Part of the funds from the grant for Albertov will be used by the university, the agreement was supported by the ministry

MUNI BioPharma Hub

Prague – The Ministry of Education has decided to change the allocation of a grant from the National Recovery Plan (NPO) for the construction of university campuses, supporting the agreement between Charles University (UK) and Masaryk University in Brno (MU). Part of the funds from the delayed construction of the Biocentrum Albertov will be redirected to the second project UK MEPHARED 2 in Hradec Králové and to the MUNI BioPharma Hub project of Masaryk University. The grant for the MUNI BioPharma Hub has been increased by approximately 1.1 billion crowns, UK announced today in a press release.

The Albertov campus was to be completed in June 2026; it is now expected that the building will be completed in the autumn of 2028 and will welcome students only in the academic year 2029/2030, UK stated. The university had previously communicated that the construction is delayed due to archaeological research.

Approximately 600 million crowns could no longer be utilized within the given time frame and will return to the state budget, UK said. The university will negotiate with the grant provider about the possibilities of utilizing at least part of the funds in the future to complete strategic infrastructure.

"We managed to convince the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports to not only halt the proceedings regarding the withdrawal of the grant for the BCA (Biocentrum Albertov) and MEPHARED 2 projects but also to achieve a change in the grant, thanks to intensive negotiations with the ministry, which took into account the progress in the BCA construction in its decision. Both UK projects represent the largest infrastructural investment of our university in its modern history," said UK Rector Jiří Zima.

It was necessary to adjust the funding so that the Czech Republic would not lose the NPO funds as a whole and at the same time, projects in Brno and Hradec Králové could be completed, UK stated.

"We viewed the process of changing financing within the National Recovery Plan as a responsible joint effort of the universities and the Ministry of Education to ensure that the Czech Republic fulfills its commitments to the European Commission, does not jeopardize the development of Czech higher education, and at the same time enhances its quality and competitiveness," said MU Rector Martin Bareš.

The amount of the grant for the MUNI BioPharma Hub was increased by approximately 1.1 billion crowns. This will allow MU to particularly expand its equipment with top-notch research infrastructure and laboratory technology, UK mentioned. The ceremonial opening of the MUNI BioPharma Hub is scheduled for November 30. MEPHARED 2 will focus on the development of pharmaceutical, medical, and biomedical fields. The first students will start utilizing it from the academic year 2026/2027, UK stated.

By the end of 2026, UK may apply for eligible costs from the grant from the NPO. "We calculated that we could spend approximately 900 million crowns," previously stated UK spokesperson and member of the Rector's Collegium Michaela Lagronová.

"UK is (...) forced to solve the issue that after 2026, the project will no longer be able to be financed from the grant from the Ministry of Education within the NPO, which UK had to reduce. Our calculations now take into account the need for additional financial resources of about three billion crowns. The specific source of these additional funds has not yet been decided," Lagronová previously stated.