STP News
On February 5, 2024, the XXXV General Meeting of the Society of Science and Technology Parks of the Czech Republic, z.s., took place.
In accordance with the activity plan and Article 11 of the Articles of Association of the Czech Science and Technology Parks, z.s., the XXXV General Meeting of the company took place on Wednesday, February 5, 2025, from 10:00 a.m. in conference room No. 319 of the ČSVTS building, Novotného lávka 5, Prague 1; the event was attended by a representative of the TTC TBU in Zlín on behalf of the Science and Technology Park at TBU in Zlín.
At the meeting of the XXXV. General Meeting, the election of the draft committee took place, the Report on the fulfillment of the main tasks of the SVTP ČR, z.s. from the XXXIV. General Meeting on 7. 2. 2024 was approved, as well as the Financial Report for 2024, the Report of the Audit Committee of the SVTP ČR, z.s.
At the meeting of the XXXV. General Meeting, the Main Tasks and the draft budget of the SVTP ČR, z.s. for 2025. Furthermore, information on accredited STPs in the Czech Republic was submitted within the 16th ongoing stage of accreditation.
The Science and Technology Park at TBU in Zlín participated in the voting on individual points of the Program of the XXXVth General Meeting of the Society of Science and Technology Parks of the Czech Republic, z.s., through the TTC TBU in Zlín.
The main Innovation of the Year 2024 award was won by the Throwing Chairs for Disabled Athletes
The main Innovation of the Year 2024 award was won by the project Throwing Chairs for Disabled Athletes, invented by scientists from the Tomas Bata University (UTB) in Zlín. The 29th edition of the Innovation of the Year 2024 competition is organized by the Czech Association for Innovative Entrepreneurship.
“A product newly introduced to the market in the last three years or a significantly improved product that is already in practice and being successfully used is eligible for the competition,” said Ivana Bartoníková, Director of the Technology Transfer Center at UTB. The jury evaluated the product’s technical level, originality of the solution, market position, and environmental impact. “The construction and design solution of the ‘Throwing Chair’ was part of the partial project Multifunctional Sports Equipment for Disabled Athletes (project of the University Institute UTB in Zlín, led by Ing. Zdeněk Melichárek, Ph.D., and his team), which was part of the larger project Commercialization at Tomas Bata University in Zlín I (TP01010006) funded by the Czech Technology Agency,” added Ivana Bartoníková.
“The Throwing Chair, or its design, is protected by a Community industrial design, which was registered on June 19, 2017, under the number 004054385-0001 with the European Union Intellectual Property Office,” said Přemysl Strážnický, specialist at the Technology Transfer Center.
The Throwing Chairs are designed for disabled athletes in various athletic disciplines such as shot put, discus throw, javelin, and bowling. “The Throwing Chairs we developed are used by disabled athletes of all ages, body weights, genders, and disabilities, including both right-handed and left-handed individuals. Previous devices allowed for only one sport. The new Throwing Chair is adjustable to the specific physique of an athlete with a disability and offers several settings,” explained project leader Zdeněk Melichárek from the Department of Physical Education and Sports at UTB in Zlín.
The uniqueness of this multifunctional sports equipment lies in its versatility. Taking these factors into account, the design and construction of the chair were developed, characterized by the simplicity of its construction, ease of disassembly and reassembly into individual components, versatility in orientation (left-handed, right-handed), ease of fixing the chair, simple modification of the seating and support parts of the Throwing Chair based on athlete requirements, and the associated low weight and excellent storage capability. The low weight of the Throwing Chair facilitates transport for athletes and ultimately saves costs, even for air transport.
The equipment meets all criteria established by athletic associations in both the Czech Republic and abroad. The Throwing Chair is already in use, for example, at the Jedlička Institute in Prague and the Kociánka Sports Club in Brno, which is focused on sports for the disabled under the Czech Federation for Spastic Handicap. Tomas Bata University was also successful in last year’s Innovation of the Year competition, where it won with the volleyball.
A new family game, Don’t Forget Your Feet, was created at the University of Zlin
Adopting the right habits for foot health can be not only practical, but also fun, thanks to the new family game Don’t Forget Your Feet, loosely following the already published book of the same name. The game was created as part of the project Education game package with elements of podiatry, which was implemented by the Transfer Technology Center (TTC) in cooperation with the Faculty of Multimedia Communications (FMK) of the Tomas Bata University in Zlín. The Institute of Marketing Communications and the Animated Creation studio participated in the creation.
