The visit started by the informal and friendly meeting with the President of the Rega Foundation of KU Leuven and a director of the Belgian (Flemish) Royal Academy of Medicine Prof. Erik de Clercq, who cooperated closely with Prof. Antonín Holý from ÚOCHB. Profesor Erik de Clercq and  Prof Antonín Holý jointly invented many efficient virostatics, among them Viread which is used in the AIDS treatment. Their joint projects resulted in 15 groundbreaking patents and many important publications.

President of the Rega Foundation and a director of the Belgian (Flemish) Royal Academy of Medicine

After the meeting the lunch took place in the Faculty club with executive director of KU Leuven Research & Development and Chairman of the Gemma Frisius Fonds of the KU Leuven Prof. Koen De Backere. The existing wide and traditional cooperation was discussed including several concrete projects or fields for future cooperation with Czech universities and research institutes.

Next part of the program was dedicated to the visit of Bakala Academy – the research center of KU Leuven founded by Zdeněk Bakala which focuses on research in the area of sport and preparation of sportsmen with the accent on cycling and triathlon. The guided tour of the center by scientific director prof Peter Hespel demonstrated wide opportunities which center offer to different sportsman in different sports.

Fruitful and intersting day was closed by the glass of local bier with Renilde Loeckx, prof. de Clercq under the supervision of Prof. Denis de Keukeleire of university of Ghent a leading researcher of hop and bier science who accompanied the delegation throughout the program and shared his wisdom and humor.