Masaryk University International Scientific Advisory Board
The Masaryk University International Scientific Advisory Board is an independent body composed of internationally recognized scientists tasked with helping the university develop scientific strategies and providing independent assessment and advice on a range of science-related issues. The board meets once a year.
Board members
The members of the board are Peter Williamson from Cambridge University, Marie-Janine Calic from Munich University (LMU), Viktor Kunčak from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL), Christiane Druml from the Medical University of Vienna, and Keith Caldecott from the University of Sussex in the UK.
Since 2026, Peter Williamson has been the chair of the council, taking over from Josef Jiřičný, who became an honorary member of the council.
Peter Williamson
Director of management studies at the Cambridge Judge Business School
His extensive experience includes areas such as management research, counselling and education; he has also been active as a consultant in a number of companies. His research focus includes, among other areas, globalization and its implications for corporate strategies.
Marie-Janine Calic
German historian specializing in East European and South-East European history
Active at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, currently the thirtieth best university in the world and the number one in Germany. Her research focuses on the conflicts, economics and social history of South-East Europe and its ethnic minorities. She has also worked for the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.
Keith Caldecott
British biochemist, Professor at the University of Sussex and the director of Genome Damage and Stability Centre
In 1995 established his own laboratory at the University of Manchester, and in 2002 moved to the Genome Damage and Stability Centre (GDSC); a multi-disciplinary centre-of-excellence funded jointly by the MRC and the University of Sussex. In 2025 he became the director of this center.
Viktor Kunčak
Associate Professor at EPFL specializing in information technologies and machine learning
Since 2007 he has been working as an associate professor at EPFL, where he runs a laboratory focusing on automatic reasoning and analysis in the field of information technology. His research focuses on languages, algorithms and systems of verification and automatic reasoning. In 2012, he received a prestigious ERC grant.
Christiane Druml
Austrian lawyer and bioethicist, Holder of the UNESCO Chair on Bioethics of the Medical University of Vienna
Gained her international renown for her efforts to uphold transparent medical research committed to the highest ethical principles. She founded the Vienna Initiative to Save European Academic Research, which focused on the importance of non-commercially funded clinical research within Europe. She served as vice-dean for clinical affairs at the Medical University of Vienna.
Josef Jiřičný
Professor Emeritus, ETH Zurich
Graduate of the Aston University in Birmingham and the University of London. Member of the European Molecular Biology Organization and Academia Europaea. His research focus includes the molecular mechanisms of DNA repair in human cells, specifically with respect to colorectal carcinoma.