Technological Initiative Pilsen

Representatives of the association Technological Initiative Pilsen, z.s.p.o. (hereinafter TIP) welcome the initiative by the District Chamber of Commerce for the Pilsen Area to organize a joint forum “Strategy of Technical Education in Pilsen and the Pilsen Region” in cooperation with Jiří Struček, Deputy Governor of the Pilsen Region, and Martin Zrzavecký, Deputy Mayor of Pilsen. The forum took place on 4^th April 2013.

On behalf of TIP, the forum was attended by representatives of GRAMMER CZ and Blue Projects Agency. Other participants included representatives of the TEO association, University of West Bohemia, chambers of commerce, production plants, specialized technical schools, Department of Education of the Regional Authority, the publishing house FRAUS and other representatives of the professional public.

TIP Secretary-General Pavel Duchek presented conclusions from the meeting of the Technical Education Support Group, which was held on 19^th March 2013 with the participation of both the TIP and TEO associations. The conclusions contained nine recommendations for mutual cooperation of industrial enterprises in the support of technical education not only in the Pilsen Region, entitled “Technology Lined with Gold”. Moreover, Secretary-General promised that TIP, as well as TIP member companies, would support all activities promoting and enhancing technical education.

Pavel Duchek also pointed out that TIP had prepared draft materials promoting technical education. He offered these materials for free use by other entities that would like to encourage interest in the study of technical fields. Mr. Duchek invited other companies to join this initiative. These materials are available for free at the TIP website (www.tipilsen.cz). He also called on other companies to join the conclusions from the meeting of the Technical Education Support Group and start supporting technical education in their respective locations.

On 19 March 2013, a working group to support technical education met in Pilsen. The group was made up of representatives of the Technical Initiative Pilsen (‘TIP’) and TEO – The Association for the Development of Technical Vocational Education and the Development of Human Resources in the Tachov Region (‘TEO’).

Representatives of the companies SWA, GRAMMER CZ, EvoBus, Gerresheimer Horsovsky Tyn and Blue Projects Agency took part in the meeting for TIP, while representatives of the companies Kermi, IDEAL AUTOMOTIVE Bor and GRAMMER CZ took part for TEO.

The working group decided upon the following nine recommendations for working together in supporting education in technical fields.

1. Establish co-operation with specific schools in the local region

The idea is to establish working partnerships with schools (particularly elementary schools and technical secondary schools) close by member businesses, with each company maintaining at least one partnership.

Companies will regularly prepare and update the ideal profiles of alumni who can find work with them. They will also prepare and update forecasts – numbers of secondary school/university alumni which they will require on the jobs market in future years. This information will be updated by the companies and published and publicised together.

Companies will systematically provide theses and other work for students of technical universities.

2. Hold co-ordinated open days

Member companies of both associations will hold joint open days, with an open day occurring once a year for the general public (1 June) and once a year for schools only (first and second weeks in February). The dates of these events will be the same for all members. Members will be open to any other technology companies who join their initiative.

3. Find and support young technicians

The aim of this activity is to promote the technology around us including within individual businesses, and arouse interest in technology amongst young people. The tool for achieving the activity goals will be the holding of competitions by each member company in order to promote technology and technical fields by ‘young technicians’ themselves amongst their peers. If the initiative develops successfully, a joint awards ceremony or other suitable act of recognition will be held for the winners.

4. Show technology to young technicians at the right time at the right place

The aim of this recommendation is to help individual schools or school clubs to support and develop technical talent amongst children and young people. Member companies will support the acquisition of appropriate technical toys and aids in learning and play. Suitable examples include:

• the use of a themed ‘case’ full of objects fitting into various technical topics – conquering space, mechanics, optical effects, etc.
• the use of Merkur construction sets,
• the use of Lego construction sets.

5. Promote the idea of technology and engineering as a field with good prospects

Member companies support the creation and publication of templates for simple promotional materials which can be printed or produced by any member or non-member company. In so doing, anyone anywhere will be able to promote an interest in technology and engineering as their resources allow. The aim is that simple posters and messages can be used and printed easily using colour printers. Another aim of this activity is to bring together the means for implementing an extensive media campaign focused on the general public.

 6. Support the use of electronic textbooks

This initiative of members of both associations will aim to support the creation of electronic textbooks, and their use in schools.

