Entrepreneurship
Theme: Innovation
Cross-cutting themes covered: Business Incubation Facilities, Knowledge transfer
Name of project: Technology and Innovation Centre
City: Prague
What is it? The Technology and Innovation Centre (TIC) supports the creation and growth of innovative small and medium-sized firms. The TIC operates a business incubator, with an area of approximately 4,000 m2 at its disposal, and supports the creation and growth of innovative spin-off companies from the Czech Technical University. The centre was established in 1991 and was the first of its kind in Central and Eastern Europe.
Who is it? The TIC is operated by the Czech Technical University.
Where is it? The Centre is situated on a former military site in the western part of Prague. The locality is surrounded by large housing estates (Stodůlky, Řepy) and has relatively low environmental and housing standards compared to elsewhere in the city.
Who funds it? The TIC was founded with financial assistance from:
The TIC is now a self-financing organisation – it receives no subsidies from the government or the Czech Technical University. Income is generated through consultancy services, rental income, and national and international projects.
How does it work? • Provision of business incubator space: The 4,000m2 business incubator comprises of five main buildings which house offices, classrooms, meeting rooms, storage space and workshops. Incubator units vary in size. Typically, tenants of the incubator leave the premises after three years. At present, there are seven innovative companies operating in the incubator. The TIC offers the following services to its clients:
Marketing the initiative: The incubator is marketed at seminars, conferences and exhibitions, for example at events hosted by the European Business and Innovation Centres Network (EBN) and the Technology Parks Association of the Czech Republic (SVTP). Promotional materials are also distributed throughout the university and via email.
Anything else? • Promoting partnership working between SMEs and the university: The Technology and Innovation Centre also supports partnership working between SMEs and the university, helping to facilitate technology transfer partnerships and spin-offs. Through the incubator, resident businesses can make use of the specialised laboratories and institutions of the Czech Technical University. Moreover, services related to the protection of intellectual property and industrial rights are offered by the TIC’s in-house Patent Centre.
What are the results?
Is it successful? Besides the results described above, the presence of the incubator has impacted positively on the surroundings, a military site that had been affected by physical deterioration.
Is the model transferable ? The incubation model, which provides a range of services to resident companies, is widely transferable – particularly where the incubator can act as an intermediary between R&D institutes and businesses.
Building on local competitive advantages? The Technology Innovation Centre has been able to build on local competitive advantages, which may not be available elsewhere, for example the high concentration of R&D facilities and university educated people in Prague, and the co-operation of the Czech Technical University in the project.
What are the barriers to transferability? Finding a location for the incubator could pose a challenge to transferability, although the possibility of using empty buildings, such as the military quarters in this example, should be considered.
Raising finance could also be difficult – in this case, much finance for the project comes from the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports and international projects.
Lack of interest from universities in creating an intermediary organisation between themselves and the business sphere, and lack of innovative SMEs (as successful business incubators depend on both supply and demand) could also be significant barriers to transferability.
