Simona Kijonková gives Czech university record 6m crowns

Entrepreneur Simona Kijonková, best known for selling the logistics company Zásilkovna for billions of crowns, has donated 6 million crowns to the Czech Technical University's (ČVUT) Future Fund — the largest single contribution her foundation has ever made.

The money will go to the ČVUT Interdisciplinary Near Future Challenge (INFC) programme, which supports young researchers and scientists willing to put forward bold interdisciplinary projects. “We want to support young people who have the courage to propose new ideas and turn them into real innovations,” Kijonková explains, adding that she is investing proceeds from the sale of Zásilkovna.

She is now the fifth major private donor to the project — before her, money was put in by the Credo Foundation, Pale Fire Capital, the Wood & Company Foundation Fund and IOCB Tech Group. In total, the fund and the INFC programme have already raised 30 million crowns. ČVUT rector Michal Pěchouček noted that private support for science and research at Czech universities is still rare, and that broadening the circle of partners sends an important signal to the university.

Since selling Zásilkovna, Kijonková has thrown herself into investing: together with her husband Jaroslav Kijonka, she set up the family investment group JSK Investments and recently launched her own investment fund. More recently, she has backed a pet-care startup and bought a company that handles returns processing and sells refurbished goods. Alongside her business ventures, she has long been involved in philanthropy through her own foundation, which helps, among others, children from disadvantaged families.

Education is another long-standing cause of hers: she has previously supported students getting into prestigious universities abroad, mostly in medical fields. She sees this latest donation as a continuation of that line of work — bringing together science, entrepreneurship and international experience. “If we create good conditions for young people and give them the chance to gain experience, they will bring their knowledge back and help move Czech science and the economy forward. I'm convinced that supporting the ČVUT INFC programme is an investment in the future of the whole country,” the entrepreneur says.

Selected teams of young scientists preparing ambitious interdisciplinary projects will be able to receive up to 6 million crowns over a period of up to two years. This year no more than ten projects will be supported out of a maximum of twenty finalists. The programme complements the pilot ČVUT Starting Grant, which the university funds from its own budget at 50 million crowns a year in an effort to attract young talent from abroad.