ZF Automotive’s Jablonec plant wants to test machine vision on an assembly line, while industrial equipment supplier FOXON plans to visualise data from electricity meters. These are just some of the challenges awaiting participants in TechStarter 2027, a competition programme organised for the third time by the Regional Development Agency and the Liberec Region. The programme gives students at secondary technical schools the opportunity to work on problems that companies are actually dealing with.

Come up with and create anything that makes everyday life easier. That is the challenge for the sixth edition of Business Talent, a polytechnic competition organised by the Regional Development Agency, iQLANDIA and the Liberec Region in cooperation with their partners. Over eight competition rounds, eighth- and ninth-grade primary school students will develop clever solutions to everyday challenges in the iQFABLAB smart workshop. They will have access to a wide range of equipment and technologies, including laser cutting, 3D printing and soldering. This year, they will also have the opportunity to program their inventions.

Karel Žídek has received one of Europe’s most prestigious ERC grants. Karolína Morávková made it to the Falling Walls Lab final in Berlin thanks to her research. Eduard Seibert attracted international attention with a light fixture created with the help of bees.

Three companies and seven technical challenges for 25 students. That was the second edition of TechStarter, a six-month intensive program connecting schools with industrial companies in the region. At the ceremonial closing event, secondary school students presented their projects. There was no shortage of healthy confidence or lessons learned from mistakes. The event concluded with financial awards being presented to the successful participants.

The frame of an e-bike is tensioned on a pneumatic device, handlebars are bent in a testing rig to the verge of breaking, and brakes are made to withstand a simulated downpour. This is what an ordinary day looks like at the Engineering Test Institute in Jablonec nad Nisou. It is here, too, that decisions are made on whether new products will pass the safety filter and meet the demanding requirements of the market.

How can modern technologies help in paediatric oncology? How can artificial intelligence be used in the prevention of heart disease, or virtual reality in the training of healthcare professionals? These questions were explored by nearly 280 doctors, healthcare managers and representatives of technology companies from across the country at the TechCare 2026 conference, held in Liberec on 25 February.