PROMOTION OF HIGH TECH AT TECHNOLOGICAL PARKS AND
INNOVATION CENTRES IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC
by
Pavel Komárek
President of the Society of Science and Technology Parks of the Czech Republic and
Director of the Business and Innovation Centre of the Czech Technical University in Prague

 In the last time we are very often talking about new technologies, about possibilities how to finance new and developing technology oriented companies, about different ways of direct and indirect support etc. There is the aim - the success of the new product on the market and social and economic development of regions. It seems to be quite simple, sometimes. But in the fact we are talking about very complicated process, very complicated chain:

education > research and development > invention > transfer technology > product > market.

 All these chain links are acting in some environment and they need financial resources and top human resources. If we are not to be able to prepare the condition for one chain link, the others will not act perfect. We need convenient conditions for mentioned chain as a whole.

I do not want to mention all problems but I want to speak about innovation centres and science and technology parks. The aim of these institutions is to help in the establishment and development of small and medium sized technology oriented firms. These institutions prepare conditions for transfer technology. I want to speak about the Society of the Science and Technology Parks of the Czech Republic

The Society of Science and Technology Parks of the Czech Republic (SSTP) was established on July 27, 1990. It is a union of private persons, technology centres, business and innovation centres (BIC), and science and technology parks. Previous to that time there were no BICs, no technology centres, no science or technology parks in our country. All that existed was an idea. Now, 24 such institutions are operating in our country, including 5 BICs (members of the European Business and Innovation Centre Network), and the Czech Technology Park in Brno. Several new projects are also under preparation.

Some principal aims of the SSTP

• more flexible transfer of scientific and research results into industry,
• achievement of better competitiveness in both domestic and foreign markets,
• strengthening of promising, technically progressive production programs to replace outdated and inefficient processes, gradually leading to structural changes in the economy, especially in problematic regions,
• revitalisation of the economy in certain regions by creating employment opportunities,
• establishment and creation of small and medium sized innovation companies,
• domestic and international co-operation.

From the beginning we have not split innovation and technology centres (ITC) from science and technology parks (STPs) in our country. From the beginning we considered that these two types of institutions have similar goals, that ITC are good partners for STPs, and that these centres can sometimes form a potential nucleus for establishing a science or technology park. There are several reasons for this:

• Incubation of new innovative companies is one of the principal functions of ITC. Sooner or later these companies will leave, and STPs can provide a good new location for them.
• Clients of ITC can be good partners for co-operation with companies linked with an STP.
• Both institutions operate as an interface between R&D institutions and companies. There are many opportunities for co-operation.
• It was easier (and cheaper) for our country to start with innovation centre projects and then to follow with STP projects, rather than to follow another path.

As was already mentioned, there are five BICs in the Czech Republic – BIC C.T.U. Prague, BIC Brno, BIC Plzen, BIC Ostrava and TC AS CR. All of them are member of European Business and Innovation Centre Network. The association was established in 1984 by the European Commission. Now there are more than 150 full members in 22 European countries. All Czech BIS have good co-operation with regional organs, chamber of commerce, with R&D institutions. For example this year all of them have established consortia with the regional technical universities and they are Regional Contact Points for 5^th Framework Programme.

There is the Czech Technology Park in Brno and several new projects are under preparation in the Czech Republic. Two of these new projects should be mentioned here:

1. Technology Park in Plzen – This project is being prepared in West Bohemia by three partners: the city of Plzen, the West Bohemia University, and BIC Plzen. There is good co-operation with the United Kingdom Association of Science Parks.
2. Technology Park in Ostrava – This project is being prepared in North Moravia with the help of the Phare programme by the city of Ostrava, the Regional Development Agency Ostrava, the VŠB – Technical University Ostrava, the Ostrava University and the Silesia University in Opava. This project started with an incubator, of course with the help of BIC Ostrava.

Best practices are important

As examples of best practice, we will present several new Czech companies:

• DHI HYDROINFORM, a.s., provides advisory and specialised services in the field of water management and the environment. Over a period of five years, the company transformed itself from a limited liability company into a joint-stock company, and increased its basic capital to about USD 0.5 mil. It was the first company from the Czech Republic to be awarded the prestigious European Information Technology Award, in 1996 (there were other winners as Nokia Mobiel Phones, IBM Scientific Centre, Hewlett-Packard Laboratories etc.). The company co-operates very closely with the Danish Hydraulic Institute, which ranks among the top institutes in its field. From this year it can use the name DHI and they are operating in a lot of countries. (BIC CTU Prague)

• Et Netera, s.r.o. – It is Interenet studio established by the students from Czech Technical University in Prague. Now it has more than 50 employees it doubled its turnover each three month and it has clients as Siemens CR, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic, Eurotel etc. (BIC CTU Prague)

• AEV, spol. s. r.o., a company specialising in producing electronic instruments for aircraft and automobiles. Four years after its incorporation, this company constructed a modern production plant in Kromeriz on a greenfield site. More than 160 employees are employed in this plant and the turnover amounts to more than 8 mil. USD. In 1995, the company received certification according to DIN EN ISO 9001. (BIC Brno, PINK Kromeriz)

• AWELD, spol. s.r.o. was set up in 1996 thanks to support given to its founder for several years in an entrepreneurial incubator. The company uses new welding technologies and employs 20 persons at present. Although it has moved to new premises, it continues to co-operate with the innovation centre. The new business plan, for which funding has already been ensured, envisages production (including exports) increasing by up to 40 to 50% over the next three years. (BIC Plzeň)

• OCHI, spol. s r.o. provides technical and engineering services, particularly in the field of hydraulic drives. This company was able to increase its turnover from USD 100 000 to almost USD 2 mil., without the help of foreign capital, over a period of five years. It also contributed to the incorporation of three daughter companies, which have extended the range of services offered. In 1998, the company obtained a quality control system certificate based on EN ISO 9001. (BIC Ostrava)

• EXBIO, spol. s r.o., works on newly-developed monoclonal antibodies and diagnostic apparatus that make use of them. The company started out with two employees in 1996. Today, it has 11 employees. Its catalogue contains more than 100 items of monoclonal antibodies, and the company exports 95% of its production to the EU countries and to the USA. Its tumour detection apparatus received the Best Product Award for 1997 in the Innovation of the Year competition organised by the Association of Innovation Entrepreneurship of the Czech Republic. (Technology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague)

Technology centres, business and innovation centres, and science and technology parks are accepted tools in the Czech Republic. Their importance in the development of modern industries is now widely recognised and supported by the Czech Government.

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