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Space Research and Technology: Few sectors evoke a sense of extraordinary prestige and sophistication quite like this one. The Czech Republic has a long-standing tradition in this field and has no intention of falling behind today—in 2008, it became a member state of the European Space Agency (ESA), and since then, Czech companies have been increasingly involved in the development of European projects, particularly satellite subsystems and small satellites. Brno (and by extension the South Moravian Region) plays a pivotal role in this research and development; it can, without exaggeration, be called the center of space companies and research in the Czech Republic: Over 30 companies focused on the development and production of technologies for satellites and space missions operate in the region. Entities from the region have so far participated in more than 350 collaborations with ESA, as evidenced by the JIC agency’s Brno Tech Region 2026 Data Report.

To support early-career researchers in the field of space research, a student conference is being held for the fourth time, co-organized by three Brno universities—BUT, MU, and MENDELU—together with the Brno Space Cluster organization. FIT VUT also plays an important role in these activities, where the development of space-related technologies is linked, for example, to Dr. Tomáš Kašpárek, who can be contacted regarding conference details. Submissions for presentations are currently being accepted.

April 29, 2026, 9:00 AM–4:00 PM
MENDELU, Zemědělská 1

The purpose of the BRNO SPACE – STUDENT CONFERENCE 2026 is to provide students in bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral programs with the opportunity to present their projects, research, theses, etc., in the field of “space.” In a broader sense, the goal is to develop a platform for mutual meetings, networking, and collaboration not only among university student teams but also between the academic community, the commercial sector, and other partners who utilize space applications in various forms.

Student presentations at the conference may take the form of:

• a short conference presentation lasting 10–12 minutes (followed by a discussion),
• an A0-sized poster with the opportunity for discussion during the main break directly at the poster; posters will be displayed in the auditorium lobby.

Requests to include a presentation in the conference program can be sent by April 13 via email to libor.lenza@mendelu.cz (please use the subject line: “Presentation Submission for Brno Space Conference 2026”). More detailed information on submissions can be found HERE. Submitted proposals will be reviewed by the organizing committee, and the most interesting ones will be included in the program.

Last year’s conference took place in the auditorium of the BUT Rectorate and was attended by 130 participants, including representatives of the ESA BIC Czech Republic incubation center, members of the YSpace student team, and the Brno Space Cluster organization. Students presented their own satellite projects, shared experiences from ESA programs, and discussed topics such as systems engineering and the lubrication of satellite bearings in space. Companies from Brno and the surrounding area participated in the program, and the event also featured networking and a poster session.

Having a great idea in your head is just the beginning. The hardest part is usually turning that vision into a working solution and determining whether the project has real market potential. Join us for the second panel discussion with successful company founders, taking place on Wednesday, April 22, at 3:00 p.m. at FIT.

This panel discussion will focus on the “next phase”: how to organize your ideas, how Lean Canvas can be useful, and what creating your first prototype or MVP entails. In the next in a series of discussions with successful founders, we’ll explore where a project’s true value lies—whether in the idea itself, the technology, or the people around you. You’ll learn how to identify a viable concept, where to find partners to bring it to life, and how to start thinking about your project potentially becoming a source of income. Come find out exactly what to do so your idea doesn’t just stay in your head but becomes a reality.

The discussion will focus on the practical steps that separate successful projects from those that remain on the shelf:

• Reality Check: How to use common sense and criteria to determine which idea is worth investing hundreds of hours into.
• From Chaos to a Plan: How to use tools like the Lean Canvas for a quick assessment and what to do in the first days of implementation.
• Finding the Dream Team: How to choose teammates and whether brilliant code or good team chemistry is more important in the early stages.
• The Magic of Prototyping: When is a product “good enough” to launch, and how to find the courage to show an imperfect solution to users.
• Business Mindset: When to stop thinking of your project as a student project and start building a sustainable company.

Panel guests:

Confirmed guests:

• Jan Polišenský – founder of Lakmoos
• Michal Španěl – founder of Tescan 3Dim (exit)
• Jirka Tobola – co-founder of Flowmon Networks (exit)
• Petr Janošík – co-founder of Smartlook (exit)
• Michal Hradiš – founder of Cognitechna

When and where?

• Date: Wednesday, April 22, 2026, 3:00–4:30 PM
• Location: FIT VUT; the exact location will be specified based on the number of registered participants

Registration: To attend, please register by Monday, April 20, 2026

Every Monday afternoon, you might come across a group of high school students at FIT. In the robotics lab, they are discovering a world that remains hidden to the vast majority of their peers. They are members of the STEAM Club, which runs at our faculty during the summer semester thanks to Dr. Michal Kapinus. STEAM Clubs (an acronym for science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics) are organized by JCMM, a non-profit association of legal entities in the South Moravian Region. This is a project unique in the entire country; hundreds of talented students have already participated in it.

The clubs “identify” gifted young people who are potential candidates for further study in technical fields. They develop not only subject knowledge but also collaboration skills, presentation skills, and creative thinking. In the 2025/2026 school year, there are twelve STEAM clubs. They have addressed and continue to address a wide range of topics, such as artificial intelligence, electron microscopy, urban architecture, and biopolymers. The Faculty of Information Technology has organized and continues to organize two of them. In the fall, it was the Machine Learning: Data in Practice club; in the spring, you can meet students from the Robotics club here on Mondays. In this club, participants learned, for example, how to program the Dobot Magician robotic arm using Dobot Studio, familiarized themselves with the basics of computer vision in robotics, and tried their hand at assembling an automated robotic production line. The highlight for the students was the opportunity to try working with the state-of-the-art UR5e collaborative robot. And at the end, they’ll be tasked with developing their own

“They really surprised me with their skill—at the start, they had absolutely minimal experience with robotics, and most of them had no programming experience either. And after just a few sessions, they’re already able to create interesting technical solutions with a wide variety of robots,” says Michal Kapinus, assessing the progress of the clubs.

You can find more information about this unique project, which is also taking place at our faculty, here.