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Technologická Inkubace

Newsletter Insider | March 2024

01.03. 2024
line-arrow Newsletter Insider | March 2024

WELCOME…

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What topics can you expect in this issue?

NUMBER OF THE MONTH: 1 010

Is the number of (co)founders – owners and founders behind the 410 startups that applied to the Technology Incubation. This means more than 2 people per startup. Among them are 55 applicants with an academic background (with a doctoral degree or higher). The vast majority of the members are men, details of which can be found as a point of interest at the end of the newsletter.

TOPIC OF THE MONTH: WHAT’S COMING AND GOING THIS YEAR?

The year 2023 is behind us and we are starting to plan for the next period. This year will be full of news and challenges, not only project ones. We are planning many events, regular meetups with our startups and Demo Days, which create a space to meet with institutions, corporates and investors. We will also focus intensively on the Space Hub and expanding its cooperation with ESA BIC Czech Republic. What about project calls? We plan to launch two this year – one in spring and one in autumn. We are currently incubating over ninety startups from the first and second calls, and once we complete the evaluation of the third call (closed in December 2023), which brought 169 applications, our portfolio of startups should number over 140 projects. Read more about our plans for this year in this article.

TECHNOLOGY INCUBATION TEAM: MARKETING & PR, PARTNERSHIPS & COMMUNITY

An integral part of the project is also to support partnerships with external entities, marketing that includes events, social networking and community outreach. In this newsletter we will introduce you to the people behind the activities.

Tomas Bena
Marketing manager Tomáš takes care of how the whole project looks on the outside. Manages the project website, monitors content on the website, newsletters and networks. Mainly because of him, marketing the project is cool (at least within reason). He enjoys events, AI tools, creative challenges and working with graphics. He likes Netflix and internet trends, from which he draws inspiration.

Eva Hodboďová
Our event manager is in charge of all project events – seminars, conferences, workshops, meetups and demo days. He is also involved in the preparation of programmes to ensure that professional events also have a pleasant atmosphere. Networking and the right refreshments are also important for a community united by technology topics. Eva’s job is to prepare everything well – and often in a hurry. We don’t know how, but he’s doing great.

Lenka Široká
Marketing communication on networks is a challenge. And this is one of the reasons why Lenka likes them. She loves her two children, coffee, Italian cuisine and humor. In his next life he wants to be born in Sardinia. Lenka manages our Facebook, LinkedIn and X network.

Roman Ruffer
Partnership is important and in our project this is doubly true. Startups undergoing Technology Incubation can take advantage of CzechInvest’s links established over more than thirty years of its operation. Through the seven hubs, the ambition is to support startups by engaging them in the wider ecosystem and offering them the experience and references of partners from the commercial or academic sphere.

Sylvie Abbas
Going hand in hand with the partnership is the community of partners and startups that Sylvie takes care of. It ensures that it is well informed and does not miss important events where its members can meet, get to know each other and make new contacts. She’s also responsible for this newsletter, and manages our Slack and website. Sylvie works across the project and is kind of omnipresent.

WE KNOW THE FINALISTS OF THE CREATIVE BUSINESS CUP COMPETITION

CzechInvest and Creative Hub, as the organizers of the competition for the most creative startup, have announced the finalists of the Creative Business Cup 2024. The final night of the national round will take place on 14 March in Liberec, the winner will then take part in the global final in Copenhagen. You can read more in this article.

INTERVIEW WITH MARKETA MENTELOVÁ ABOUT INNOVATION IN CREATIVE INDUSTRIES

The article on the Science and Research portal was based on an interview with Markéta Mentelová, Director of the Creative Hub. You will learn what innovation in the creative industry looks like, how the creative sector stands within the Czech industry, why the interdisciplinarity typical for this sector is important, its relationship to the AI industry or what are the obstacles of Czech gaming.

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST WITH THE DIRECTOR OF ECOTECH HUB

Don’t miss the podcast with Filip Kruta, in which he discusses topics related to eco-innovation. In the interview, he answers questions about whether Czech companies are ready for the transition to sustainability, what the EcoTech Hub is all about and what its plans are for next year.

