Bridge between the Czech Republic and Israel to provide CZK 600 million for research

1 Apr. 2010 | CzechInvest, Office of the Government, Israeli Embassy in the Czech Republic, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport, Ministry of Industry and Trade | The GESHER/MOST programme to support applied research of Czech and Israeli firm and institutions begins today. The programme is the first of its kind involving the Czech Republic.

Beginning today, financing from the GESHER/MOST programme to support applied research and development will be allocated to joint research projects conducted by Czech and Israeli firms and institutions. The programme, which will distribute at least CZK 600 million by 2016, will be financed concurrently by the Czech Republic and Israel. The first call of the programme was announced today by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport of the Czech Republic. CzechInvest, to which companies can apply for financing from the first call until 17 May 2010, is responsible for allocating funds.

“For Czech firms, support for cooperation with Israel is an exceptional event which underscores the historical links between the two countries. The Czech Republic has outstanding relations with Israel, which will be further enhanced by the GESHER/MOST programme, as it will motivate Czech and Israel companies to work together more intensively,” says Jan Fischer, Prime Minister of the Czech Republic. “The Israelis are exceptionally successful at incorporating the results of research and development into practical products, and Czech firms can surely find inspiration particularly in this area.”

"Israel has an extensive network of similar agreements with countries around the world and the new agreement with the Czech Republic may open the doors for the Czech companies to our partners in other parts of the world. I hope that the Czech companies will in turn help us enter new markets," said Yaakov Levy, Ambassador of the State of Israel in the Czech Republic.

“The GESHER/MOST programme is the first of its kind that the Czech Republic has prepared with any country,” explains Dana Hunatova, Ambassador at Large for Science, Technology and Education of the Czech Republic. “Similar projects are commonly implemented in, for example, Germany and the United States, as well as in Slovakia and Poland, so I believe that Gesher/Most can pave the way to similar agreements with other countries.”

“The GESHER/MOST programme will be divided into five three-year calls, within each of which the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport will expend approximately 60 million crowns,” says Miroslava Kopicová, Minister of Education, Youth and Sport of the Czech Republic. “The programme supports cooperation between the two countries and it is concurrently strictly focused on the commercial use of research findings, and there is enormous value in that.”

“Israel is a technological power in the areas of information and communication technologies, biotechnology and security research, and the programme supports cooperation between Czechs and Israelis particularly in these fields. Projects must specifically involve: information and communication technologies, sustainable and clean technologies, biotechnology and medical technology, agriculture and food-production technology and modern engineering – new materials, nanotechnology, cybernetics and robotics,” says Vladimír Tošovský, Minister of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic.

“We already know about twenty Czech companies that want to be involved in the programme. I have no doubt that the number will increase after today’s official announcement of the first call,” says Alexandra Rudyšarová, acting CEO of CzechInvest, which is responsible for the programme. “The Czech Republic and Israel will pay the costs of the their respective participants in the programme.”

The agreement on support for joint projects was signed on 30 March 2009 at Prague Castle by representatives of the Czech Republic and Israel with Presidents Václav Klaus and Shimon Peres in attendance. However, the initial impetus to set up the programme arose in Israel in March 2008 during discussions between the two countries’ then prime ministers, Mirek Topolánek and Ehud Olmert. The programme was officially announced at the end of last year during the Czech-Israeli Technology Days event organised by CzechInvest.

GESHER/MOST is intended for small, medium-size and large enterprises. Public research institutions can participate in the programme only in cooperation with a private firm. The basic condition is that at least one partner from the Czech Republic and one from Israel must participate in each project. Research must result in an actual product that has a significant chance of commercial success.

Every registered project will be assessed by an independent committee on both the Czech and Israeli sides. Therefore, it is necessary to prepare registration forms in English. If the experts from both countries concur, companies can look forward to Gesher/Most paying half of all costs expended on joint research. It is necessary to submit programme registration forms by 2:00 p.m. on Monday, 17 May at the latest. All information about the programme, including detailed conditions, is available on the website of the Ministry of Education at www.msmt-vyzkum.cz and on CzechInvest’s website at www.czechinvest.org.