Startup Europe Week in Liberec region

The initiative has the support of the European Commission.  It is run by a small international team and heavily relies on volunteers such as startups and entrepreneurs to organize the local events. In order to take part in the event as co-organiser, one has to successfully pass a selection procedure. Startup Europe Week was officially launched on the 01/02/2016 at the Committee of the Regions in Brussels. It is held in more than 40 European countries and more than 200 towns.  

Besides Prague and Brno, Liberec belongs to the regular place of the Startup Europe Week in the Czech Republic. "Our mission is to improve society through the research and innovation. Start-ups are key players. We work with almost hundred European start-ups now, but with very few from our region. We want to change it, we want to use our knowledge in our region," says Jak Kubalík, director of the DEX Innovation Center, which runs the Startup Europe Week in Liberec.

The format of these events, based on keynote motivational speeches and networking sessions, was taken from the Silicon Valley. As Europe is different, it is needed to adapt the format to the European aspects, which are diverse. Regional diversity and local policy-making still play a big role in shaping European startups. For this reason, Startup Europe Week events focus on showing entrepreneurs the support available to them in their local cities and regions, from helping entrepreneurs to incorporate a company to providing grants or taxes breaks.