At the turn of January and February, our doctoral students participated in Scientific Writing Camp 2026, which is organized annually for doctoral students by the PhD Academy of the VŠB-TUO. The two-day event took place on February 2–3 at the university campus in Ostrava-Poruba and aimed to promote interdisciplinary cooperation, the development of scientific writing, and the preparation of high-quality publications.

This year's event was attended by nearly thirty doctoral students from three universities – VŠB-TUO, the University of Ostrava, and the Silesian University in Opava. Representing our university were doctoral students Lukáš Zajíček, Adriana Jochymek, Sampras Femi Robert, and Daniel Mikušťák, along with postdoctoral researcher Shahi Md. Tanvir Alam. The participants were divided into five teams, whose task was to formulate a research question, identify a research gap, propose a methodology, and outline a plan for future collaboration leading to the publication of a scientific article during two intensive days. One of the main benefits, but also challenges, of the entire event was finding common ground between fields that at first glance seem very distant.

"This was clearly demonstrated in the case of our TrashCAN team, which consisted of experts in mathematics, economics, molecular biology, energy, and waste management. In addition, each member of our team came from a different country—Madagascar, China, Nigeria, Pakistan, and the Czech Republic. Despite these differences, we managed to find a common theme and develop a research proposal entitled ‘Smart-Bio-Char: Waste for Sustainable Genetic Diagnostics,’” describes PhD student Daniel Mikušťák.

The proposed project focused on the use of waste materials to produce functional biochar-based sorbents for DNA isolation. The aim was to design a sustainable and affordable alternative to commercial silica columns commonly used in genetic diagnostics, in line with the principles of the circular economy.  The combination of mathematical modeling, experimental biology, materials engineering, machine learning, and an economic perspective on the cost and sustainability of the proposed solution played an important role in the project.

"The project caught the attention not only of the expert jury, but also of the other camp participants. Our TrashCAN team ultimately managed to take first place in the overall evaluation and also won the Most Popular Team award, which is given based on a vote by all participants," adds Daniel Mikušťák. 

However, another representative of our university also enjoyed success. PhD student Adriana Jochymek and her Future Waste team took third place with their project "Integrated Waste Thermal Treatment: Life Cycle Assessment and Predictive Modeling of Emissions and Product Quality." The project focused on integrated waste thermal treatment with an emphasis on life cycle assessment and predictive modeling of emissions and output product quality. Here, too, interdisciplinary cooperation and the integration of technical, environmental, and analytical approaches played a key role.

The meeting of doctoral students from three universities thus reaffirmed the importance of inter-institutional and interdisciplinary cooperation. Scientific Writing Camp 2026 also showed that even very diverse teams can come up with a well-thought-out and competitive research project in a short period of time if they have the space, support, and desire to find a common direction.