This year, 20 PhD students from six different institutions from the Czech Republic and Slovakia participated in the seminar, with notable contributions from CEITEC and GlaCerHub students.

The program included three competitions, including the Prof. Rudolf Bárta Foundation Award, presented by the Department of Glass and Ceramics. The winners of this competition were decided by an expert committee featuring international representation, including:

• Assoc. Prof. Jaroslav Kloužek (UCT Prague),
• Dr. Richard Pokorný (UCT Prague),
• Dr. Jan Hostaša (CNR-ISSMC, Italy),
• and Dr. Anna Prnová (FunGlass, Slovakia). 

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Winners of the Prof. Rudolf Bárta Foundation Award:

• 1^st place: Ing. Petra Šimonová (Department of Glass and Ceramics, UCT Prague) – Energy-Efficient Ceramic Processing: Insights into Microwave Sintering of SnO₂-ZnO-Based Ceramics.
• 2^nd place: Ing. Marek Rotter (CEITEC BUT & FunGlass) – SPS as an Effective Pre-Sintering Technique for Transparent/Translucent HEC.
• 3^rd place: Ing. Vojtěch Ševčík (Department of Inorganic Chemistry, UCT Prague) – Preparation of Carbonate-Free BaCeO₃ Powder for REBCO Superconductors.

Additional awards were granted by professional societies:

Silicate Society Award: Ing. Herbert Kindl (Department of Inorganic Chemistry, UCT Prague) was recognized for his contribution Development and Characterization of Nanoparticle-Infused Phosphite Glass Rods via the Micro-Pulling-Down Method. Herbert Kindl will also represent the Czech Republic at the ECerS 2025 conference in Dresden in the international Student Speech Contest.

Glass Society Award: Ing. Jan Zich (University of Pardubice) was awarded for his contribution Anomalous properties of Bi₂O₂Se monocrystals.

The two-day seminar also included a social evening with a pub quiz, which was met with great enthusiasm. This event provided an excellent opportunity for informal exchanges of experiences and the establishment of new professional connections among participants.

We look forward to the next edition of this traditional gathering and believe it will continue to foster the development of the scientific community in the field of inorganic non-metallic materials.

The active participation from CEITEC and GlaCerHub students, along with FunGlass's representation on the expert committee, reflects the ongoing collaboration and development in materials research across our institutions.

Text and photos by: UCT Prague, https://sil.vscht.cz/about/INM