Prague, Aug 31 (CTK) – The Czech Republic and Canada will start cooperating on concrete research and innovation projects, Czech Deputy PM for Science Pavel Belobradek said after meeting Canada’s Ontario province minister for research Reza Moridi in Prague on Thursday.
He said interconnection of the industrial sector and scientific capacities is among the issues the two countries have in common.
Moridi is expected to sign a memorandum of cooperation with the Czech Technology Agency (TA CR), an institution distributing state funds designated for research, on Friday.
“I am convinced that we will find a number of issues [of bilateral cooperation]. Commercialisation, internationalisation, cooperation with industry and new technology challenges,” Belobradek said.
He said the Czech Republic can offer research capacities and the Inter-Excellence programme aimed at foreign cooperation outside the EU.
Moridi told CTK that Ontario is North America’s most important area of research after Silicon Valley, California.
Fourteen billion dollars go to research, provided mainly by the private sector, he said.
The Ontario government uses two ways to motivate firms to invest. First, it returns a large part of the sum invested in research, 20 to 60 percent, to them.
Second, it applies a favourable combination of tax rules, which attract companies to Ontario, and the support for universities, which helps the companies find talented workers.
In the Czech Republic, the share of the private sector in financing science and research is lower.
About 82 billion crowns went to science in 2015, including 55 billion from the private sector.
