Townhall Meetings Initiative
TOWNHALL KOŠICE: The private sector has the opportunity to cooperate more intensively with universities and innovation hubs
In the Košice region, more than € 360 million of EU funds will be invested in infrastructure and support for innovative professional community platforms that will accelerate the transfer of innovation to urban life, support the development of the knowledge economy and create new jobs in the region.
In addition to the traditional
industry associated with the city, their aim is to move the region
towards greener business with an orientation towards the creative
industry and technology-oriented economy. Four specific projects also
offer opportunities for close cooperation for the private sector.
Companies and institutions can connect their teams with the academy and
other experts and thus create a unique synergy to increase their
competitiveness and create new jobs.
Representatives of the city
of Košice, local universities, entrepreneurs, representatives of the
non-profit sector and experts on regional development within the Townhall Košice event discussed specific cross-sector involvement in projects today.
"We
appreciate that all stakeholders in the east of Slovakia at the level
of the Košice self-governing region, the city, universities and the
business and non-profit sector are aware of the importance and
contribution of innovation to the strategic development of the region,
companies and talent. Townhall Košice has the ambition to be an
innovative platform for starting the interconnection of individual
actors, sharing experiences and dialogue for innovations with an
emphasis on active involvement of the private sector in the emerging
innovative infrastructure," concluded Gabriel Galgóci, President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Slovakia.
"Innovation
is a big topic. As part of the Regional Innovation Strategy of the
Košice Region 2021+, we are creating the Innovation Center of the Košice
Region (ICKK) following the example of the South Moravian Innovation
Center in Brno. This should cover innovation and all actors involved in
innovation into one living whole. This will pave the way for the
emergence of a new sector of innovation, which can thus reach different
areas of the economy. The goal is to generate higher GDP, new jobs and,
of course, a higher quality of life," said Rastislav Trnka, chairman of the Košice self-governing region.
The
Townhall Košice platform was organized by the American Chamber of
Commerce in Slovakia with the support of CIPE (Center for International
Private Enterprise) together with partners Creative Industry Košice,
Košice 2.0, Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice, Urban Innovative
Actions and IT Valley Košice, Slovak Chamber of Commerce and Industry ,
The Technical University in Košice and UVP Technicom.
Townhall Meeting Prešov 8/10/2020
#eastinnovation
AmCham is making things happen in our regions! Virtually all key regional development stakeholders including Deputy Minister of Regional Development Vladimír Ledecký, Chairman of the Self-Governing Region Milan Majerský, Mayor of the City of Prešov Mrs. Andrea Turčanová, and Deputy Mayor Vladimír Feľbaba, have met today with the AmCham representatives and senior officials of AmCham's regional members, as well as the representatives of academia at the first-of-its-kind Townhall Meeting in Prešov.
Regional stakeholders have outlined the areas of cooperation across public, private, and academic sectors in an effort to make Prešov and the region become a magnet for talent and innovation. The new platform for dialogue is ready to meet regularly to implement more specific steps inspired by the Vision Slovakia 2030: to enhance education, business environment, and quality of life in East Slovakia.
Photo: Peter Contos, Promiseo & Deutsche Telekom IT Solutions Slovakia