Czech Days at Georgia Tech Foster International Collaboration

The event was organized with a goal of fostering partnerships between researchers and innovators from the Czech Republic and Georgia Tech.

From May 29th-30th, Georgia Tech hosted a delegation of academic and industry experts from the Czech Republic as part of the first ever Czech Technology Days at GT. The event was organized by the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Georgia Tech with a goal of fostering partnerships between researchers and innovators from the Czech Republic and Georgia Tech.

IPaT's Marketing and Communications Director and Czech native Renata LeDantec kicked of the first day of the event and was followed by Dr. Yves Berthelot, Vice Provost for International Initiatives at Georgia Tech, who presented an overview of Georgia Tech's international presence and programs to the delegation. They were followed by Commercialization panels, led by the Enterprise Innovation Institute’s (EI2) Lynne Henkiel, where participants from the EI2, the Advanced Technology Development Center (ADTC), Georgia Research Alliance, and the Czech Republic addressed best practices in technology transfer and commercialization of new technologies. During the lunch the attendees listened to the presentation by Errol Levy, First Secretary, European Union Delegation about Horizon 2020, an EU funding program for research and innovation. The Czech delegates also came to introduce their Delta program, which aims to support collaboration in applied research and experimental development projects through joint projects of enterprises and research organizations from the Czech Republic and major foreign technological and innovation agencies (presentation available for download here). In the afternoon session, attendees were invited to break out into parallel panel sessions lead by Marlit Hayslett, Jeff Evans, and Cynthia Sundell to discuss their research domain, challenges, and potential for collaboration in either bioscience, cybertechnology, or information and communications technology areas.

The panels were followed by remarks by Chris Jones, Vice Provost for Research. The day was wrapped up with a vibrant networking reception at the Institute for People and Technology.

On the second day of the event, the delegation returned to Georgia Tech and visited several areas of campus including the Global Center for Medical Innovation, Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering & Bioscience, the Georgia Tech Invention Studio, and the Advance Technology Development Center. Presentations by IPaT’s Executive Director, Beth Mynatt and Georgia Tech CTO, Ron Hutchins concluded the program.

Additionally, partners from the Atlanta technology community such as Technology Association of Georgia and Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce were invited to participate in industry meetings with the delegation during their visit.

The full agenda can be seen here.