South Moravian region
The South Moravian Innovation Centre centre was established as an association of legal entities in 2003. Its founders are the South Moravian Regional authority, the Statutory City of Brno, Masaryk University and Brno University of Technology. In February 2005 the group was joined by Mendel University of Agriculture and Forestry and University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences in Brno.
The Technology Incubator Brno comprises two buildings that create one consistent and functional complex. These premises are located in Brno's "Pod Palackého vrchem" within close proximity of Faculty of Mechanical Engineering of Brno University of Technology and the Czech Technology Park.
The first part of the complex - the Technology Incubator of VUT, was opened in 2003 and has 1 207 m2 in total, from which 810m2 are space for rent. The rest represents other facilities such as conference rooms, technical, administrative and social utilities.
Technology Incubator 2 (TI2) is the new building with 3 000 m2 of space for rent and represents significant expansion of the incubator capacity in the South Moravian region.
The services provided by the South Moravian Innovation Centre are consistent in both incubators.
The South Moravian Region:
Size: 7,196.5 km2 (4th largest region in Czech Republic)
Population: cca 1,130,000
Statutory city: Brno (population cca 370,000)
Number of universities: 5
Number of students: 77,000
The South Moravian region spreads over an area of 7 066 sq. km and shares borders with Austria and Slovakia offering excellent location opportunities to companies wishing to export to Slovakia, Hungary and Southeast Europe, or to Austria, Italy and other EU countries. The South Moravian Region is the third largest region in terms of population. The greater Brno area has nearly 400,000 inhabitants.
Being the second largest city of the country, Brno influences the economy of the entire region. The region has mainly light industry - engineering and processing. Southern parts of the region have well- developed farming on fertile land, well known for wine production. The Brno Fair and Exhibition
Grounds (BVV) run many international and local fairs every year and is the site of a World Trade Centre and a Business Innovation Centre.
CZECH TECHNOLOGY PARK
The Czech Technology Park in Brno was the first high-tech park in the country and has attracted a number of investors including IBM and Silicon Graphics. According to a recent study Brno offers the best conditions in the Czech Republic for companies active in advanced technologies and e-business.
Brno is the largest and most important educational centre in the Czech Republic after Prague. The Masaryk University has faculties of Information Science, Law, Economics, Natural Sciences, and other. The Brno Technical University (VUT) (with faculties of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Mechanical Engineering and other) has a very good reputation.
RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT
Other universities include the Mendel University of Agriculture and Forestry and the University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences. There are military academies in Brno and Vyskov. The region also has a number of higher tertiary vocational schools, secondary vocational schools and vocational training centres. Brno is the home to 17 research institutes of the Czech Academy of Sciences. Given the labour force availability, good infrastructure and the presence of universities, South Moravia is the potential high-tech centre of the country.
Traditionally, South Moravia has been dominated by engineering and textiles industries, but over the past decade the dramatic decline of textile manufacturing and a substantial reduction in engineering changed the balance in favour of new sectors - especially high- tech industries, such as electronics and software development. Over the past few years Brno has gained a reputation as the country's top location for advanced technologies such as information and telecommunication technologies (especially internet telecommunications applications), medical and research equipment and biotechnology.
The D1 motorway from Prague is divided into two directions in Brno:
Southeast to Bratislava, Slovakia and Hungary, and north towards Olomouc and Ostrava. Two European railway lines meet in Brno: the Berlin - Prague - Vienna line and the Warsaw - Ostrava - Vienna line.
The Brno airport has international status and handles passenger and cargo charter flights. There have been plans to reintroduce daily flights to Prague. Prague and Vienna airports are both approximately a two-hour drive from Brno and thus offer a choice for both passengers and cargo.