News
FST4: ÚTIA releases a new generation of its Feature Selection Toolbox
31/10/2026FST4: ÚTIA releases a new generation of its Feature Selection Toolbox The Institute of Information Theory and Automation has published Feature Selection Toolbox 4, an open-source library and command-line tool that finds the best subset of a large set of candidates, now usable without writing any code and extended by a new stochastic search method for problems with tens of thousands of variables. The Institute of Information Theory and Automation of the Czech Academy of Sciences (ÚTIA) has released Feature Selection Toolbox 4 (FST4), the first new generation of its feature selection software since FST3 in 2010. Developed at ÚTIA since 1999, it now appears for the first time under a free software license, together with a new research paper. Feature selection answers a question that arises whenever data drive decisions: which of the many measured variables actually matter? The same question appears wherever a few items must be chosen out of thousands of candidates, from sensors to diagnos
Read moreCall for Applications: Director of UTIA CAS
19/10/2026The Czech Academy of Sciences invites applications for the position of Director of the Institute of Information Theory and Automation of the CAS (ÚTIA), with an anticipated term of office from 1 May 2027 to 30 April 2032. Applicants are expected to hold a university degree and scientific qualifications in a field relevant to the Institute’s research, have a corresponding research track record, demonstrate organisational skills and management experience, and have a good command of English. Application deadline: 18 November 2026 at 15:00 (CET). Full requirements, a list of required supporting documents, and application instructions are available in the Call for Applications (PDF).
Read moreÚTIA Study Accepted by a Leading Finance Journal
16/10/2026A new study by ÚTIA researchers Jozef Baruník and Matěj Nevrla has been accepted for publication in the Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis (JFQA), one of the leading international journals in financial economics. JFQA is one of only five finance journals included in the Financial Times FT50 list, which is used, among other purposes, to assess research quality at leading business schools. Publication is highly selective: the journal received 1,275 submissions in 2024 and accepted only around 6%. The paper, Common Idiosyncratic Quantile Factors and Asset Prices, examines the relationship between risks specific to individual companies and market-wide risk. It shows that risks that appear to be firm-specific contain a common component that becomes more pronounced during declines in stock returns. According to the study, stocks with greater exposure to this common risk earn a return premium of approximately 7–8% per year, even after accounting for established sources of financia
Read more11/5-6/2026 Discover the World of Science with ÚTIA at the Week of the Czech Academy of Sciences
15/10/2026The Week of the Czech Academy of Sciences is just around the corner, bringing an opportunity to discover the world of science! From 2 to 8 November 2026, research institutes across the Czech Republic will open their doors to the public and offer a closer look at the work of scientists. ÚTIA will be taking part on Thursday 5 and Friday 6 November, with a series of lectures held in Czech. How can we identify the source of air pollution? How can we make the right decisions when we do not know the truth? And how can chance create order? These are just some of the questions we will explore together. The lectures cover a wide range of topics, including mathematical modelling, artificial intelligence, economics, image processing, robotics and other areas of ÚTIA’s research.
