Germany and the Czech Republic: Focus on SMEs

The BMBF and the Czech Ministry of Industry and Trade (MPO) have agreed on intensive cooperation on research, development and innovation in the field of Industrie 4.0. The aim is to enable SMEs in particular from both countries to develop IT solutions for Industrie 4.0. The objective is implemented through funding projects.

The "Guideline for the funding of German-Czech research projects in the field of Industry 4.0" from 2018, foresees the funding of collaborative projects from German and Czech SMEs involving universities and non-university research institutions from both countries. The A2M and AMMICAL projects will run from May 2019 to April 2021 and are managed by the Project Management Agency Karlsruhe (PTKA).

Background

The BMBF and MPO laid the foundation for closer cooperation in the field of Industry 4.0 at the German-Czech R&D conference in Prague in October 2015. In August 2016, the bilateral research cooperation between the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI) and the Czech Institute of Informatics, Robotics and Cybernetics (CIIRC) was agreed in Prague in the presence of Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel. They are combining their expertise in the Human-Robot Collaboration Innovation Lab for Industry 4.0. A partnering event for companies and research partners from both countries took place in October 2016 as part of the SME Innovative: ICT conference.