Czech-British Technology & Innovation Days
If you were asked to name the country where the propeller and gravure printing were originally invented or even where the laws of heredity were formulated and soft contact lenses were invented, it is not likely that you would immediately plump for the Czech Republic, a central European nation of just 10 million people which had a tradition of innovation and high-quality engineering decades before the Second World War sealed its fate as part of the former eastern bloc.
It appears that the UK is now taking note of the Czech Republic’s advantageous position as a small EU economy with unique technical skills and an impressive industrial tradition in engineering, electronics and life sciences backed by a tradition of high-quality education and scientific research, and thus a source of “new brains” for new sectors. Commercial and investment activities between both countries are steadily growing. The volume of trade between the UK and the Czech Republic has nearly doubled since 2004, when the Czech Republic joined the EU. Due to these booming import and export activities, the UK now is among the Czech Republic’s top 10 trading partners.
The UK is also increasingly looking to the Czech Republic as an investment location, especially for those higher-end “value added” activities which represent a positive new trend for the host. According to the Financial Times’ FDI Intelligence, the UK is now in fourth place in terms of the number of investment projects in the Czech Republic just after Germany, the US and Japan, with approximately eight percent of global foreign direct investment in the Czech Republic – and the figure is growing. R&D centres of companies like Vodafone, Ricardo and Chiltern International are just a few examples of successful cooperation between the academic and business communities of the UK and the Czech Republic.
To further support business and research contacts is the main aim of the Czech-British Technology Days, which will hopefully contribute to the success of a series of similar events organized with partner organizations in Japan, Korea, Switzerland, Israel and other countries. The objective is to explore, facilitate and advance opportunities for cooperation in the fields of science, innovation and technology development between businesses, academia, science and research institutions and public bodies responsible for policy and public support in both the Czech Republic and United Kingdom.
