of drugs for modern therapies took place in the premises of the Brno university campus. The program was full of lectures by renowned experts focused on diagnostics, treatment, and comprehensive care for patients with rare diseases. Key topics included multidisciplinary approaches in care, innovative diagnostic methods, specifics of patient support, and hereditary predispositions to cancer diseases. Special attention was then captured by a workshop titled “Patient Engagement in Clinical Studies,” prepared by the Faculty of Medicine MU’s center of excellence CREATIC, thus successfully concluding this rare day. Dr. Lenka Součková, deputy of VVI CZECRIN and the European correspondent for the ECRIN network, presented to the participants the use of information from clinical study registries, and explained how direct patient participation in the design and implementation of clinical studies can be beneficial for both sides – scientists and patients. “This approach not only increases the relevance and efficiency of research but also supports transparency and trust between the research community and patient groups,” adds Dr. Součková. The Rare Disease Day annually offers a unique opportunity for all parties involved to meet, share experiences, and the latest knowledge in the field of rare diseases. It is a key moment to strengthen cooperation among patients, healthcare professionals, and the scientific community, as well as to raise public awareness about these less known, but serious diseases.
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FAIR data and the impact of AI on research. In Milan, there was a discussion on why it is important to link both aspects
Why is FAIR data essential in research? Which European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) services can improve FAIR data production? How is artificial intelligence (AI) impacting scientific fields and how does FAIR data help train AI? These and other questions were discussed by representatives of European research infrastructures and members of the ESFRI-EOSC working group at the workshop “FAIR Data Productivity and Advanced Digitisation” organised by the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures (ESFRI), held on 23-24 January at the University of Milan. The purpose of the workshop was to gather the views of experts from research infrastructures on working with FAIR data and advanced digitalisation of research and their ideas on how to successfully implement the EOSC and Open Science initiatives. Experts from the European Research Infrastructures (RI) such as EPOS-ERIC, ESRF, CESSDA ERIC, CERN, ESCAPE, BBMRI-ERIC, CSIC, EGI Foundation, MARIS, CNRS LAPP, OSCARS, SoBigData, e-IRG Delegate, Computational Biology Research Centre of Human Technopole, representatives of EOSC and the European Commission discussed the implications of linking AI and FAIR data. “The trustworthiness of data in research is absolutely crucial and AI could become a tool to test the quality and originality of scientific data,” said Giorgio Rossi, Professor of Physics at the University of Milan and former ESFRI Chair, who also represents Italy on the Steering Committee in EOSC. EOSC for science or science for EOSC? During the conference, speakers shared good practices in working with the data and services provided by EOSC. Representatives from European Research Infrastructures mentioned it as essential to serving their scientific user community, advanced metadata and maintaining collaboration within domain-specific research communities where FAIR data principles are followed. Conversely, bottlenecks limiting data productivity are lack of training and staff issues, data not being open to all users, fairness of new data, and hidden data only available on request, preventing users from combining data and extracting new information from FAIR datasets. Services provided by EOSC that could improve FAIR data include the introduction of data interoperability standards and support for their adoption and use, dedicated training programmes and EU-level facilities such as EOSC data space. “In general, already 50 per cent of the data in the production or post-production phase carries the FAIR data label,” Rossi stressed. FAIR research objects are also a tool of interest to the industry as products for the market (an example is the images from The European Synchrotron Radiation Facility in Grenoble). Different approaches Speaking for The Consortium of European Social Science Data Archives (CESSDA) was Jindřich Krejčí from the Institute of Sociology of the CAS, who emphasized the tradition of data sharing in sociological research and the bottom-up approach to comparative research and data reuse. “Building the concept of a shared data culture is an inherent part of research,” said Jindřich Krejčí. Petr Holub from the Biobanking and Biomolecular Resources Research Infrastructure (BBMRI) and BioMedAI approached the issue from a different angle. He stressed that artificial intelligence has an ever-increasing importance in healthcare research. AI has an indispensable role in the field of digital pathology to facilitate cancer diagnosis and treatment. It also helps when working with anonymization and synthesis of data for their publication, where the challenge remains in dealing with sensitive data. Holub’s talk emphasized the need for a broader role for the EOSC than just a funding source. Jan Hrušák from the J. Heyrovsky Institute of Physical Chemistry of the CAS (HIPC), who moderated the final panel discussion on AI, emphasized that “By leveraging the capabilities of AI in research infrastructures for data processing, scientists can unlock new research opportunities, streamline workflows, and accelerate discoveries in various scientific fields. While the integration of AI in research infrastructures and data processing offers numerous benefits but also brings with it several challenges. There is a shortage of professionals with the expertise to develop, implement, and maintain AI systems and the training and acquiring skilled personnel in AI technologies for research purposes remain a challenge.”