WE ARE A PARTNER OF THE SME ENTERPRIZE COMPETITION

This year, Generali Česká pojišt’ovna will again organise the SME EnterPRIZES competition, which will reward start-ups, sole traders, micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) that are doing business in a sustainable way in the Czech Republic. Last year, Myco, which we incubate here, won first place in the Startup category. You can read more about the competition in this article.

INTRODUCING THE NEW HUB DIRECTOR

Zdeněk Havel is no newcomer to CzechInvest, he has been working there since 2015 and has been involved in the development of startups since then. His last position as Mobility Project Manager involved, among other things, the preparation of the evaluation process and the recruitment of experts paid for by indirect support.

He will now take over the baton from Matúš Kostlivy, whom we would like to thank for his cooperation so far and wish him good luck in his new position as Foreign Representative for Taiwan.

WE INVITE YOU TO AI DAYS 2024

CzechInvest and Technology Incubation will support the AI Days festival again this year, which will take place from 14. until 27. October and will follow up on last year’s successful edition. This year, we can look forward to a rich program across the Czech Republic, which will again include the AI Startup Pitch Contest, which will recognize innovative AI projects and connect them with venture capital funds.

INTERVIEW WITH TEREZA KUBICOVÁ, FOUNDER OF CZECH SPACE WEEK

Read the article with the head of Technology Incubation and founder of Czech Space Week. You will read how the Czech Republic stands in the field of space research and technology, how Czech companies can get involved in the space industry, why space attracts women and what is behind the creation of the largest Czech space festival.

DON’T MISS THE NEW ACE BICU CHALLENGE

The ESA BIC business incubator will again support start-ups working with space technologies. During the incubation period of up to two years, selected projects will receive up to €180,000 in funding and other benefits, including the use of the European Space Agency (ESA) brand. Space startups can sign up for a one-on-one consultation to get specific advice, to 22. March.

MIHU PLANS FOR 2024

MIH covers all modes of transport, but also focuses on selected, topical issues. The priorities for this year are clean mobility, key to the transformation of the entire automotive industry, Smart City and urban mobility. Equally important is autonomous driving, where MIH is significantly involved in making available existing polygons and setting up new ones in connection with Smart City projects, including live so-called “living polygons”. laboratories. This year, MIH will build on its well-established relationships with sector partners, be they line ministries, local government, associations and clusters, corporations and innovative projects.

STARTUP YEDEM IS CHANGING CORPORATE MOBILITY

Efficient use of transport and parking combines technology with sustainability. This combination was the motivation for Matej Ball and Vojtěch Rjubr to found the startup Yedem, which we incubate here. Read more in this article.

INTRODUCING THE NEW HUB DIRECTOR

Hana Chlebná started at CzechInvest as the director of the regional office and participated in building its nationwide network of regional offices, which are still in operation today. She then worked as Director of Strategy, and also tried her hand as Director of the CzechInvest’s foreign office in the UK and Ireland.

Since 2020, he has been working in the field of healthtech, which he will continue to do now.

COOPERATION OF CERN AND TECHNOLOGICAL INCUBATION

The Czech Republic-CERN Cooperation Committee has appointed Kristina Kovařčíková, Director of the AdvancedTech & Materials Hub, as a new member and representative of the CERN startup community. The membership will bring an expansion of the Hub’s activities and we will introduce it in more detail soon. The Hub’s plans for 2024 include organising events focused on deep technology to showcase, among other things, successful start-ups that have already collaborated with CERN.

PICTURE AT THE END: GENDER OF (CO)FOUNDERS IN STARTUPS

The round graph shows the gender ratio of (co)founders in startups applying to Technology Incubation. Men clearly outnumber women by 91% (919 applicants) compared to the remaining 9% (91 female applicants). The bar chart shows the ratio of men to women in each sector.

This project was implemented with financial support from the state budget through the Ministry of Industry and Trade in the programme The Country for the Future.

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