School blog
From a hacked Roblox account to an educational startup: Matěj Hladeček on the ITG Podcast
The second episode of our ITG Podcast is out! This time, recent graduate Matěj Hladeček joined us in the guest chair. If you are interested in maths, physics or programming, or simply want inspiration to make the most of secondary school, do not miss this episode.
Matěj is not a typical student who is satisfied with ordinary lessons. During his time at 1. IT Gymnázium, he achieved things that might take others a decade. Instead of waiting to be told what to do or endlessly scrolling through TikTok, he took on demanding American AP courses, a research internship and the challenge of building his own platform.
What did we discuss?
You will discover not only what he worked on, but above all why he does it and how he stays motivated.
Here is a taste of what the episode covers:
A love of numbers: How Matěj watched Sazka lottery draws as a child just for the numbers, and why he kept putting his hand up and challenging his maths teacher in Year 9.
AP courses: Why he decided to take six demanding American AP courses, including the feared calculus and physics, and how they helped him on his path to university.
The reality of a research internship: Matěj took part in research at the Czech Academy of Sciences through Open Science. When did he discover that being a scientist is not just about mixing colourful liquids in a laboratory, but often involves long hours in a small office and abstract thinking?
From Roblox to cybersecurity: How a childhood experience with a hacked game account and an Instagram stalker led him to cybersecurity and success in prestigious national competitions such as Hexagon.
His own project, Resourcia: How he came up with the idea for his current project, an open community database for sharing the best educational resources on the internet.
Plans and university: Where is he heading next? We discussed his dream destinations, including names such as MIT and Stanford.
Not being afraid to lose is the greatest win
As Matěj himself says:
‘Someone who asks a question is a fool for only five minutes. Someone who never asks is a fool for life.’
Watch the full episode on our YouTube channel!
