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Technologická Inkubace

The Czech Republic ranks among the leading countries in space industry and science

SPACE
22.01. 2024
line-arrow The Czech Republic ranks among the leading countries in space industry and science

Interview with Tereza Kubicová, Deputy for Technological Development at the CzechInvest agency, responsible for managing the Technology Incubation project and founder of the Czech Space Week festival.

The article was taken from enews.cz

Czech Space Week, the largest festival of space activities, took place for the sixth time at the turn of November and December this year. Designed for companies, investors, start-ups, students, children and all other space fans, Space Week celebrated the achievements of the Czech space industry and also took care of the presentation of new developments in this sector. Since the first year, the CzechInvest agency has been behind the organisation of the festival.

“The idea of Czech Space Week was born 7 years ago. We knew that the Czech space industry had a lot to offer and that Czech space companies were working on interesting projects that were little talked about. My colleagues and I were inspired by the European Space Week in Estonia and decided that the Czech Republic deserved a similar format. And so in 2018 we organised the Czech Space Year, culminating in the first edition of the Czech Space Week festival. Coincidentally, this was the year when the Czech Republic celebrated the tenth anniversary of its membership in the European Space Agency, the anniversary of Mr Remko’s flight and the launch of the first Czech satellite Magion into space,” says Tereza Kubicová.

How would you evaluate this event in retrospect?

This year’s edition was extremely successful. We have received positive feedback from all the stakeholders involved, which include, of course, the festival partners, other exhibitors, academics and scientists. I am very happy that we manage to connect industry with the scientific community every year. The festival was also successful in terms of participation. Compared to last year’s edition, the number of participants was double, i.e. about 600. About half of them were from Brno and South Moravia. There were also representatives of companies from the Visegrad Four countries, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Romania and Slovenia.

The Czech Space Week festival was supported by the European Space Agency (ESA), the European Union Space Programme Agency (EUSPA) and other companies and investors not only from Europe. What follow-up benefits and outcomes does the festival bring to the participants involved?

For companies from the space industry and those doing business outside it, the festival is a great opportunity to start mutual cooperation or strengthen existing ones. The two-day Space2Business event, which is an annual part of Czech Space Week, is designed especially for them. Through the app, individual company representatives can arrange B2B meetings and discuss all business matters. Moreover, they will meet not only Czech companies, but also those from abroad. Another significant benefit is that they will meet members of the Czech Academy of Sciences in one place. It is this cooperation that companies often call for.

How did the idea to organize such an event in the Czech Republic come about?

The idea of Czech Space Week was born 7 years ago. We knew that the Czech space industry had a lot to offer and that Czech space companies were working on interesting projects that were little talked about. My colleagues and I were inspired by the European Space Week in Estonia and decided that the Czech Republic deserved a similar format. And so in 2018 we organised the Czech Space Year, culminating in the first edition of the Czech Space Week festival. Coincidentally, this was the year when the Czech Republic celebrated the tenth anniversary of its membership in the European Space Agency, the anniversary of Mr Remko’s flight and the launch of the first Czech satellite Magion into space.

The original idea was that it would be a one-off event, but given its success we decided to repeat it. We didn’t know then that Czech Space Week would become a regular festival, which we are organising for the sixth time this year.

Czech Space Week 2023

Where does the Czech Republic stand in the field of space research and space technology? Do we have a chance as a small country to succeed in this industry?

I’m sure we do. The Czech Republic is one of the leading countries in space industry and science. It participates in international space missions, supplies parts for rockets and builds its own satellites. Czech space companies certainly have a lot to offer in this respect. The biggest Czech space event of the year is undoubtedly the selection of ambitious missions aimed at demonstrating the ability of Czech industry and research to design, produce and operate a satellite weighing around 100 kg. It is therefore mainly a leap in the complexity of systems prepared by Czech companies, because until now the Czech industry has mainly supplied individual components of space systems.

I also see huge potential in this direction for the future. I feel it is important that Czech companies start to focus more on commercial space and are able to conduct their own missions funded by private sources outside ESA. I think that the Czech Republic has a great potential in this respect, which needs to be exploited. Despite the fact that we are not on a par with countries that are ten times bigger than us and have several times bigger budgets for the space industry, the Czech Republic is a country that has a great chance to be a major player on the space map of the world.

What options are available to Czech companies that want to to get involved in the space industry?

