Representatives of the Institute of Experimental Physics of the Slovak Academy of Sciences, Deutsche Telekom IT Solutions Slovakia (DT ITSO SK), representatives of the Technical University of Košice (TUKE), the Slovak Investment and Trade Development Agency (SARIO) and Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice (UPJŠ) are officially starting to cooperate on the growth of the Space Cluster, which will be the only one of its kind in Eastern Slovakia. They declared their cooperation by signing a memorandum on September 18, 2023 at the Technical University in Košice.
The objective of the cluster will be effective cooperation in the form of pooling and networking of stakeholders covering R&D, commercial or popularization activities regarding space technologies, and also the creation of a supportive ecosystem for the emergence of new innovative start-ups bringing new products and services through space technologies. At the same time, the created space ecosystem should attract and retain scientists and engineers in the Košice region. The space cluster will be housed in the TECHNICOM University Science Park, which will connect industry with academic know-how, scientific infrastructure and the potential of gifted students.
The fact that UPJŠ is a relevant partner was also confirmed by doc. Mgr. Michal Gallay, Ph.D., Vice-Dean for External Relations of the Faculty of Science at UPJŠ in Košice: “Already as space began to be used in the last century, some of our departments participated in the INTERCOSMOS programme, participated in the research program at CERN and in recent years completed projects within the Programme of European Cooperating States with the European Space Agency (ESA PECS). We are a member of the European association Copernicus Academy, which mainly covers institutions providing education based on space technologies and supports young companies. UPJŠ in Košice is a research university and due to its fields of development, it is naturally able to contribute to the implementation of planned activities within the emerging cluster. This is mainly research carried out at the Faculty of Science and Medicine or within the Technology and Innovation Park of UPJŠ in Košice.”
