International Cooperation

The ambition of this Interreg Danube project (2024–2026) is to reduce the innovation gap and strengthen capacities for technology and knowledge transfer in the field of ICT across nine countries in the Danube region. Through the Danube Digital Accelerator (DDA), the project will support the acceleration of 30 ICT technologies originating from the academic environment. It will also develop guidelines for effective technology transfer and commercialization, and organize educational activities for university management. In addition, the project will simplify access to innovation resources for SMEs through a digital catalogue available at sme.support and will map ICT excellence in four non-EU countries to support the development of smart specialisation strategies. 

As part of this project (funded by the International Visegrad Fund, 2023), we organized a one-week training titled ImpactSprint: From Research to Product in Prague. The event brought together 24 innovation managers and technology transfer professionals from universities, research organizations, innovation centers, and ministries across Central Europe, Armenia, and Georgia. During the program, participants learned about design sprint techniques, technology validation, IP protection, and how to pitch their project ideas to investors and external partners. In addition, a public debate titled “How Do Universities Develop the Entrepreneurial Mindset of Students and Researchers?” was held at Charles University in Prague to share best practices from universities in the region on motivating researchers and students toward more entrepreneurial behavior. 

This Czech-UNDP Partnership for the SDGs project was implemented between 2022 and 2023 and addressed the lack of effective linkages between academic institutions and industry, as well as limited awareness of the benefits of mutual collaboration in Ethiopia. Key project outcomes included a study visit to Prague for representatives of Jimma and Hawassa Universities (technology transfer and incubation centre managers) and local start-ups; the organization of the UniTech start-up competition for young scientists; delivery of four capacity-building workshops; production of four educational videos; organization of two technology transfer events for local stakeholders at Jimma and Hawassa Universities; and the presentation of the universities’ intellectual assets on the websites of Jimma and Hawassa Universities.