New microelectronics centre of excellence pools talent from Central and Eastern Europe
A new Centre of Excellence in microelectronics has been created in the Czech Republic, bringing together researchers and infrastructure from across Central and Eastern Europe and Russia. The centre, ChipInvest, is intended to be a one-stop-shop for expertise in the microelectronics field. 'Our Centre of Excellence goes beyond typical incubators by providing a formal network for training and talent-gathering for the international microelectronics industry,' said Radomil Novak, advisor to the CEO of CzechInvest, an agency of the Czech Republic's Industry and Trade Ministry that works to attract foreign investment and develop Czech companies. 'It's like placing a magnet in an electric field. We are directing knowledge-flow to one place - the Czech Republic. As a result, multinational organisations and small and medium sized businesses worldwide now have an unparalleled resource,' continued Mr Novak. ChipInvest brings together university teams, incubators, training programmes and other infrastructure. The fact that these assets and infrastructure already exist means that the critical mass, and hence the Centre of Excellence, can be created within a very short time period, according to Mr Novak. The centre will have its headquarters at Brno University of Technology, where engineers working in microelectronics design are already receiving financial support from both the EU and Czech funding agencies. According to a 2005 report by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), some 40 per cent of multinational investment in the Czech Republic goes to research and development.
Countries
Czechia