Read moreSpheroSeg: ÚTIA and UCT Prague develop a tool for analysing cell spheroids
01/10/2026A new publication in the journal Computer Methods and Programs in Biomedicine presents the results of a collaboration between researchers from the Institute of Information Theory and Automation of the Czech Academy of Sciences and the Faculty of Food and Biochemical Technology at the University of Chemistry and Technology, Prague. Together, they developed SpheroSeg, a platform using deep learning methods for the automated analysis of cell spheroids. Cell spheroids are three-dimensional clusters of cells used as models of tumour tissue, for example to study tumour growth or evaluate treatment response. Analysing them using microscopy images can be time-consuming, and the results can be affected by differences in the conditions under which the images were acquired. SpheroSeg can automatically identify and segment spheroids in bright-field microscopy images. Researchers can then manually adjust the results, obtain measurements of individual spheroid morphology, and export the data for fur
Read moreÚTIA Contributes to the New Czech Academy of Sciences Educational Trail
24/09/2026On Friday, September 25, 2026, a new educational trail will officially open on the grounds of the Czech Academy of Sciences in Prague 8. The trail presents the work of the institutes of the Czech Academy of Sciences based in this part of Prague. ÚTIA is contributing to the project with its own interactive exhibit – a Galton board. Designed as an “open-air science center”, the educational trail features seven interactive exhibits. They introduce visitors to a range of topics explored by the participating institutes and offer an opportunity to experience science directly in a public space. ÚTIA’s Galton Board ÚTIA’s exhibit is a Galton board, which provides a hands-on demonstration of basic principles of probability theory. As the balls pass through the board, they repeatedly change direction at random, gradually forming the characteristic shape of a normal distribution. The Galton board is based on a simple principle that makes it possible to observe how individual random events can pro
Read moreCall for Papers: EXPLORA Workshop 2027 in Prague
11/09/2026ÚTIA will host the EXPLORA Workshop “Foraging for Information: Dynamics of Exploratory Movements and Perception”, taking place in Prague on 12–14 April 2027. The workshop is organized within the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Doctoral Network EXPLORA, which brings together an international and interdisciplinary network of research partners studying how humans and intelligent systems actively explore materials, objects and environments. We invite contributions addressing a broad range of topics including material perception and appearance, computational modelling, multimodal and active sensing, computer vision, haptics, psychophysics, human–machine interaction and robotics. Contributions from PhD students and early-stage researchers are particularly encouraged.
Read more10/5-9/2026 Prof. Martin Kružík among the lecturers at the 4EU+ Masterclass in Mathematics 2026
30/07/2026Prof. Martin Kružík from the Institute of Information Theory and Automation of the Czech Academy of Sciences (UTIA) and the Faculty of Civil Engineering, Czech Technical University in Prague, has been invited to lecture at the 4EU+ Masterclass in Mathematics 2026, taking place on 5–9 October 2026 at Heidelberg University. Organized by Heidelberg University within the 4EU+ European University Alliance, this international educational programme focuses on advanced mathematical topics for selected Master's and PhD students from partner universities of the alliance. Through three specialized modules, participants will explore advanced topics in nonlinear analysis with applications in materials science and phase field models. The programme combines theoretical lectures with practical afternoon exercises.
Read moreUTIA at the 10th Anniversary Edition of the Science Fair
09/06/2026From 4 to 6 June, UTIA took part in the 10th anniversary edition of Science Fair 2026, the largest science outreach event of its kind in the Czech Republic, organized by the Czech Academy of Sciences. Over the course of three days, we had the opportunity to present research and technologies developed at our institute, discuss their practical applications, and introduce visitors to some of the areas of research pursued at UTIA. We were delighted by the strong interest in our demonstrations and by the many inspiring conversations we had throughout the event. It was also an honour to welcome Radomír Pánek, President of the Czech Academy of Sciences, and Jiří Drahoš, former President of the Czech Academy of Sciences, to our booth. During their visit, they had the opportunity to learn more about some of the research presented by our team.
Read moreTomáš Kerepecký spoke in the “World in the Age of AI” discussion at the Science Fair
05/06/2026On 5 June 2026, the World in the Age of AI panel discussion took place as part of the Science Fair at PVA EXPO Prague. The discussion focused on the impact of artificial intelligence on everyday life, work, decision-making and questions of responsibility. The Science Fair is held from 4 to 6 June 2026 and is one of the largest science popularisation events in the Czech Republic. One of the speakers was our colleague Ing. Tomáš Kerepecký, Ph.D. from the Institute of Information Theory and Automation of the Czech Academy of Sciences. Together with the other guests, he discussed how AI works in practice, where it reaches ethical and legal limits, and what its development means for the role of humans in an increasingly data-driven world. The discussion was moderated by Václav Moravec.
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