7. Support the reinvigoration of infrastructure for technical clubs and hobbies

The aim of this activity is to develop and support gifted, technically talented children through support for the creation of technical clubs and technically-oriented hobbies. Member companies will strive to map current infrastructure, both those in use and not in use, in their region and support their renewal and operation.

8. Prepare opportunities in the form of internships and work experience for apprentices, secondary school and university students

The aim here is to provide students and graduates with work experience so that over a certain period they systematically undertake practical activities in a working business. The aim is for students and graduates to acquire experience, with the possibility of a future job contract between the intern and the business.

9. Award company bursaries to secondary school and university students

Here, the aim is to support students of technical fields in their studies, thus committing them to remain employed by the business supporting them in their studies.

These nine recommendations aim to inspire member and non-member companies in their efforts to promote an interest in studying technical subjects amongst young people. It strives to draw areas of operation together and minimise costs.

General Assembly decided about acceptance of SWA between members of the TIP. It happened on Mar. 12, 2012 in headquarters of the TIP. The vast majority of General Assembly voted for the adoption of the company.

Representatives of Technological Initiative Pilsen, z.s.p.o. (the interest association of corporate entities, hereinafter TIP) met with Milan Chovanec, Governor of the Pilsen region, in the U Matasů restaurant in Pilsen, on 6 March 2013 at 18:00.

The TIP association was represented by representatives of EvoBus Bohemia, GRAMMER CZ, ZF Engineering, SWA, MBtech Bohemia and Blue Projects Agency. The meeting was also attended by representatives of AB Facility, AK Görges & Partners and the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen (hereinafter ZČU).

The critical problem encountered by most TIP members, i.e.  shortage of technically qualified workers in the industry, was presented on behalf of TIP by its Chairman, Mr. Johannes Heidecker.

Governor Milan Chovanec welcomed the TIP´s initiative and informed its members that he was aware of the mentioned problem in its full scope. Leaders of the Pilsen region had already made some steps that should help to improve the situation. They include, among other things, starting of an endowment fund to finance activities aimed at increasing the interest in technical studies among students in the Pilsen region and to promote this topic that is so crucial for the region.

Josef Basl, Vice Rector of ZČU, stated that the university was well aware of the situation and on this occasion he requested the industrial companies for direct and indirect support to schools in their efforts to increase the number of students of technical specializations. Governor Chovanec also proposed that representatives of TIP should be involved in Tripartite consultations of the Pilsen region and he invited members of the industrial enterprises to attend missions promoting regional industrial businesses abroad.

Participants of the meetings agreed to continue the mutual cooperation, to consult and to coordinate their further steps in this matter.

Representatives of Technological Initiative Pilsen (TIP) met with representatives of TEO – Association for Development of Technical Specialist Education and Human Resources in Tachov District (TEO) at the headquarters of GRAMMER CZ, s.r.o., in Tachov on 5 February 2013.

Members of TIP include EvoBus Bohemia s.r.o., GRAMMER CZ, s.r.o. ZF Engineering Plzeň s.r.o., JITONA a.s., MECAS ESI s.r.o., GOLDRATT CZ, s.r.o. and Blue Projects Agency s.r.o.  Associated partners of TIP include SWA, s.r.o., MBtech Bohemia s.r.o., Driessen Aerospace CZ, s.r.o., IHK Regensburg and Česko-německá obchodní a průmyslová komora. Members of TEO include companies and institutions from and around the town of Tachov, such as BHS CORRUGATED Fertigungs, Montage, Service s. r. o, Formy Tachov s.r.o, ROTAREX PRAHA spol. s.r.o., GRAMMER CZ s.r.o., závod Tachov, INOTECH ČR spol. s.r.o., Kermi s.r.o., Technické pružiny SCHERDEL s.r.o., KETNET s.r.o., IDEAL AUTOMOTIVE Bor s.r.o., FRANZ EDER Tachov a.s. and Střední průmyslová škola, Tachov, Světce 1.

The representatives of both the associations discussed the long-term dismal situation in the CzechRepublic, which constantly suffers from a shortage of skilled workforce with technical education. There is a shortage of technically educated graduates of both secondary and tertiary schools. Another topic was the retention of pupils and students in companies that have motivated them to study technical specialisations (e.g., by providing grants and practical training, cooperation on diploma theses, etc.).

