This year, Czech-BioImaging is celebrating its 10th Anniversary, marking a decade of providing open access to cutting-edge imaging technologies to enhance scientific research in the Czech Republic and internationally. Over the past ten years, we have helped advance biological and medical imaging, supporting thousands of researchers and fostering innovations across a variety of research areas. A Decade of Innovation and Impact Since its establishment, Czech-BioImaging has become a leader in providing access to state-of-the-art imaging facilities in the Czech Republic. With 16 imaging facilities and partnerships with 10 institutions, we annually serve more than 1,300 researchers. “Thanks to our data, researchers publish over 200 scientific papers annually,” says Pavel Hozák, Director of Czech-BioImaging. “We offer a broad range of imaging methods and provide access to more than 200 specialized instruments, which are also available to international users through the European infrastructure Euro-BioImaging ERIC.” Special 10th Anniversary Event To mark this significant milestone, a special meeting took place on March 18, 2025, at the Institute of Molecular Genetics of the Czech Academy of Sciences in Prague. The workshop titled “Long-term Sustainability of Research Infrastructures”, brought together key representatives from Czech-BioImaging, Euro-BioImaging, and the Ministry of Education, Youth, and Sports of the Czech Republic. The workshop focused on the long-term sustainability of large research infrastructures, ensuring that these resources continue to benefit future generations of researchers and advance scientific discovery. Following the workshop, an evening program was held at Jazz Dock in Prague, providing an opportunity for networking and informal discussions among experts and stakeholders in the bioimaging field. Looking Ahead: Imaging Principles of Life Conference 2025 As part of the anniversary celebrations, the Imaging Principles of Life Conference 2025 will feature a special program to honor Czech-BioImaging’s 10 years of success. This event will offer presentations, discussions, and insights into the future of bioimaging technologies, and it will be a fantastic opportunity for collaboration, networking, and innovation. Join Us in Celebrating We invite everyone to join us in celebrating this remarkable achievement. Registration opens soon. For more details visit https://www.czech-bioimaging.cz/conference/
Date and time: April 10, 2025, 9:00 AM – 2:00 PM Location: Faculty of Arts, Masaryk University, Arne Nováka 1, Brno, Room D51 (on-site) Language: English Organizing Faculties: Faculty of Arts, Faculty of Social Studies, Faculty of Economics, Institute of Computer Science, Faculty of Education, Faculty of Law, CEITEC The first-ever Core Facility Day Social Sciences & Humanities (CF Day SSH) presents a unique opportunity to explore the nine diverse SSH-focused research infrastructures available at Masaryk University. During the event, the visitors will have the chance to discover what equipment and services these research infrastructures offer and how they can access them for their own research projects. The participating research infrastructures: MUEEL, HUME Lab, GGP, MAFIL, Digitalia MUNI Arts, Sensitive Cloud, MUNI Data Stewardship Wizard, FAIR Implementation Profile, SONA Systems. External participants are more than welcome to join! Please register : https://forms.office.com/e/Tr5j4gzx7i?origin=lprLink
From March 31 to April 2, 2025, Masaryk University in Brno hosted the workshop “Future of ESFRI in a new ERA,” where experts discussed the future direction of the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures (ESFRI) and its role in the evolving research landscape. The workshop was followed by ESFRI’s regular Forum meeting, with the next meeting set to take place in June 2025 in Kraków, Poland. ESFRI Chair José Luis Martínez Peña presented an overview of ESFRI’s main activities at the beginning of the workshop, with ESFRI currently having 63 research infrastructures from all scientific fields in its portfolio. Among ESFRI’s core activities, frequently discussed during the workshop, are the development of the ESFRI Roadmap, the Landscape Analysis which provides an overview of the European RI ecosystem, and the monitoring of ESFRI research infrastructures. Monitoring serves as a tool for tracking and assessing the progress, quality, and sustainability of key European research infrastructures. These activities are crucial for both EU Member States and the European Commission, ensuring that infrastructures listed on the ESFRI Roadmap meet the highest standards and foster international collaboration. ESFRI, composed of experts from EU Member States and associated countries, agreed on the significance of these activities. A notable recent development was the addition of Canada as a new ESFRI member. While ESFRI’s core functions remain undisputed, the ESFRI Chair emphasized the need for ESFRI, founded in 2002 to strategically coordinate research infrastructure policy in Europe, to reassess its role and prepare for new challenges. “It would be beneficial to strengthen our capacity to provide strategic advice to the European Commission, the Council of Ministers, or, as we already do, our national ministries. This could be achieved by reallocating some of the resources currently dedicated to key activities such as the Roadmap, Landscape Analysis, and monitoring. Discussions revealed that a certain level of externalization of these processes could free up ESFRI’s capacity, allowing it to focus more on strategic considerations and advisory functions,” said Jan Hrušák, member of the ESFRI Executive Board from the J. Heyrovský Institute of Physical Chemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences. The discussion also touched on expanding ESFRI’s mandate. Should ESFRI also focus on technological infrastructures, digital research infrastructures, or sustainability issues? Suggestions were made to enhance collaboration with the European Commission and other entities, such as ERIC and the EIRO Forum. While the workshop did not produce definitive conclusions, it initiated a new process of shaping ESFRI’s future. A summary report based on the discussions will be prepared to inform future steps and strategic decisions. The ESFRI Forum meeting, which followed the workshop, continued discussions on current challenges in European research infrastructures. The next ESFRI meeting is scheduled for June 2025 in Kraków, where the third Stakeholder Forum will also take place, focusing on the sustainability of the research infrastructure ecosystem. photo (credit: StR-ESFRI) Author: Vladimíra Coufalová