Deputy Minister of Education, Youth and Sports Deputy Director of Technology Centre Prague
Since 2023, Jiří Nantl has served as Deputy Minister of Education, Youth and Sports. He studied political science, social policy, and social work at the Faculty of Social Studies of Masaryk University, law at the Faculty of Law of Masaryk University, and Corporate Law at Nottingham Trent University. At the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, he was first Director of the Higher Education Department from 2010 to 2012, and later Deputy Minister responsible for legislation, strategy, international relations, and EU affairs.
From November 2013, he led the Central European Institute of Technology (CEITEC), initially as Chief Operating Officer of the consortium, and from January 2016 as Director of the CEITEC institute at Masaryk University. During the electoral term starting in October 2020, he served in the government of the South Moravian Region as Deputy Governor responsible for education and the smart region, and later also for healthcare.
Michal Pazour is Head of the Department of Strategic Studies at the Technology Centre Prague. He specialises in the evaluation, analysis and design of research and innovation policies. He coordinates national projects evaluating research and innovation policies and exploring measures to strengthen national innovation systems. Michal is the author or co-author of numerous analytical and policy studies prepared for the Czech government, the European Commission, the European Parliament or the OECD.
Before joining the Technology Centre, Michal worked as an innovation policy analyst at the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic.
Deputy Head of the Common Strategic Planning & Programming Service, DG RTD
Currently Deputy Head of the Common Strategic Planning & Programming Service at the Directorate-General for Research and Innovation (DG RTD), de la Torre joined the European Commission in 2007 after having held lecturer positions at the University of Barcelona and the Ramon Llull University, where he specialised on political philosophy and ethics of science and technology.
He has worked on legal and financial management of EU-funded research projects, on horizontal aspects of the implementation of the framework programmes (simplification, business processes, the Funding and Tenders Portal), and on the programming of research on social sciences and humanities.
Analyst, Technology Centre Prague He joined the Technology Centre Prague in June 2022, before that he worked for eight years at the Prague Institute of Planning and Development as a specialist in innovation policy and a specialist in city analysis, focusing on Prague’s research and development milieu and the Prague’s innovation policy with an extension to the economy, measuring economic competitiveness and mapping business activities in the territory of Prague. As a part of his previous work, he also dealt with the issue of the European Structural and Investment Funds. In the TC Prague he deals with the quantitative and qualitative evaluation of research and development organized by the EU, the participation of the Czech Republic in European framework programmes for research and development, the participation of private companies in European framework programmes and Czech Republic’s programmes supporting business research and development, and assesses effects of this participation on the competitiveness of the Czech Republic and its regions.
Vladimír Vojtěch works as an analyst at the National Information Centre for European Research of the Technology Centre Prague. He is a graduate of Charles University – Faculty of Science. His field of study was regional and political geography.
Deputy Head of the Common Strategic Planning & Programming Service, DG RTD Director of the Research and Development Department, Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic Member of the Research, Development and Innovation Council
Currently Deputy Head of the Common Strategic Planning & Programming Service at the Directorate-General for Research and Innovation (DG RTD), de la Torre joined the European Commission in 2007 after having held lecturer positions at the University of Barcelona and the Ramon Llull University, where he specialised on political philosophy and ethics of science and technology.
He has worked on legal and financial management of EU-funded research projects, on horizontal aspects of the implementation of the framework programmes (simplification, business processes, the Funding and Tenders Portal), and on the programming of research on social sciences and humanities.
Lucie Núñez is the Director of the Research and Development Department at MEYS. From 2016 to 2023, she worked as Head of the European Research Area Unit at the same institution. She is responsible for creating and developing strategy for an effective R&D strategy at national level and engaging stakeholders to ensure its successful implementation. Furthermore, she is involved in implementing international cooperation in R&D and coordination of the Czech participation in international R&D programmes, notably the EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation Horizon Europe.
Since 2013, Lucie Núñez has participated as national delegate in several expert groups and platforms established by the European Commission as well as in the Committee for Scientific and Technological Policy within the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
Ladislav Krištoufek is a professor of economics at Charles University in Prague. He currently serves as Vice-Rector for Research and Creative Activities at Charles University, where he teaches at the Institute of Economic Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences. He is also a senior researcher in the Department of Econometrics at the Institute of Information Theory and Automation of the Czech Academy of Sciences.
