Priorities of Prague until 2030: Development of innovation environment, support of smart business and education
05/24/2022
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BusinessInfo.cz
At the same time, it should aim to further support the collection and analysis of urban data that has been actively used for city management. The capital also lacks a technology park where researchers can meet students, startups, business and city representatives.
The innovative environment in Prague is currently very fragmented, while experience from around the world shows that the best ideas are created when people from the fields can meet in one place – ideally on the “neutral ground” of the city. It is here that they can receive administrative support, mentoring and public contributions for the development of new projects. If the Czechia is to have the ambition to get out of the so-called middle trap, Prague should be the leader in the development of new disciplines that bring high added value and additional income for the economy.
“I very much welcome the fact that the Prague Innovation Institute is initiating a discussion on the visions and development goals of the capital. It is becoming increasingly clear that the current challenges we face as a society, which also concern the organization and management of urban space, require the joint efforts of various actors, public institutions, research institutes and private companies. I believe that Prague has good preconditions for it not only to remain in the discussion, but for this joint innovation activity to be put into practice and for Prague to become a modern “smart” city, “says Helena Langšádlová, Minister for Science, Research and Innovation.
The reported volume of investments in research and development in the Czech Republic in 2020 amounted to CZK 113.4 billion, which is 1.99 percent of GDP. “I am glad that the entire CZK 69.1 billion of these expenditures are investments by companies. Higher investment by companies in research is also stimulated by instruments such as tax deductions for research and development or programs of the Ministry of Industry and Trade – especially the TREND program to support industrial research. We also do not forget to support innovative startups, where it plays a big role CzechInvest agency and specifically, for example, the Technology Incubation program, “adds Petr Očko, the name of the Minister of Industry and Trade for Digitization and Innovation.
Innovation in Prague
Prague has resources from the business, government, university and private sectors, which have been available private since 2005 and available from non-profit organizations. In 2020, according to the Czech Statistical Office (CSO), expenditures on research and development (R&D) in the capital reached 43.5 billion crowns. Through its independent Prague Operational Program Prague – Growth Pole of the Czech Republic alone, its implementation provided support to hundreds of projects in the field of business development and innovation for more than 3 billion crowns, of which 50 percent comes from EU funds and the rest is financed by the capital and beneficiaries .
Until 2020, the potential for innovation in Prague was underused. The innovative cities environment was very fragmented with a small multidisciplinary overlap and overlap abroad, there was a lack of a system of working with lower school talents, motivation of university students to work in innovations and qualification of foreign workers in the metropolis had difficulty applying for jobs. Prague also threatened to lose crucial European funding for research, development and innovation.
The development of the innovation environment was significantly shifted in 2020 Prague Innovation Institute (Pii), as the last center of its kind in the Czech Republic. A similar one has worked in other regions for many years. The aim was to build an innovation structure that is in line with regional innovation strategies (RIS) and will support and link the activities of individual actors in the capital.
The start-up scene in the regions is strengthening. The South Moravian Region is the most active
“Prague is already well on its way to becoming a recognized leader in innovation. The potential of the city must be constantly continued, especially now the resources of the European Union are helping to do so. I see this conference as an ideal opportunity to share experience and know-how between the capital, the state and its institutions, the private sector and other actors, such as universities, ”says the mayor of Prague, Zdeněk Hřib.
“Over the years, Prague and analyzes must focus on further supporting the collection of their collection in decision-making and managing Prague’s activities, as well as supporting the use of urban technologies, which is demonstrably appropriate for the city’s activities and belongs to higher citizens’ satisfaction with its services. support for innovative education, which will achieve competencies corresponding to 2022 with a view to 2030 and beyond, ”recommends Jaromír Beránek, a representative of the City of Prague, the IT Committee and the chairman of Smart City.
According to Jaromír Beránek, a representative of the City of Prague, the science and technology park is an example of infrastructure that Prague lacks significantly, where scientists and researchers could meet students, startups, large companies and representatives of the city and non-profit organizations. Here, too, children could learn about science and the work of scientists in a natural way and look for opportunities for future employment.
Projects of the Prague Innovation Institute (Pii)
As a registered institute, Pii implements projects that are funded by more than 90 percent of European sources. The rest of the rental Prague. It is project-bound money, the organization with fifty regular employees does not yet have institutional funding.
“Over the course of two years, we have created nine innovation platforms where ideas are developed to support innovation in different areas and directions. These include entrepreneurship and education, areas where Prague has not been very successful in supporting innovation. Education and business support are the main ingredients of innovation in the form. As the only one of its kind in the Czech Republic, we have the opportunity to functionally connect these areas and we try to fulfill this potential in the conference Innovative Visions of Prague 2030, which does not lack a student element in corporate mode, “adds director Pirate Bohumil Kartous. education and at the same time one of the teams recording the conference.
An example of projects that have been created in Pii to support innovation is Prague Smart Accelerator with an allocation of 65.8 million crowns. It includes a grant call of CZK 12 million, the so-called Assistance Vouchers. Within it, research organizations and companies can submit their projects, which are in a very running phase and need investment funds for further development. Prague has promised support of up to 20 million crowns for the next round of Assistance Vouchers for this year.
Another example of business support is the DoToho! Mentoring program, in which medium-sized entrepreneurs from Prague could have twenty hours of consultations and mentoring free of charge. The largest project that Pii is implementing for Prague is the Implementation of the Regional Action Plan (iKAP II – Innovation in education). More than 350 million crowns within iKAP II, based on a detailed plan created with representatives of schools and other educational institutions, goes to innovations in education.
The iKAP II project has twenty-four main partners and coordinates active partners Pii. Among them are non-profit organizations (eg Post Bellum, People in Need or Jules and Jim) as well as academic and educational institutions (Charles University, CTU, and others). Until November 2023, iKAP II – Innovation offers Prague schools free programs for the development of literacy, digital competences, entrepreneurship and polytechnic education. The project will also include educational camps for pupils and students, suburban summer camps, language courses, clubs of various specializations and a career guidance program. Educators can take advantage of a number of programs, mentoring and consulting on IT in teaching, the development of competencies of students and the student parliament, bullying prevention and offers support and education for principals and management of Prague schools. program We develop the school together.
More about Pii projects is available on the web www.prazskyinovacniinstitut.cz.