History of the Institute of Competitiveness and Innovations (ÚKaI)
The establishment of the Institute of Competitiveness and Innovations of the University of Žilina (ÚKaI) was approved by the Academic Senate of the University on September 7, 2003, as an interdisciplinary research, development, application, and training center focused on technological research, entrepreneurship, and innovation—key elements driving productivity growth and competitiveness.
ÚKaI became an organizational unit of the University of Žilina. It defined relationships between its internal departments as well as between ÚKaI and the university’s faculties, rectorate, institutes, and other workplaces.
At the University of Žilina, specialized laboratories were established, employing state-of-the-art High-Tech and Computer-Aided (CA...) technologies. This systematic effort culminated in the creation of the “Institute of Competitiveness and Innovations,” a university-level integrated center serving for diploma and doctoral theses, as well as solving demanding industrial problems using technologies such as CAD/CAE/CAM, simulation, Rapid Prototyping, Virtual Reality, Artificial Intelligence, and more.
The institute provided education and training for doctoral students, undergraduates, and professionals from industry, offering them access to advanced information technologies for research and pre-production phases in leading Slovak companies. The goal of building ÚKaI was to support innovation and revitalization processes, helping companies become globally competitive and accelerating the introduction of new products into production. The establishment and operation of such an institute made it possible to significantly improve the technical and economic parameters of new and innovated products through advanced methods and technologies such as Simulation, Rapid Prototyping, Virtual Reality, and Multimedia Technologies.
The motivation for creating the Institute of Competitiveness and Innovations was the need to establish a university-wide center with an integrated approach to research projects and to improve conditions for building High-Tech laboratories at the University of Žilina.
The main contribution and mission of ÚKaI focused on supporting the exchange of knowledge and research results between industry and academia. The goal was to strengthen cooperation in the transfer of new technologies into practice and to create joint laboratories with innovative companies for solving research projects related to product, technology, process, and service innovations.
The ambition of ÚKaI was to become a modern, university-wide research institution dedicated to solving challenges and projects related to enhancing business competitiveness, innovation, and the transfer of knowledge and new technologies. Therefore, it was internally structured into three Research Centers: the High-Tech Center, the Center for Competitiveness and Innovations, and the Incubator of New Products, Technologies, and Processes. Each center specialized in a particular field, but research laboratories were developed in a coordinated way and from shared resources. Researchers, students, and doctoral candidates formed ad hoc teams to address specific research projects. The primary target group for ÚKaI included innovative companies from the mechanical, electrical, and automotive industries; however, cooperation extended to other sectors requiring sophisticated research methods, processes, and technologies.
Mission of the Institute
- Supporting the development of the University of Žilina through the creation and implementation of technological, process, and product innovations, and their transfer into industrial environments.
- Research and analysis of factors influencing the competitiveness of Slovakia and its regions, as well as the design of policies, methods, procedures, and technologies to enhance it.
- Research and development of education in the High-Tech domain.
The main mission of ÚKaI was to significantly contribute to improving the education level of creative professionals in industry and to support the development and transfer of know-how in the High-Tech field.
In line with the long-term goals of the University of Žilina, one of ÚKaI’s key objectives was to help shape the profile of graduates, doctoral students, and industry professionals through lifelong learning programs aligned with industrial needs, while facilitating the transfer of High-Tech know-how into practice.