Czech Republic and ESO signed Training Programme Agreement

The Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic (MEYS) and the European Southern Observatory (ESO) have concluded on the 14th March 2019 an agreement establishing an on-the-job training programme for Czech students and young scientists and engineers, to be realised in ESO facilities in Germany and Chile.

The agreement was signed by Pavel Doleček, Acting Deputy Minister for Higher Education, Science and Research, and Xavier Barcons, ESO Director General. The ceremony was held at the ESO Headquarters in Garching, Germany, and attended also by Kristina Larischová, Consul General of the Czech Republic in Munich; Jan Kreuter, Consul for Politics and Commerce; and the ESO Council Delegates of the Czech Republic, Jan Buriánek and Jan Palouš.

The programme will be funded by MEYS with the main aim of carrying out training to match the needs of Czech research organisations and industries. The training will be provided by ESO to students from universities in the Czech Republic and young interns (up to the age of 32) in science and engineering affiliated to Czech universities and research organisations. The span of the individual courses will range from 6 months to 2 years.

The Czech Republic has been a Member State of ESO since 2007. The training programme will further strengthen the mutual cooperation, as well as advance the work of scientists and engineers both within ESO and the Czech Republic in supporting technological development in astronomy and astrophysics.