Masaryk University Staff Training Week 2024 Research Managers and Administrators

MUNI is a major hub and facilitator of national (and international) collaboration of Czech science, being involved in fourteen large research infrastructures (LRI) on the Czech national roadmap of research infrastructures. Moreover, the University’s LRI are strongly networked, being part of twelve ESFRI projects and landmarks (e.g. INSTRUCT, ECRIN, EuroBioImaging, OPENSCREEN, EATRIS, ELIXIR, ACTRIS, DARIAH and CLARIN, GGP). MUNI coordinates a new ESFRI project – Environmental Exposure Assessment Research Infrastructure (EIRENE) from 2021 update of the ESFRI Roadmap.

The infrastructural upgrading is well matched by development of R&I support services at MUNI. From the fifth position in FP7, MUNI has become the most successful Czech organisation in H2020 and retains its leading position in Horizon Europe, being the third most successful institution from EU-13. Until now, the University managed to contract almost 38 million EUR in 60 projects of Horizon Europe. MUNI has also hosted 12 ERC grants stretching across all domains of research. The drive for institutional upgrading is well demonstrated by the track record of MUNI in Widening instruments of Horizon Europe (coordinator of 2 Teaming Centres of Excellence, 6 Twinnings, 3 ERA Chairs, 2 Excellence Hubs, 2 European Excellence Initiative projects).

Responsible research assessment is an important institutional value for Masaryk University. MUNI actively participated in developing the Agreement for Reforming Research Assessment and signed the Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment (CoARA) in 2022. In 2022, Masaryk University implemented an evaluation according to its own design (Internal Research and Doctoral Studies Evaluation – IRDE) for the first time as one of two universities in the Czech Republic. Together with running the Centre for Scientometric Support and Evaluation, one of the very few central university departments of its kind in CEE area, and strong networking activities, all this results in the strong experience in shaping and developing the research evaluation culture in the Czech Republic.

Research management services are an important facilitator of the success of MUNI in R&I. The MUST Week will be a tour of central services that are essential for development of excellent research at universities and other research institutions: grant support, research evaluation, and management of research infrastructures. It is a week of intense knowledge exchange with spotlight on good practice examples from MUNI, but co-created by all participants.