SMIC Incubators and STP named Business Property of the Year

The Incubators and Science and Technology Park of the South Moravian Innovation Centre, 6th RIVER – Plzeň Science and Technology Park, and the Business Incubator of the Technical University of Ostrava have been named the three most successful business properties of 2009 in the High-Tech Property of the Year category. The first-place winner in this category – Incubators and Science and Technology Park of the South Moravian Innovation Centre – was ceremoniously decorated today at the Cloister of St. Agnes of Bohemia in Prague. The tenth annual Business Property of the Year competition was organised by CzechInvest and the Ministry of Industry and Trade in cooperation with the Association for Foreign Investment (AFI).

The Incubators and Science and Technology Park of the South Moravian Innovation Centre were established in 2003 by the South Moravia Region and the city of Brno together with four educational institutions – Masaryk University, Brno University of Technology, Mendel University in Brno and the University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences in Brno. Thanks to this project, various types of aid are available in one place for beginning entrepreneurs and innovative firms whose goal is to start conducting business while limiting risks.

The incubators and science and technology park of the South Moravian Innovation Centre currently have approximately thirty clients, such as a developer of autonomous robots for inventory management and a producer of advanced materials for stomatology. “If I had to name a project which in my opinion is the highest-tech, I would choose one biotechnology firm which developed an enzyme that is able to eliminate biological and chemical contamination that arises in industrial production,” says Michal Kostka, deputy director of the South Moravian Innovation Centre.

The South Moravia Innovation Centre received recognition in 2009 from the Ministry of Industry and Trade, which awarded it first prize in the national round of the European Enterprise Awards. The incubators and science and technology park of the South Moravian Innovation Centre have now become the Business Property of the Year 2009 in the High-Tech Property Category.

The second most successful high-tech Business Property of the Year 2009 is the 6th RIVER – Plzeň Science and Technology Park, which offers office, operations and laboratory spaces, as well as a fully functioning business incubator and technology-transfer centre. The park’s spaces are fully occupied and the city is therefore planning the construction of an additional phase.

The third-place award in the High-Tech Property of the Year category was presented to the Business Incubator of the Technical University of Ostrava. The incubator supports the establishment and development of firms with innovation potential. It offers high-quality conditions for start-up firms with direct links to the Technical University of Ostrava.

Business Property of the Year is a competition organised each year by CzechInvest and the Ministry of Industry of Trade in cooperation with the Association for Foreign Investment (AFI). The general partner of this year’s competition is the ČEZ Group; the partners are ČSOB, the National Gallery, QUIX and Zátiší Catering. The media partners of the event are Euro, Z1, E15 and Strategie

The competing investment projects are evaluated by a committee composed of representatives of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, the AFI, CzechInvest and previous winners. For the first time this year, the celebratory announcement of the winners was realised in conjunction with the announcement of the results of the Investor of the Year competition. The awards were presented to the winners today at 7.00 p.m. at the Cloister of St. Agnes of Bohemia in Prague. The ceremony was attended by guests including members of the government and Parliamentary and Senate committees, governors, ambassadors, significant investors, owners and managers of business properties, and developers.

BRIEFLY:

Business Property of the Year 2009 – High-tech Property of the Year

1st place: Incubators and Science and Technology Park of the South Moravian Innovation Centre

2nd place: 6th RIVER – Plzeň Science and Technology Park

3rd place: Business Incubator of the Technical University of Ostrava

For more information please contact the CzechInvest Press Centre

Štěpánka Filipová, spokesperson, phone: +420 296 342 538, stepanka.filipova@czechinvest.org

Contact to the AFI:

Martin Michalov, PR and Marketing Manager, tel.: +420 224 911 750, martin.michalov@afi.cz