The unique Pilsen Innovation Ecosystem (PINE) connects education, innovative entrepreneurship, and research for the benefit of the region. Its participants help children discover technology, improve the quality of education, retain talent in the region, inspire students to start businesses, motivate and support young entrepreneurs, and help innovative companies expand. PINE connects schools, startups, researchers, companies, and the city so that ideas don’t just remain on paper. We support technologies that make life better and the people behind them.
“We develop, inspire, and support innovators through all stages of life, from kindergarten to international expansion,” said Tomáš Cholinský, director of SIT Port Pilsen, describing how they work. “PINE exists to attract more innovators, entrepreneurs, and investors. All this is in the interest of the city’s future prosperity. The more talent and ideas, the more successful companies, the better we will live in Pilsen,” added Cholinský. Businesses with higher added value, local investment in R&D, greater control over the product and sales chain, establishing headquarters and management of internationally successful companies employing well-paid experts – these are the goals of the Pilsen innovation ecosystem, which is why the City of Pilsen has been paying so much attention to them in the long term. Within PINE, we introduce children to technology and teach secondary school pupils to collaborate across disciplines. We provide start-ups with facilities, community inspiration, and expert mentoring. We secure funding for innovation in companies and help them expand abroad,” Cholinský explained further.
For each stage in the development of an innovative citizen of Pilsen, the city has four key holders of knowledge and tools at its disposal. “At first, our children are taken care of by the Centre of Robotics with its clubs and events for boys and girls. Experimenting teenagers are taken over by SIT Port, which turns many of them into innovators and start-up entrepreneurs for whom nothing is impossible,” said Cholinský. “Those who want to start a real business move on to the Business and Innovation Centre BIC Pilsen, which follows up on the start-up stage with a greater emphasis on entrepreneurial skills and knowledge. BIC also supports existing companies, cooperates in funding innovative projects and in their international expansion.
Centre of Robotics, Modern Leisure Centre
The Centre of Robotics provides comprehensive support for technical education to talented young people aged 6 to 15, showing that technology can be fun. It guides children and teenagers along the entire journey — from inspiring classroom games and engaging hobby clubs, through secondary and university studies, to participation in innovative projects and even support in founding their own startups. The Centre of Robotics works with cutting-edge technologies, often not found even in commercial companies, and serves as a platform offering space, equipment, and topics for technical education.
More on www.centrumrobotiky.eu
SIT Port — a Port for Young Tech Enthusiasts
SIT Port works with young people aged 15 and over, building on the work of the Centre of Robotics. It fosters a technical community and offers an ideal environment for developing and launching start-ups. It serves as a harbour for tech enthusiasts looking for a place to anchor, as well as for aspiring entrepreneurs drawn to the waters of business.
SIT Port creates a platform where technology fans meet professional mentors and various industry experts at engaging events and workshops, and it regularly organizes hackathons. Members of the community can use the SIT Port Garage facilities with cutting-edge technologies free of charge. Since 2023, SIT Port Cowork has been part of TechTower.
More on www.sitport.cz
TechTower, Modern Technology Park
TechTower is one of the most advanced technology parks in the Czech Republic. It offers facilities and offices for innovative companies, technology enthusiasts, programmers, and aspiring entrepreneurs, as well as coworking spaces and a multifunctional hall.
Located in the former Světovar Brewery, TechTower now features a unique testing water tank, the SeedUp Space with a café and stunning views, and a prototype workshop where ideas come to life.
TechTower serves as a hub that hosts traditional festivals, a wide range of conferences, professional workshops, IoT academies, and hackathons.
Více na www.techtower.cz
BIC Pilsen (Business and Innovation Centre Pilsen)
The Business and Innovation Centre Pilsen has been supporting the establishment and development of innovative entrepreneurship in the region since 1992. It operates within networks that promote business and innovation and cooperates with many other partners at the regional, national, and international levels. Start-up founders and innovators who enter the world of business gradually gain entrepreneurial knowledge and valuable feedback for their business plans here under the guidance of experienced consultants. BIC Pilsen organizes incubation programmes for start-ups and companies seeking growth from across the region, offering them a year of individual assistance with personalized consultations and grants of up to one million Czech crowns for purchasing services.
Collaborating Organizations
Techmania Science Center Pilsen
One of the most significant interactive science centres in the Czech Republic, Techmania, boasts more than 7,000 m² of exhibitions featuring dozens of interactive exhibits — from physics experiments, machines, and trams to biology and renewable energy sources. Located in the former Škoda Pilsen factory halls, Techmania also includes a 3D Planetarium with a Science On a Sphere interactive globe and regular screenings, as well as science shows presenting spectacular effects such as a Van de Graaff generator. Techmania also promotes informal education, offering science courses, camps, and workshops for schools and the general public.
More on www.techmania.cz/
RADOVÁNEK Leisure Centre
It focuses on extracurricular education and out-of-school activities for children, youth, and adults, including teachers. It offers a wide range of clubs, courses, one-time events, and summer camps. The programmes cover sports, arts, technology, language education, and crafts. RADOVÁNEK is based in the former House of Pioneers and Youth, which opened for extracurricular education seventy-five years ago, and everyone can find an activity there. It also works with groups of talented and exceptionally gifted children and students, as well as those with special educational needs, minorities, and participants from socially and culturally disadvantaged backgrounds.
More on www.radovanek.cz.
Nvias Organization – We Connect Ideas and Create Innovation!
The goal of the non-profit initiative nvias is to transform young people from mere consumers into active creators of innovation. Through programmes that have already been attended by more than 15,000 children, nvias focuses on developing skills for the future, such as AI, programming, IoT technology, sustainability and entrepreneurship (project management, design thinking), through practical activities: workshops, clubs, project days and longer-term programmes. The organization was founded by Pavel König, whose vision combines technological know-how with an educational approach to talent development.
More on www.nvias.org.
