An innovation park in Hungary:: INNOTECH of the Budapest University of Technology and Economics

The international experiences of scientific/innovation parks can be best utilised if they can be succesfully adapted to the specific conditions of a given County. This case study presents the experience of the 15 years operation of a scientific park that was founded in Hungary beside the Budapest University of Technology and Economics in 1987. As far as we know, it was the first institute of its kind in Central Eastern Europe. The structure of ownership can be regarded as optimal, since 52% of the company is owned by the University. 38% by the Local Government and 10% by the Ministry of Education. The park operates both as a traditional and a virtual incubator. It has been utilising all of its territory for ten years, nevertheless, it covers no more than 10% of its activity, and consequently its revenue. The main objective of the park is to operate as a virtual incubator for the professors of the university. Thus, INNOTECH itself may be considered a spin-off company that was established by the university to provide incubation services for the professors. They create entrepeneurial teams that work together steadily for several years and undertake to solve various problems. These teams operate as virtual research and devlopment companies, using the incubation services of INNOTECH. These virtual enterprises performed essentially research actvities in the first few years following the foundation of INNOTECH, then development-type activities became dominant. There have already been some signs that have indicated saturation of the company's virtual incubation activity, therefore, INNOTECH is searching to find opportunities of broadening the scope of its operation and intends to become one of the initiating factors of regional innovation in Hungary, creating a wider market for the capacity of technological development at the University. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.