Companies interested in becoming part of the space industry have a range of options for doing so. At the CzechInvest agency, we have many different types of support that we are able to provide to these companies. However, it is not easy to get to know the whole system, so it is good if the company comes at the beginning and consults with us about the individual steps. For example, companies can use our ESA Ambassador service, which helps companies get their first small projects from the European Space Agency. For start-ups that have developed a technology suitable for use in space or want to apply a technology already used in the space industry here on Earth, there is the ESA BIC Czech Republic accelerator, which will significantly help the company get off the ground at the beginning of its business.

Every year we try to connect these two seemingly incompatible worlds at Czech Space Week. This year we focused on companies from the energy industry and prepared an event for them called Space & Energy for Sustainability. The aim of the event was to promote cooperation between representatives of the energy sector and the space industry.

Can space technology be used in everyday life here on Earth?

I’m sure it is, and there is no one in my opinion who is in the regular world who hasn’t used space technology. We don’t have to go very far. The Teflon pan, Velcro or GPS in our phone are technologies originally developed for the space industry. Simply put, if it weren’t for the space industry, our life here on Earth is not as we know it now.

Woman, space and space technology. How’s it all coming together?

I think, and I believe that I am now far from the only one, that it goes together just like men, space and space technology. Some women just need a little more push in this direction. We want to give them courage and pass on the stories of the most successful ones through the traditional Space4Women event, which is part of Czech Space Week every year. The panel discussion regularly features four women who have managed to make it in this seemingly male-dominated world. They can be successful engineers but also cosmic psychologists or lawyers. The range of professions is really wide.

What was your path to the space industry?

My journey to the space industry began as an assistant in the Czech branch of a large multinational company. It was the current Airbus Defendence Space. It was the first glimpse under the hood of this broad and interesting industry. I fully immersed myself in the space industry when I started working at CzechInvest. I was at the birth of the ESA BIC Czech Republic business incubator. I have had the opportunity to meet a lot of interesting space startups and guide them on their journey to becoming a successful startup. I participated not only in the creation of the incubator, but also in its implementation. This intense journey started in 2015 and I am very glad that it is still going on.

You are the Chair of the ESA BIC Czech Republic Steering Committee. What is ESA BIC Czech Republic and what does it offer?

It is a space incubator with two branches – one in Prague and the other in Brno. Its goal is to find and support startups that have an overlap with space technology. The incubator offers companies financial support in the amount of 50,000 euros and a two-year incubation period, during which the startup works with a team of experts who help it with education in various areas. They are also trying to connect him to investors and guide him safely through the “valley of death” in which many start-ups fail. A total of 53 startups have already been incubated in this program.

ESA BIC also plays a major role in the organisation of the Czech Space Week festival. Every year, ESA BIC prepares a Demo Day, where newly incubated startups are presented. It also organizes the so-called. pitch competition, where previously incubated startups compete for additional benefits and follow-up support.

At CzechInvest you are Deputy Minister for Technological Development. What opportunities does CzechInvest offer for Czech entrepreneurs in this respect?

It offers a range of support tools. It then depends on what sector the entrepreneur is in and who the aid is intended for. The so-called signpost serves as such. one-stop shops set up in every regional town. This is a regional office where the entrepreneur can come, ask any questions and find out about support options.

We are also currently running a huge project called Technology Incubation, which is aimed at innovative start-ups and technology startups. It operates on a similar principle as ESA BIC Czech Republic, with the difference that companies can get more financial support here. In some cases, this can be up to CZK 4.5 million in direct funding and up to CZK 500,000 in indirect funding. Indirect finance includes support in an incubation package, where a team of experts works with the company throughout the process.

In addition to this project, we have separate sub-tools for cooperation with large companies. We also provide free HR training and visa support, for example. It’s a huge range of services that we are able to offer.

What is technology incubator?

I like to use the analogy of a baby incubator, which is where we were inspired to create this concept. The technology incubator is therefore designed for those companies that need help getting started, just like some children. But this does not mean that a company that comes to ask for help is in any way inferior. For example, it may have a harder time getting off the ground because it is developing a challenging technology. So the incubator will help her through this more difficult period at the beginning to create a large, healthy, strong and ideally very successful company. In total, we have established 7 technology incubators divided into areas according to the focus of the companies. These incubators are part of the whole Technology Incubation project.

Would you like to go to space someday? Like are your “space” dreams?

Of course you do. It seems to me that there can be nothing more than a view of our Earth from above. I’d like to fly in a fighter jet and experience zero gravity or see the ISS. I know it’s a dream that is unlikely to come true, so I don’t put too much energy into it.

One dream, which I believe is achievable, is the creation of a well-funded and strong Czech National Space Agency, which many countries already have. And if I were to be a little more daring in my dreaming, I would want to run this agency.

Author Renáta Lucková

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