From March 23 to 27, 2026, the first edition of the Spin-off Academy program took place at the Czech Institute of Informatics, Robotics, and Cybernetics (CIIRC) at the Czech Technical University in Prague (CTU). The program focused on developing scientific projects toward their practical application. Yue Xu from Marek Piliarik’s Nano Optics research team placed second in the final evaluation with the project BioCAT: Label-free super-resolution microscopy for real-time imaging & biosensing, which focuses on advanced imaging and sensing without the need for sample labeling. Sixteen projects from various scientific fields were selected for the program. The event concluded with presentations to a panel of experts as part of “Demo Day.”
Yue Xu’s success demonstrates the potential of the research conducted at the Institute of Photonics and Electronics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, as well as its potential for further practical applications. Congratulations on this achievement, and we wish you every success in the project’s continued development!
About Spin-off Academy
The Spin-off Academy is an intensive five-day program designed for researchers who want to develop the commercial potential of their projects. During the program, participants work on market validation, formulating a value proposition, and preparing their projects for further development, with the support of mentors from the fields of business and technology transfer. The event is organized by Lorem Ipsum Academy (Technologická gramotnost s.r.o.).
Photo, video: Lorem Ipsum Academy