As part of the HR Award project, selected employees participated in training sessions on intellectual property and technology transfer. Building on experience in this area, the University has initiated the development of the University-wide Technology and Knowledge Transfer Unit. The University will build on the activities and experience of the Institute of Interdisciplinary Research of the Faculty of Business and Entrepreneurship and the recently established Joint Institute for Advanced Approaches, Modelling and Technology of the Silesian University and the Astronomical Institute of the Academy of Sciences. The agenda will follow a newly outlined strategy for the development of intersectoral cooperation, management of intellectual property and transfer of knowledge from the SU research environment to practice. In addition to the area of technology, knowledge and skills transfer, the newly established university-wide department will also focus on popularizing scientific research results.
The joint department of the Silesian University and the Institute of Astronomy of the Academy of Sciences for Advanced Approaches, Modelling and Technology is currently implementing the prestigious GAČR grant EXPRO 21-06825X and the ESA PRODEX project 4000132152 "Delivery of equipment for the Chinese X-ray mission" (eXTP). The department is involved in supercomputer simulations and developing advanced LAD X-ray detectors to study the behaviour of matter in extreme densities and in superstrong magnetic and gravitational fields. The Czech project consortium eXTP is collaborating with Frentech Aerospace, L. K. Engineering and Elya Solutions. In addition to their primary use in space, these advanced technologies have the potential to be used in other industries, from terrestrial industry to security applications and medicine. The Unisphere Complex, Unilab and Unispace technologies are currently playing a significant role in the field of science popularization. The unique international network of citizen-science detectors CREDO, which is on the borderline between research and popularization, allows people to participate actively in space research using mobile phone camera chips to detect cosmic rays.
Since 2014, the Institute of Interdisciplinary Research (IIV) has been offering its services to local government organizations and small and medium-sized entrepreneurs as part of the Faculty of Business and Entrepreneurship in Karviná. The primary interest is to connect academic activities with real-world practice and support student entrepreneurship. That is why IIV is also closely cooperating with Business Gate, a joint organization of SU OPF and the Statutory City of Karviná. The main focus of IIV is on marketing studies and market research for small and medium-sized companies, strategic and marketing plans for municipalities and cities, feasibility studies for various investment projects at the local level, etc. One of the current projects is a joint research project CZ.11.4.120/0.0/0.0/20_032/0002847 – Interreg V-A Czech Republic-Poland in cooperation with the Regional Association of Territorial Cooperation of Těšín Silesia, Silesian University, Stowarzyszenie Rozwoju i Współpracy Regionalnej 'Olza' and WSB Academy. The aim of the project is to improve the cross-border knowledge of economy, education, health and public life in the Těšín Silesia Region, both during crisis periods and beyond.