21 projects, mainly from the first and second scientific areas, entered the fifth round, and 13 teams received support amounting to CZK 5.8 million. As explained by Ilona Müllerová, Vice-President of the Czech Academy of Sciences, who is in charge of knowledge and technology transfer, the institution became the first Czech research organization with systematic support for bringing results to market: “The programme is an important tool that we repeatedly use to help promising projects find their way to practical application.”
According to Martin Smekal, head of the Technology Transfer Center of the CAS (CETAV), the fifth call confirms that the quality of applications is improving. “We want to support this trend also by improving awareness of the Programme for Application Development and Commercialization of the CAS (PRAK), so that the number of institutes participating in the calls increases. In addition, we have refined the evaluation criteria,” he emphasizes. It turned out that criteria and objectives focused exclusively on commercialization do not match the needs of projects with positive social impact: “That’s why this time we applied two different sets of criteria, depending on the project focus.”
“Research institutes of the Czech Academy of Sciences rightly emphasize basic research. In the PRAK programme, we aim to motivate researchers and institute management to apply their results in practice, thereby strengthening or accelerating the transformation of the Czech economy towards products and services with higher added value,” adds Petr Fiman, a member of the PRAK evaluation panel.
The best aim to establish a spin-off company
The top-rated project “Spectra Sense” from the Institute of Plasma Physics of the CAS seeks to improve the efficiency of solar cells by utilizing energy from a significantly broader spectrum of sunlight. At the TOPTEC center in Turnov, which is part of the institute, scientists have developed a new method for imaging the fluorescence lifetime decay — FLIM (Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging). The method is proving ideal for investigating defects in perovskite layers and is thus opening the door for applying FLIM analysis to the development of tandem solar cells. The main goal is to prepare for establishing a spin-off company.
The second most successful project comes from the J. Heyrovský Institute of Physical Chemistry of the CAS. Its team developed a new type of fluorophores for use in fluorescence microscopy — an analytical technique employed in biological and material sciences. The project aims to establish a spin-off company that would commercialize these fluorophores.
In third place was the FunBRUSH project from the Institute of Physics of the CAS, which seeks to identify potential customers for its patented technology — a unique antifouling surface treatment based on the creation of polymer nanobrushes. Key applications include biosensors, diagnostic systems (e.g., detection of pathogens like SARS-CoV-2), veterinary and food industry materials, and generally any application requiring control of surface interactions with complex biological media.
Projects that did not receive support in the fifth round can still benefit from contact with the Technology Transfer Center of the CAS and the expertise of its specialists. Members of the evaluation panel are also open to working with project teams in the role of consultants and business development advisors.
How to master a perfect presentation
As it is becoming increasingly clear how important it is to present promising research outcomes and new knowledge and technologies clearly and convincingly, the Technology Transfer Center of the CAS prepared a Pitch Academy workshop. “We organized it so colleagues could improve their presentation skills,” says lead instructor Klára Langerová. Twenty participants attended the first training session, working on solutions for specific projects during the seminar. And this won’t be the only workshop: “We’ll offer follow-up workshops for more advanced presenters as well as targeted preparation for specific pitching events and competitions,” adds Klára Langerová.
Text: Luděk Svoboda, Division of External Relations of the Head Office of the CAS