Ing. Marek Miltner, a doctoral student at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering of the Czech Technical University in Prague, was included in Forbes magazine's prestigious 30 Under 30 selection as an expert in artificial intelligence who connects research with business. Miltner says he is motivated by connecting Prague and its Czechoslovak talent with the world.
"My task now is to build commercial success with the startup PangeAI, which will help companies and public institutions evaluate intended investments anywhere in the world. Through the analysis of geographic information systems using artificial intelligence," said Miltner. He founded the startup together with Johanna von der Leyen, daughter of the head of the European Commission.
In addition to his doctorate at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering of the Czech Technical University in Prague, Miltner regularly works at Stanford University in the US, where he visits his dissertation supervisor and specialist. He graduated from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering with a bachelor's degree in Software Engineering and Technology (SIT) and from the Masaryk Institute of Advanced Studies (MÚVS) at CTU with a master's degree in Innovation Management. He studied Technology Policy at the University of Cambridge.
In 2024, together with the then vice-rector Prof. Oldřich Starý and doctoral student Ondřej Štogl, he founded the LIMESS Sustainability Lab, where he continues to develop his main area of professional interest—the analysis of data related to electric vehicle charging stations and the prediction of charging demand.
The LIMESS Sustainability Lab, together with the prg.ai association and Insane Business Ideas, co-founded the Prague branch of the AI Tinkerers initiative, which organizes regular meetings of artificial intelligence experts at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering of the Czech Technical University in Prague. Deepening ties between experts is intended to promote the sharing of experiences and the development of further innovations in this field. AI Tinkerers FEL has also been visited by international experts, such as Joe Heitzeberg, one of the organizers of the global AI Tinkerers meetings, and Professor Ram Rajagopal from Stanford University, who is also Marek Miltner's specialist supervisor.
Although Miltner has extensive international experience, he has not turned his back on the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, quite the contrary. "I was lucky enough to study at the best universities in the world and am now continuing my doctoral studies, so I have a broad basis for comparison. At the same time, my assessment of my bachelor's studies at FEL often surprises others. I remember it as the most demanding study program I have ever experienced, but at the same time with humility," Miltner recalled in 2024 in an interview as a graduate of the Software Engineering and Technology (SIT) bachelor's programme.
"I learned most of the technical skills I still use today during this period. SIT offers a unique computer science program focused not only on programming, but also on management sciences, networking, and multimedia creation, such as augmented reality, which helped me put computer science into a broader context," he added.
2023: Tomáš Trejdl in Forbes 30 Under 30
This is not the first time that the Faculty of Electrical Engineering at CTU has had a representative in the prestigious Forbes 30 Under 30 selection. In 2023, Tomáš Trejdl, then a student in the Open Informatics (OI) master's program at FEL, was named in the selection. He earned his place in the ranking thanks to the fact that he and his friend Vasil Kostin, a medical student at the Third Faculty of Medicine at Charles University, developed a special mouse pad to prevent carpal tunnel syndrome.
The principle of the smart Wrest pad is that, together with a PC application, it monitors the position of the user's hand on the mouse. If the hand is in the wrong position or the person works for a long time without a break, it sends a warning. The idea, which Trejdl worked on as a programmer, has also been successful beyond the borders of the Czech Republic. It made it to the world finals of the Red Bull Basement project for young innovators in Istanbul.
"No other device on the market can track the position of the user's hand on the mouse. Unfortunately, there is no pill or ointment that can cure carpal tunnel syndrome. However, effective prevention includes limiting repetitive movements, taking regular breaks, and exercising," said Trejdl in an interview after the Red Bull Basement finals in 2022.
