Czech-Japan Science and Technology Days this time hosted by the Czech Republic

16 May. 2006 | CzechInvest | This day peaks the official program of the second year of the prestigious meeting of Czech and Japanese government delegates with academics and high-level representatives of the most forward-looking technology firms. The Czech-Japan Science and Technology Days, which have been taking place in the Czech Republic from 15 to 17 May, feature, for example, Shotaro Yachi – the Japanese Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hajime Sasaki – the Co-Chairman of the Committee for Europe of the Federation of Japanese Economic Societies (Keidanren) of the Council for Europe, H.E. Hideaki Kumazawa – the Ambassador of Japan to the Czech Republic and a whole host of other distinguished representatives of the Japanese government or academic sphere. Czech Premier Jiri Paroubek and Vice Premier for Economic Affairs Jiri Havel have assumed sponsorship for the event. In all, more than 120 participants are attending, more than 50 of them Japanese.

There are several immediate main goals of the Czech-Japan meeting. The establishment of close contacts between the participants; mutual awareness of the latest trends in the various areas of scientific knowledge and technological development, with emphasis on precision engineering, robotics, cybernetics, electronics and microelectronics; the creation of backgrounds for the establishment of continuous projected cooperation in scientific research; a presentation on the research and development of directed national developmental plans and policies; and a discussion on the themes of human resources in science. These are obviously the most notable goals.

“The first year of the Czech-Japan Science and Technology Days took place last year in May in Tokyo and it generated great interest. The Czech delegation alone, with the then-Vice Premier for Economic Affairs Martin Jahn around 40 delegates, and there were twice as many participants on the Japanese side. We therefore decided that this year is our turn, and we hope that this tradition of mutually enriching meetings on the key themes of research and development of new industrially workable technologies will be successfully maintained from this point on,” stated Vice Premier for Economic Affairs Jiri Havel.

Others have confirmed their participation and personal presentation at theopeningfor example the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Pavel Svoboda, the Vice Minister of Industry and Trade Karel Turecek, the Vice Minister of Education Petr Kolar, the CEO of CzechInvest Tomas Hruda, the Rector of the Czech Technical University in Prague (CVUT)Vaclav Havlicek, the Head of the Department of Cybernetics of CVUT in PragueVladimir Marik, the Director of the AVER Technological Center Karel Klusacek, the Vice President of the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) in JapanNaomasa Nakajima, the Rector of the Kanazawa Gakuin University and former Ambassador to Prague Hiroto Ishida; as well as Sadanari Mochizuki

from the Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Keiji Kishi from the Nippon Institute of Technology, Vladimir Matolin from Charles University, representative of the Honeywell Corporation in the Czech RepublicJaroslav Dolezal and a host of others.

At the seminar were, apart from other things, presented case studies of successful firms operating in the Czech Republic – the Plzen-basedPanasonic AVC Networks Czech and Kolin-based Toyota Peugeot Citroen Automobile Czech (TPCA). The presence of even leading representatives of prominent Japanese firms such as Toshiba Corporation, NEC Corporation and Hitachi Ltd.proves the interest in cooperation between Czech and Japanese institutions in this area.

On Tuesday, 16 May, the program begins with a courtesy call to Premier Jiri Paroubek. This will be followed by a festive ceremony in the Prague Bethlehem Chapel, during which the management of CVUT in Prague will confer an honorary doctorate on Mr. Shoichiro Toyoda, the former long-time President, now Honorary Chairman of the Board ofToyota Motor Corporation. The whole afternoon will then pass along the lines ofvisits to research and development centers in the Czech Republic. The last stop before the evening reception organized by the Japanese ambassador Kumazawa will be one of more than 160 Japanese firms in the Czech Republic –Denso Manufacturing Czech in Liberec, the manufacturer of air-conditioning units for the automobile industry.

Wednesday, 17 May is the closing day and is, with the exception of the working program, aimed at closer familiarization of the Japanese guests with the history, traditions and culture of the Czech Republic. The program is made up of alternatives, perhaps a visit to the world-famous glass company Moser in Karlovy Vary and a tour of the clubhouse Royal Golf Club in Marianske Laznior of the Department of Cybernetics of the Electrotechnical Faculty at the Czech Technical Universityin Prague, and a further tour of Prague. The program will then continue along with a visit to the Plzen-based Panasonic AVC Networks Czech. The participants’ evening will be made pleasant by a visit to a concert in the scope of the traditional Prague Spring festival at the Rudolfinum.

The main organizers of this year’s Czech-Japan Science and Technology Days areCzechInvest and CVUT in Prague, in cooperation with the Office of the Government of the Czech Republic, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports.