Czech Republic the Country for the Future: AmCham Exchange on How to Transform Into an Innovative Economy
On November 26, Minister of Industry and Trade Karel Havlíček outlined his vision for the Czech Republic to be presented in the long term as the added value oriented country. Deputy Minister Petr Očko confirmed priorities in the area of digitization, investment in 5G, support to AI, and startups - all within the framework of EU legislation currently in the pipeline.
Milan Šlapák of GE Aviation addressed the public sector preparedness for cooperation with businesses in R&D in the qualitative, project management perspective. Tomáš Kolář of Linet Group addressed the conditions and improvements on the Government side for startups to grow. Ondřej Krajíček of Y Soft Corporation outlined the situation in Brno and the fact that the model can be copied in other regions in the Czech Republic. Martin Jahn of Volkswagen highlighted the potential of the after-Covid era when companies will be rethinking their investment strategies, as well as the need to strengthen technical education.
Minister of Industry and Trade Karel Havlíček
We have to start with support of basic and applied research, and innovation. "The goal is to be among top 10 innovation leaders.“ GERD (Government Expenditure on Research & Development) reaches the level of 2% nowadays, and the goal is to achieve 2.5% in 2030, while 2% is the average of the EU. "In the Czech Republic, US companies are investing into added value.“ For the country, the US is no. 6 in added value export.
Milan Šlapák, GE
"The Government and the services, e.g. national health care can create the market for new products that could grow."
Tomáš Kolář, Linet Group
"We have a great fundament to bring new ideas and be innovative." It is important to make the situation for startups easier.
Ondřej Krajíček, Y Soft Corporation
„What you need is the critical mass of companies, universities and regional and city support.“ „Czechs are very resourceful people and this is also our image in the world.“
Martin Jahn, VW
„After Covid ends, Czech companies may be rethinking their priorities and it can be a chance for the Czech Republic to get new investment and new projects.“
Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Petr Očko
"We have now a new system of assessing R&D results that started in 2019. This methodology is based on real results of academic institutions and research organizations, including private ones."
AmCham Policy and KPI brief prepared for this session is attached below. Recording is not available.
Log In