Did you know that there is a Czech Championship in the field of CNC milling? And that the last two champions are from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering of the Brno University of Technology? According to the 2022 national champion, the demanding qualification and stress from the final day paid off: at work, he got promoted, he connects school theory with practice more easily, and the competition opened the door to the world for him.

Martin Češka is in his second year of studying Mechanical Engineering at the Brno University of Technology. While still a high school student, he joined a CNC milling competition organized by a non-profit organization Skills Czech Republic. And he won. "It took me from zero to one hundred in a single year. I went from being a machine guy to an application technologist who travels the world. I have spoken in the Senate and the Chamber of Commerce. But most of all, I really enjoy it," says the Czech, who has also become a kind of ambassador of the competition thanks to the title of the national champion.

It was his performance at the Sokolská high school in Brno that prompted last year's national champion Tomáš Křivánek to sign up for Skills. "It was a great decision. The best experience is that I was able to do everything myself. In a company, they usually don't let you make a mistake because they don't want to break a tool or destroy a machine, but here in the competition it was all up to us. They even let us make mistakes, which is the most important thing for a person," recalls Křivánek, now also a student at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering of the Brno University of Technology.

"This competition is unique in how complex its assignment is. The competitors receive a drawing where they have prescribed surface roughness as well as geometric and length tolerances that must be observed. And within those tolerances, they have to produce the part. Thus, the end product is not the program, but the actual component. They have to design the clamping of the semi-finished product, the tools to be used, and have to choose the right cutting conditions for the tools. Then comes the actual programming in the CAM system, where the program simulation takes place. And finally, the students physically go to the machine where they make the part. All this in one day and in one attempt," says Jan Zouhar, Director of the Institute of Engineering Technology.

The competition has been held in the Czech Republic for the last few years and follows on from the previous tradition, that had been interrupted for many years. Abroad, on the other hand, WorldSkills has a long history and foreign competition is very strong in the best sense of the word. "In September, I travelled to France for see their final. There we could see how the world's best do it. It was unbelievable," says the Czech, for whom the title of champion literally opened the door to the world. If all goes well, he will compete in the World Championship in 2025. "I take it with great humility, I still have a lot of work to do. I've already started preparing," he adds.

Jan Zouhar explains why milling is so crucial: "Machining is one of the basic operations in industry, without which we can hardly do anything. Let's realize that almost every manufactured part goes through some kind of machining cycle. This competition is unique in that it requires not only knowledge of programming, but also of tools, tool materials, machining conditions, programming in CAM software and knowledge of the machine itself."

Studying at a university can then add the necessary theoretical extension to the practical skills of high school students. "We build on their practical foundations and teach them why things happen the way they do," Zouhar explains, adding that he is very happy to see talented students such as Tomáš Křivánek or Martin Češka among the applicants for the study of Mechanical Engineering. "Such a title as the national champion is already a sign of quality. We want to encourage them to develop further. We are happy to prepare the conditions for them to train in our workshop to help them prepare for the World Finals. In addition, the Skills competition is not only for high school students, but is limited to the age of up to 25, so our current students can also participate," adds Zouhar.

While Martin Češka is already diligently preparing for the final in 2025, Tomáš Křivánek would not make a possible world appearance until 2027. Until then, he will continue to work on what he has learned. "I've been drawn to technology since the ninth grade. I enjoy how everything fits together and makes sense, everything can be rationally explained," says Křivánek, who will also find employment in the company where he qualified for the competition during his studies. "I'll have a permanent part-time job with them. I should be assisting the Chief Technologist in developing the robot that will load the parts," he concludes.