The members and partners of both the associations shared their practical experiences with the issues and agreed that the attempts to resolve the problem so far have had little effect from the long-term perspective. The meeting participants agreed on joint and coordinated action. The first joint step will be to set up a taskforce for coordinating the companies’ actions. The aim of the taskforce is to define a project that will actively promote the issue of shortage of technically trained and educated workers in the Czech industrial sector, establish contact with other partners with similar interests, establish a platform for support to educational institutions, and channel communication about the issue with government bodies.

The project motto should be increasing the attractiveness of technical study specialisations among children, young people and their parents. The first meeting of the taskforce is expected to take place by the end of February 2013. The managements of companies involved in the project are ready to inform the public about their experience with the shortage of technically educated workers. For the support to the information campaign, TIP has received the right to use the “Mechanical Memory Key” photograph from Rob Smith of the United Kingdom for non-commercial use.

The industrial companies in both the associations hereby send the following message to the public: We offer enough jobs, but only for technical specialisations! Study technical specialisations!

On behalf of TIP, Pavel Duchek

Important links:
http://www.sps-tachov.cz/home/t.html

The purchase of gas for 2013 was jointly realised by GRAMMER CZ and SWA. The managements of both companies evaluate the project as very successful. “The project contributed to decreasing the costs of gas purchasing and it also shows another interesting direction in cooperation of companies under the Technological Initiative Pilsen consortium“, said the executive director of Grammer CZ, Mgr. Martin Kořínek, PhD.

On 6^th December 2012, Pavel Duchek, the General Secretary of TIP, met Pia Areblad, the Strategic Alliances Manager of TILLT, and Monika Bechná, the Manager for Programme Projects from EHMK 2015, in the premises of the Blue Projects Agency in Pilsen.

The goal of the negotiations was to present both organisations and find shared issues for potential cooperation. TILLT deals with connecting state and private organisations with the community of artists with the aim to develop common Projects where TILLT plays the role of the process leader. The negotiations finally led to an agreement among the participants to provide information materials, presentations and good practices to Tip members and invitation of representatives of EHMK and TILLT to some of the future meetings of TIP members.

Important links:

http://www.plzen2015.net

http://www.tillt.se

Video clips about the project:

http://www.tillt.se/om-oss/filmklipp

On 4^th December 2012, the Ministry of Culture, the Municipal Authority of Pilsen and the Institute of Art and Design of the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen held the Knowledge Creativity Industry & Their Common Future in the Czech Republic seminar. The venue for the seminar was the newly open building of the Institute of Art and Design in Pilsen.

The seminar focused on cooperation of industrial enterprises with creative and art-oriented individuals and institutions, drawing attention to the necessity of making use of design knowledge and skills as the most important comparative advantage of the contemporary Europeas well as the Czech Republicin the context of global competition. The issues related to the knowledge and creative economy have been recently coming to the fore also because Pilsen was awarded the title of the European Capital of Culture 2015.

Some companies (for example MBtech Bohemia and EvoBus Bohemia), which are members of the TIP consortium, plan to establish closer cooperation with selected representatives of the community of artists. The goal of this cooperation would be to develop common projects, that have not been prespecified yet, and to present their outcomes also under the Pilsen 2015 project. TIP’s representatives attending the seminar on behalf of the consortium were Pavel Novák from MBtech Bohemia, Pavel Duchek and Pavel Peták from Blue Projects Agency.

Important links from the conference:

http://www.facebook.com/KreativniCesko

http://uud.zcu.cz

http://www.spcr.cz

http://www.idu.cz

http://www.bic.cz

http://www.zcu.cz/ntc

http://www.plzen2015.net

A conversation between the Director of Pilsen 2015, Tomáš Froyda, and the General Secretary of TIP, Pavel Duchek, took place on Oct. 31, 2012. Mr. Duchek informed EHMK management about the association’s intention to participate in Pilsen 2015. Mr. Froyda welcomed this initiative and promised further cooperation.

General Assembly decided about acceptance of JITONA between members of the TIP. It happened on Oct. 25, 2012 in headquarters of the TIP. The vast majority of General Assembly voted for the adoption of the company.