What is the link between the Czech Republic, the UK and the most important manufacturing companies? Among other things, progress has been made in the use of artificially generated structural substances – Nano fibre. Technologies supporting manned space flights, new healing and diagnostic methods, the creation of replacement organs, increased resistance of industrial materials, the use of materials for energy savings and water and air treatment, nanotechnologies bring innovative solutions to all these areas.

The Czech Nano Days, a project of economic diplomacy organized by the Embassy of the Czech Republic in London, in cooperation with CzechInvest, the Department of the Deputy Prime Minister for Science, Research and Innovation and with the Association of Nanotechnology industry in Czech Republic, aimed to connect the Czech universities and nanotechnology companies with potential business and research partners from Great Britain.

From 12 to 14 June 2017, Representatives of Contipro, NanoSPACE, Nanovia and Pardam and research institutes of the Charles University - 1st Faculty of Medicine, Technical University Liberec - Institute for Nanomaterials, Advanced Technologies and Innovations, Association of Nanotechnology Industry of Czech Republic and the Nanoprogress group visited London and Cambridge within this project between 12 and 14 June 2017.

On Monday, June 12, a presentation of Czech subjects for three dozen British partners from companies, investors, scientific institutions and journalists took place at the residence of the Czech Ambassador in the United Kingdom.

On Tuesday 13 June, Czech experts visited Imperial College where they have met with representatives of the London Centre for Nanotechnology - a joint workplace of Imperial College and University College London, in which approximately 70 elemental scientists and several hundred collaborating scientists and PhD and Postgraduate students focus on the research of a wide range of nanotechnologies. Further, at the Imperial College, they have met with representatives and attended the following laboratories:  the Faculty of Natural Sciences, the Department of Materials - the Composite Centre; Department of Aeronautics - Laboratory of Polymeric Materials; Department of Chemical Engineering - Laboratory of Energy Materials. Imperial College is the first UK university in terms of the research impact, which has been ranked among the top 10 universities in the world over a long period, and in 2015, it has been declared by Reuters as the most innovative university in Europe. It employs 3.7 thousand academics and scientists and 15.5 thousand students, including a number of students from the Czech Republic. The University has a strategic partnership with Shell, more than 500 other corporate partners, and is the UK university with the highest share of enterprise funding.

On Wednesday, June 14, group of Czech representatives visited the University of Cambridge, where they were introduced to the possibilities of doctoral studies in nanotechnologies through the NanoDTC program (also open for applicants from the Czech Republic). The main focus of the meeting was the introduction of the Maxwell Center, which within the University plays a role of a platform which connects not only industry with the research, but also individual scientific workplaces that, among other things, seek to commercialise R&D results. The University plans to further expand the work of physical sciences associated with Cavendish Laboratory, which offers opportunities for cooperation also for Czech subjects - especially in the fields of photonics, optoelectronics, surface and nanostructure treatments or nanomedicine. The University of Cambridge was founded in 1209, and today there are 19 thousand students and 11 thousand employees working at 31 faculties. In 2017, the University is ranked as the 4th best in the world.

The course of the Czech Nano Mission to the United Kingdom showed, on the one hand, that Czech expertise in the Nano area is not unknown in the UK, for example, electron microscopes and nanofibers made in the Czech Republic are used; on the other hand, the fast-growing UK market for commercially-based products based on nanotechnology continues to offer opportunities for Czech companies. The Embassy of the Czech Republic in London, in cooperation with CzechInvest and other Czech entities, will continue to present Czech expertise and to create opportunities for Czech companies to cooperate with British partners in nanotechnologies also in the second half of 2017 and in 2018.

 

Ales Opatrny, Economic Diplomat, Embassy of the Czech Republic in London