Invest in education and innovation, advises the first lady of Israeli science and adviser to the Czech government, Orna Berry
Israel has been engaged in R&D for quite a longer period of time compared to the Czech Republic. That is one of the reasons why MVSO maintains long-term relations with Israeli organizations. According to Orna Berry, what potential is hidden behind the walls of Czech universities and research organizations?
The Czech Republic is no longer the inexperienced underdog in science and research. On the contrary, it has been involved in a number of international projects. "The level of science and technology is very high in the Czech Republic. You are becoming a normal member of EU research and technology programmes,” says Berry. At the same time, however, she adds that it is necessary for us to take it to the next level and become research leaders rather than just members of international teams.
The Czech Republic must manage its scientific programs more efficiently
Many processes within Czech science and research are already set up correctly. Where Berry sees a substantial gap, however, is in the role of the state, which should manage programmes more efficiently so that domestic science can flourish. The main parameter here concerns the rules that will help Czech science gain a competitive edge. "Competitiveness has the same rules as survival. You have to constantly hone your skills. You do the same in research. It is not just for fun and because you like to work with devices and machines,” she says.
The post-pandemic era will see an IT boom
The covid pandemic has a major impact on the global economy. Many industries need to implement the necessary innovations, which will include streamlining teleworking, centralization of monitoring and developing automation. The government adviser also notes this and calls attention to the human dimension of the crisis. "A lot of people will have to change their jobs. There are different skill levels that you want to automate, the reason being that there is a difference between the need to employ 100,000 people and a million.”
The Czech-Israeli Innovation Day, which took place in the BEA campus in Olomouc, helps with the transfer of know-how from Israel.
An opportunity for Czech-Israeli cooperation
According to Berry, Czech-Israeli cooperation could be based on research focused on industry and especially on the areas of artificial intelligence, autonomous process control and machine learning. She also sees great potential in the field of medicine. "You have first-class doctors. A great infrastructure for medical tourism. I think that much more can be done in this area.
The whole interview with Orna Berry available in Lidové noviny
Interviewer: Tomáš Jelínek, an expert practitioner in the Department of Management and Marketing at MVSO