The game is based on a plentifully illustrated book that provides practical advice and examples of exercises focused on foot care. The tasks from the book have been converted into a board game with cards that contain exercises known from the book together with new activities. Players will meet the same characters and exercises, which can be tried not only at home, but also at journeys using the game and mobile application. Thus, the game is a great attachment to the original book. “The board game is intended for children of preschool and school-age, it continues in the book and increases chances of playful learning. Children will practice their knowledge and can look forward to familiar characters in the mobile application as well,” says one of the authors of the game, Radomila Soukalová from the Institute of Marketing Communications.
An insufficiently or unevenly developed muscular system, the cause of which can be a lack of movement, as well as overuse or unilateral load. Inappropriate movement patterns. Badly cut nails or improperly chosen shoes. All of this can lead to unpleasant problems from ingrown nails, hammer toes and bunions, over flat or too arched feet, to poor heel alignment that affects entire posture. Many problems can be avoided if parents take proper care of their children’s feet. And this game could help them. Don’t forget your feet offers five different game variations, which allows you to adapt it to the age and number of players. It is intended for children from four years of age and can be played by up to twenty players at the same time. This makes it ideal not only for home entertainment, but also for schools, nurseries and school groups.Theoretical questions and practical tasks await players on how to properly care for their feet, how they work and how to use them. The whole family will like exercise and physical activities, from the smallest to adults.
“The sub-project Educational game package with elements of podiatry was part of the comprehensive Commercialization program at Tomas Baťa University in Zlín II, financed by the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic. The Czech brand Dino, which has more than 30 years of experience with board games, participated in the production and precise working out of the game. The Czech Podiatric Society provided an expert guarantee for the project. We are very happy that also this time we managed to transfer the results of development and research into practice,” says the director of the Transfer Technology Center of TBU, Ivana Bartoníková.
“The game is protected by Community design number 015005226-0001 in the EU,” added Přemysl Strážnický, TTC specialist.
The game Don’t Forget Your Feet is already available in all specialized game stores, toy stores, bookstores and e-shops. The book was published by the Host publishing house, regarding the project you can find more in the article Don’t forget your feet. An original book for children was created on the premises of FMK.
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The main INNOVATION OF THE YEAR 2024 prize awarded to a throwing chair designed for disabled athletes
The main INNOVATION OF THE YEAR 2024 prize goes to Throwing Chair for Disabled Athletes – a project involving inventions by scientists from Tomas Bata University (TBU) in Zlín. The 29th year of the annual Innovation of the Year 2024 Prize competition was announced by the Association of Innovative Entrepreneurship of the Czech Republic.
“The competition is open to new or significantly improved products introduced to the market in the last three years, which have been put into practice and are successfully used,” says Ivana Bartoníková, Director, Technology Transfer Centre (TBU). The assessment panel evaluated the technological level of the product, originality of the solution, market penetration and environmental impact. “The way the throwing chair has been designed and how it looks like was the subject of the sub-project entitled “Multi-functional sports equipment for disabled athletes” and managed by Ing. Zdeněk Melichárek, Ph.D. and his team as the researchers (University Institute, TBU in Zlín). The activity was part of Commercialization at Tomas Bata University in Zlín I (TP01010006) – a comprehensive project funded by the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic,” added Ivana Bartoníková.
“The throwing chair, including its design, is protected by a Community Design registered on 19 June 2017 under No. 004054385-0001 at the European Union Intellectual Property Office,” said Přemysl Strážnický, TTC Specialist.
Throwing chairs are designed for disabled sportspersons active in a variety of athletic disciplines, whether it is shot put or discus, javelin and skittle throwing. “The throwing chairs we developed are used by disabled sportspersons whatever the age, body weight, gender and disability, both right- and left-handed. The existing devices allowed only one sport to be practised. The new throwing chair is adjustable to the specific physique of a disabled athlete and offers several setting options,” describes Zdeněk Melichárek, the project’s chief investigator, from the Institute of Physical Education and Sport at TBU in Zlín.
This multifunctional sports equipment is special in that it is versatile in its use. Taking these factors into account, the frame and design of the chair were drafted; the device features the simplicity of the composition of the frame, disassembling into sub-components and re-assembling, versatility in terms of orientation (left-handed/right-handed) and the clamping facility; the seating and support parts of the throwing chair are easy to rebuild based on the athlete’s requirements. Then there is the associated low weight and good storability. The chair is a lightweight piece of equipment, making it easier for athletes to transport and ultimately saving costs even in air transport.
