New ESA Business Incubation Centre opens in Brno, the Czech Republic
Two years after the opening of the first Czech space incubator, ESA BIC Prague, firms outside of Prague now also have the opportunity to tap into technologies and systems from ESA, at the new centre in Brno.
The first Czechoslovak cosmonaut, Vladimír Remek, was the honoured guest at the opening.
The new branch of ESA Business Incubation Centre (BIC) Prague had its grand opening this week on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of Vladimír Remek`s first space flight.
“The ESA BIC concept has proven successful in the Czech Republic and we are therefore pleased that CzechInvest can open a branch of the Czech ESA BIC in Brno with our support and with support from the South Moravia region,” said Václav Kobera, Head of the Department of Space Activities at the Czech Republic Ministry of Transportation, in charge of dealing with ESA on behalf of the country.
“Thanks to this branch, CzechInvest will be able to not only increase the number of incubated firms from five to eight per year, but also to expand the scope of its services thanks to its cooperation with the South Moravian Innovation Centre.
“We will thus be able to stimulate development of the Czech Republic’s business environment in the area of space technologies and satellite applications and better use the opportunities and potential that the area of space activities offers for the development of the country’s economy.”
Deputy governor of the South Moravia region Jan Vitula added, “South Moravia is an environment where the aerospace technology sector is successful and it is one of our priorities.”
“New start-ups that become involved in the project can use the proximity of science and research centres and specialised institutes at universities in Brno and engage in cooperation with established firms and multinational corporations operating in the region.”
ESA BIC Prague branch Brno
“Soon after the Prague space incubator began operation, we knew that firms throughout the Czech Republic and not only in Prague had the potential to develop space technologies for practical use in everyday life,” says Tereza Kubicová, head of CzechInvest’s Department of Internal Projects and Support for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises.
“The projects that Czech firms have brought to ESA BIC Prague helped us to convince ESA that opening another branch is clearly a step in the right direction.”
The new branch will be housed in the South Moravian Innovation Centre and over the next three years it will support up to nine start-ups that are seeking uses for space technologies in everyday life. It is a joint project of CzechInvest, the South Moravia region, the Czech Ministry of Transportation and ESA.
The South Moravia Innovation Centre, which has been working with newly established firms in the region for 15 years, will assist the start-ups with acquiring new contacts. The first start-ups could enter the Brno space incubator as soon as June this year. In addition to financial support of €50.000, the start-ups will receive advisory services in technical and business areas as well as marketing support and assistance with finding partners and potential investors.
“More than 200 start-ups have passed through the South Moravian Innovation Centre in the past 15 years,” emphasized Petr Chládek, Director of the South Moravian Innovation Centre.
“Some of them have become internationally successful technology firms that are major employers and investors. We are prepared to provide outstanding support for those that get involved in the new incubator.”
The Brno branch was opened 7 March by Head of ESA Technology Transfer and Business Incubation Programme Office Frank Sazlgeber, outgoing Minister of Transportation Dan Ťok, Deputy Governor of the South Moravia region Jan Vitula and acting CzechInvest CEO Jan Urban.
The ESA BIC Network fostered over 550 new start-ups in Europe
ESA BIC Prague with the new branch office in Brno is part of the European-wide ESA Business Incubation Centre network with 18 centres in 15 countries, providing support to start/ups at over 40 sites throughout Europe.
Since its start in 2004, at the end of 2017 the network has fostered over 550 new start-ups, which develop new and smarter solutions and systems for us all here on Earth thanks to the re-use of space technologies and the use of satellite data. This has resulted in both B2C solutions making everyday life better for citizens and B2B solutions supporting European industry to increase their competitiveness in today´s worldwide marked as well as strengthen environment friendly growth and the creating of new high-tech jobs in Europe.
Each year the network fosters additional 150 new start-ups and more centres are already planned to open during the coming year in Norway, Poland and northern France.
Czech Space Year 2018
In addition to being the 40th anniversary of the first space flight of a Czechoslovak cosmonaut, Vladimír Remek, who was also the first non-American and non-Soviet to go into space, several other Czech anniversaries are to be celebrated in 2018.
In October, 40 years will have passed since the launch of the first Czech satellite, Magion 1 and in November, it is ten years since the Czech Republic joined ESA.
The Ministry of Transportation has thus declared the year to be Czech Space Year 2018 with a number of space-themed events for the public to take place throughout the year.
Read more about Czech Space Year 2018 here.
Read more about ESA BIC Prague here.
Article has been updated 28 May 2018
