INVESTORS IN MSK

Zdroj: ČSÚ (prosinec 2020), vlastní zpracování

to support thirteen strategic projects that are currently

in the approval process with the European Commission

and aim to complete set goals. Examples of these

projects are Černá kostka—Digital Center of Science

and Innovation, the Technological and Business

Academy and the LERCO project (Life & Environment

Research Center Ostrava).

Ostrava is the Moravian Silesian Region’s heart and

most regional research companies concentrate around

it. According to data from the Technological Profile

of the Czech Republic, there are 270 entities focused

on science and research within the Moravian Silesian

region, 151 of which are based in Ostrava. In 2019,

4,786 people were employed in this sector, an increase

of over a thousand since 2013. Around 5.5b Czech

crowns were invested in science and research, around

two-thirds of which were part of the private sector.

Seventy-nine patent applications have been made from

this region, making up around 11% of all the applications

from the Czech Republic, ranking the Moravian Silesian

Region in third place within the country.

Companies such as Hanon Systems Autopal, Continental

Automotive, or Varric Lighting Systems, which opened

their new business research and development center

in Nový Jičín this year, are amongst the largest

representatives of private regional science and research

entities. Another center, similar to the one Varric

opened this year, will be built at the Mošnov Industrial

Park within the next year where the company ABB is

developing their global development and production

robotics center, the only one of its kind in Europe.

In 2017, the Moravian Silesian Innovation Center

(MSIC) was founded in order to support the innovation

ecosystem within the region; its goal is to strengthen

bonds between the commercial, academic, scientific

and public spheres and initiate strategic projects

focused on improving the local environment for

business and innovation. MSIC also greatly benefits from

cooperation with VŠB-Ostrava Technical University and

the national supercomputer center IT4INNOVATIONS.

Other than the aforementioned companies, the region

also offers many other organisations, branch clusters and

programs to support business, such as the Innovation

Support Center, Center of Nanotechnologies, the ENET

center and 4Medical Innovations. We can witness

the earliest successes of these initiatives at national

competitions where regional start-ups are garnering

great achievements. In last year’s CzechInvest Startup

Challenge 2020, held by agency for business support

and investment CzechInvest, the top two highest

performing startups originated in our region. The

company 24 Vision, based in Ostrava, came in first

place that year for their tool for flawless automobile

manufacturing and quality checking. In close second

came the ecological startup based in Opava, Ullmanna,

for their development of a smart weeding device

capable of increasing the production of bio foodstuffs

while making use of robotics and artificial intelligence.

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Text a foto:

Marek Burian,

Faktografické listy Ostrava, ČSÚ,

Inovační firmy

v MSK, Varroc, ABB, CzI, 24 Vision,

freepik.com

POSITIV 4/2021 ǀ 41