The device meets all the criteria set by athletic associations in the Czech Republic and abroad. Throwing chairs are already in use, for example, at the Jedlička Institute in Prague or the Kociánka Sports Club in Brno; the latter is involved in sports organised for the disabled under the Czech Spastic Handicap Federation. Tomáš Bata University was also successful in the Innovation of the Year competition last year when it won with a volleyball.
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Regional innovation platform ZLINNOVATION
Meeting of the members of the innovation ecosystem of the Zlín Region – RIS ZK update
On April 23, 2024, a meeting of the Regional Innovation Platform ZLINNOVATION took place in the premises of the Technological Innovation Center s.r.o. Zlin. The meeting was also attended by two representatives of the Transfer Technology Center of the Tomas Bata University in Zlín, which is a member of the platform.
The main topic of the meeting was the proposal to update and clarify the Zlín region’s specialization domains with the aim of streamlining innovation and investment support and strengthening the region’s position.
The newly included areas include key pillars of the regional economy, aerospace & defence and semiconductors & microelectronics. These high-tech areas complement the traditional strengths of the Zlín region, such as engineering, intelligent IT systems, advanced polymers and composites, or creative industries.
The Zlinnovation platform brings together institutions across the Zlín Region with the aim of developing the region in the areas of business, innovation, science and research.
Tomas Bata University in Zlín joined actively in the refinement of the domain of polymers and proposed its extension to include the topic of material research for the circular economy. In doing so, TBU emphasized the importance of sustainability and a responsible approach to the environment, making this area a key part of the development strategy of the Zlín Region.
More information about the Zlinnovation platform on the website www.zlinnovation.cz.
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PLASTKO SPECIALIST CONFERENCE AGAIN IN ZLÍN
Polymers and technology in the Context of Sustainable Development. This was the main theme of this year’s PLASTKO 2024 conference, which took place on April 17-18, 2024, at the Tomas Bata University (TBU) in Zlín. The event has been held since 2008, so it is a traditional conference organized by the TBU University Institute, the Technology Transfer Center and the Plastics Cluster.
“The main focus of this year’s conference was on eco-innovation in the field of plastic production. Significant attention was also paid to legislation related to plastic recycling and ecological transformation, which is now a very topical issue for both research and practice,” said Director of the Centre of Polymer Systems at TBU in Zlín, Professor Vladimír Sedlařík.
Over two days, a whole range of very interesting lectures were held presenting news and trends in the plastics sector. The results of research and development in the scientific and commercial spheres were also discussed.
“The main objective of the conference was to inform the professionals about current trends in the field, share best practices and establish cooperation between companies and the academic sphere,” said Ing. Ivana Bartoníková, Director of the Technology Transfer Center at TUB in Zlín.
The event also included poster presentations, all papers presented at the conference have been published as an electronic collection,
https://cps.utb.cz/plastko2024.
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The XXXIV meeting was held on February 7, 2024. election meetings of the Society of Scientific and Technical Parks of the Czech Republic, z.s.
In accordance with the activity plan as well as with Article 11 of the Statutes of Association of the Society of Scientific and Technical Parks of the Czech Republic, z.s. general meeting XXXIV took place on Wednesday, February 7, 2024 from 10:00 a.m. in meeting room No. 319, CSSTP building, Novotného lávka 5, Prague 1, which was attended by a representative of the TTC of TBU in Zlín on behalf of the Scientific and Technical Park at TBU in Zlín.
At the meeting of XXXIV. electoral general assembly, the election of the mandate, election and proposal commission took place, the Report on the fulfillment of the main tasks of SSTP CR, z.s. from XXXIII. general meeting was approved, as well as Report on management for the year 2023 and Report of the audit committee of SSTP CR, z.s. At the said meeting XXXIV., the election of committee members and the president of SSTP CR, z.s. and the documents Main tasks and Draft budget of SSTP CR, z.s. were approved for the year 2024.
The Scientific and Technical Park at TBU in Zlín, through the TTC TBU in Zlín, took part in voting on individual items of the XXXIV. electoral general assembly program and STP was a member of the draft committee at the XXXIV. general meeting of SSTP CR, z.s., too.
