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The Pilsen Zoo consumes hectoliters of water daily for animal hydration and plant irrigation. With such a high water usage, leaks inevitably occur, and despite everyone's best efforts, water is often handled inefficiently. The case of the Zoo was the initial impulse and testing project for a team of five scientists from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering at UWB, who began exploring how to digitally monitor sustainable water management.

Today, a tiny device manages the collection of rainwater, refilling of tanks from deep wells, and even the pumping from the Mže river. Everything is done to ensure that not a single drop is wasted. President Petr Pavel and Eva Pavlová wanted to learn more about this revolutionary technology named Nextdrop. "I had the opportunity to discuss with the President the general topic of transferring technology from the academic sphere to the business sphere—how to effectively translate research results into practice quickly. I invited him to visit UWB," said František Mach, one of the authors of the technology.

The fact that very talented students with a passion for science study at UWB was demonstrated to the presidential couple by a twenty-one-year-old student of the Faculty of Economics, Filip Kouba, who is involved in the development of escape games. After returning from an Erasmus program in Africa, he came up with the first adaptive escape game of its kind in Europe. According to him, the game, called Destinisco, is not just a technological innovation but also an inspiration for students and young creators who want to realize their ideas. "Our escape game adapts to the players over time. Each puzzle module collects certain data, which is then evaluated and used to change and adapt the story," Filip explains.

Last but not least, Jiří Vrána from UWB's New Technologies Research Centre (NTC) was also among those invited to Lány. He is part of the Pinflow Energy Storage team, which includes scientists from NTC and the University of Chemistry and Technology. The Pinflow team deals with the issue of electricity storage. The startup's product is vanadium redox flow batteries, which are non-flammable, non-explosive, and can separate capacity and power. They are another shining example of a scientific team that proves discoveries are far from confined to university campuses. In previous years, they have successfully turned their ideas into practical applications by implementing the first electricity storage unit directly in an industrial environment.

“I am convinced that if we lack something, it is not capable and brave people, but the courage and will to take on challenges. We lack the courage to support these initiatives and often get caught up in complaining, finding reasons why things don’t work and why we should avoid certain things. You are proof that this is definitely not the case and that there is something to build upon,” President Petr Pavel said at the beginning of the meeting.