As the only researcher in the Czech Republic from the social sciences and humanities, he was ranked among the top 2% of the most cited scientists in the world (Elsevier and Stanford University ranking from 2021). He is a recipient of the Otto Wichterle Award.
Pavel Juráš (Deputy Director of the Structural Funds Department, MIT)
Deputy Head of Unit, Knowledge valorisation and Technology Infrastructures, DG RTD Szilvia has experience in international research and innovation cooperation, and sustainable investment strategies. Before joining the European Commission, she worked in the private sector and in EU national public administration on agro-economics. She has a Master of Science degree in International Economics and Business Administration. She also studied International Macroeconomics and Finances.
Szilvia Nemeth has worked in the European Commission since 2005. She is deputy head of the ‘Knowledge Valorisation and Technology Infrastructures’ unit in DG Research and Innovation.
Deputy Head of Unit, Knowledge valorisation and Technology Infrastructures, DG RTD Szilvia has experience in international research and innovation cooperation, and sustainable investment strategies. Before joining the European Commission, she worked in the private sector and in EU national public administration on agro-economics. She has a Master of Science degree in International Economics and Business Administration. She also studied International Macroeconomics and Finances. Member of the Research, Development and Innovation Council/Vice Director for Strategic Development, IOCB CAS Business developer Alongside her university work, Inge co-founded Social Shuffle, a social enterprise that improves social safety and social dynamics in primary and secondary schools. This dual perspective—from both academic and entrepreneurial angles—gives her a theoretical as well as practical understanding of how knowledge can be transformed into meaningful solutions. Her strengths lie in developing accessible frameworks for knowledge valorisation, bringing diverse stakeholders together around complex challenges, and creating responsible pathways to scale innovations across different contexts. Inge’s expertise includes complex intellectual property management, always seeking the balance between protection and open sharing that best serves society. Knowledge valorisation freelance She recently contributed to a comprehensive analysis for the European Commission on improving the transformation of research results into practical applications, serving as rapporteur for knowledge valorisation and expert in intellectual asset management. Previously, Hana led the Centre for Knowledge and Technology Transfer at Charles University for ten years, focusing on innovation, knowledge valorisation, and social impact. She is a co-founder and active member of Transfera.cz, and a former Vice-President and current EU Committee member of ASTP. Currently, Hana combines freelance consultancy—supporting innovation ecosystem development and the strategic use of intellectual assets—with a part-time role at IOCB Tech, the technology transfer company of one of the most successful institutes of the Czech Academy of Sciences. In this role, she focuses on knowledge transfer diplomacy, public affairs, strategic partnerships, and developing educational programmes for innovation management and knowledge valorisation.
Szilvia Nemeth has worked in the European Commission since 2005. She is deputy head of the ‘Knowledge Valorisation and Technology Infrastructures’ unit in DG Research and Innovation.
Prof. Ing. Martin Fusek, CSc., is a graduate of the University of Chemistry and Technology Prague (VŠCHT Praha) in the field of organic chemistry. In 1988, he was awarded the CSc. degree in biochemistry from the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences (ČSAV). From 1989 to 1995, he worked as a postdoctoral researcher in the USA and Germany. He is the author of more than 50 original scientific publications in peer-reviewed journals and two monographs. Since 1995, he has been an external lecturer at VŠCHT Praha, where he was awarded the title of professor in the field of biochemistry in 2012. From 1995 to 2007, he worked for Sigma-Aldrich and Merck in the Czech Republic and abroad.
Since 2007, he has been focused on technology transfer issues at the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences (ÚOCHB AV ČR). Since 2009, he has been the executive director of IOCB Tech Ltd., which handles the technology transfer process for ÚOCHB, Czech Academy of Sciences, and since 2012, he has been the deputy director for translational research at the same institute. He is a member of the Research Council of the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic (TAČR), a member of the Scientific Council of VŠCHT Praha, and a member of the Council of the Institute of Physiology of the Czech Academy of Sciences. Since 2024, he has been a member of the Council for Research, Development, and Innovation.
Dr. Inge Volman connects scientific innovations with societal impact as Innovation Manager at NOLAI (National Education Lab AI), the Radboud University in the Netherlands. Following her PhD in cognitive neuroscience in 2013, assistant professorship and a Marie Skłodowska-Curie research fellowship, she chose to focus more inclusively on building bridges between research, innovation and society.
Hana combines a legal background with extensive experience in diplomacy, project and innovation management, and engagement across the public and private sectors, academia, and NGOs.