A recent article on the website of the German government agency GERMANY TRADE & INVEST testifies to the growing influence and publicity of Czech photonic technologies in the world. It discusses the achievements of Czech organizations operating in various areas of photonics, especially those associated in the Czech Optical Cluster.
The article mentions some of the members of the Czech optical cluster. Research organizations with research focused on photonics include CTU, ELI Beamlines, HiLASE, Palacký University in Olomouc, Institute of Photonics and Electronics of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic and Brno University of Technology. It also describes the importance or turnover of companies such as Crytur, Docter Optics, EVPÚ Defence, Hella Autotechnik Nova, Meopta, Narran, PO Lighting Czech or Thermo Fisher Scientific Brno.
Products and technologies from these Czech companies are used in many industries. The article mentions, for example, the importance of Czech microscopy, laser technology and its applications, photonics for healthcare or the automotive industry. The Photonics21 study is mentioned here, according to which the volume of Czech photonics is 1.6 billion Euros.
The article was based on an interview of the director of GERMANY TRADE & INVEST, Gerit Schulz, with the manager of the Czech Optical Cluster, Petr Přikryl. He also explained the problems limiting the performance of Czech science and industry in photonics: “Despite the number of high-quality technical universities, companies lack enough qualified graduates interested in applying in knowledge-intensive fields related to photonics. Young talents are also needed because the Czech government considers the photonics industry to be a key technology for the future competitiveness of the country. This is reflected in the “National Research and Innovation Strategy for Smart Specialisation”. Nevertheless, information about the rise of Czech photonics and interest in its products and technologies in the world is mainly positive. As Petr Přikryl adds: “Among our strengths are research and development expertise as well as the connection of companies and scientific research institutions.”
You can find the full article in the original (German) HERE.
