Introducing 2025 PhD graduate, Dr. Adam Hruška
Dr. Adam Hruška earned his Ph.D. in agricultural sciences under the supervision of prof. Ing. Josef Soukup, CSc. (Czech University of Life Sciences Prague). His research focused on the computer vision driven weed detection. His research topic was ‘Use of artificial intelligence for the detection of weeds in crop stands’.
Dr. Hruška has coauthored five scientific publications, participated actively at international conferences, and participated in a foreign internship during the 4 years of his doctoral studies. He has been a member of the BRT at the Czech University of Life Sciences Prague since the third year of his studies.
To get more insights into Dr. Hruška's academic journey, our BRT Communications team conducted an interview to capture his thoughts and share his story.
ENJOY THE INTERVIEW!
Question 1: How does it feel to have successfully defended your doctoral dissertation?
Dr. Hruška: It is in an essence a weird feeling, given that majority of my studies I had a clear future path in front of me, yet now the future is much less certain. On the other hand, it certainly feels uplifting to know that I indeed was able to finish my studies successfully and on time.
Question 2: Can you share pivotal moments from your academic journey that you believe were crucial in successfully defending your doctoral dissertation?
Dr. Hruška: Interestingly enough, I believe that one course back on Faculty of Social Sciences of Charles University was the point that pushed me on my current academic journey. As a part of security of technology module, I have attended a course on AI alignment, where the lecturer Dr. Špelda ignited my interest in artificial intelligence by starting a truly fascinating debates. This fascination led me to first focusing on theoretical realm of AI and later to practical implementation of the technology.
Question 3: Reflecting on the process, what were the significant challenges you encountered while writing your dissertation and defence phases, and how did you navigate through them?
Dr. Hruška: Honestly, I’d say that the typical challenge was the uncertainty in the terms of review process of publications as given the official time limit given for the doctoral studies. Other than that there were smaller hurdles such as insufficient data, but those were relatively simple to overcome.
Question 4: Balancing academic commitments, personal life, and other responsibilities can be demanding. How have you managed to strike that balance while working on your dissertation?
Dr. Hruška: I did not? Haha. I mean I did my best to try balancing it, but since academic life is like a roller coaster ride, there were moments when I had easy balance with other activities, yet others when such balance was basically impossible.
Question 5: What valuable advice would you offer for fellow doctoral candidates preparing for their dissertation defence?
Dr. Hruška: Be calm, it is going to be fine. You worked on this for at least four years, so there aren’t many people who understand your topic as well as you do.
Question 6: Do you have any recommendations for current and future BRT students?
Dr. Hruška: Well, I think that they should enjoy their freedom to research whatever they are interested in and what they enjoy, as the study years are the exact time to do so. Other that that I recommend all to participate in internships, conferences and summer schools as once again, those are the most enjoyable in a position of a student.
Question 7: Now that you have reached this momentous achievement - What are your plans for the future?
Dr. Hruška: The hardest question. Finish the ongoing projects and hopefully start a full on scientific career, maybe combine it with farming, but those future scenarios are not clear at the moment.
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