The Czech Republic and Germany enhance cooperation in the area of Industry 4.0

During a visit to Prague on Thursday, 25 August 2016, German Chancellor Angel Merkel met with Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka, with whom she discussed mutual support for Industry 4.0.

In the presence of Chancellor Merkel and Prime Minister Sobotka, representatives of the Czech Institute of Informatics, Robotics and Cybernetics at the Czech Technical University (CTU) and the German Research Centre for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI) signed an agreement on cooperation in this field. An open laboratory-testing facility for small and medium-sized enterprises should be established at CTU.

The meeting with the chancellor was also attended by representatives of CzechInvest, which has long been focused on the issue of Industry 4.0 and played a role in formulating the National Industry 4.0 Initiative, which has already been approved by the government. The National Industry 4.0 Initiative’s expert team included, among others, Jiří Krechl, head of the Research, Development and Innovation Support Department at CzechInvest. The purpose of the initiative consists in providing key information relating to the topic of the fourth industrial revolution and finding new directions for development that could support the economy and industrial base of the Czech Republic.