27.04.2015 change 27.04.2015

Ministry of Science: More Polish companies show spending on research and development

Photo: PAP 2015 / Radek Pietruszka Photo: PAP 2015 / Radek Pietruszka

More and more Polish companies show expenditures on research and development - said the Minister of Science and Higher Education Prof. Lena Kolarska-Bobińska at the European Economic Congress in Katowice. She pointed out that this mainly concerns medium-sized enterprises.

During the Congress, the head of the science ministry took part in the session "Innovative Europe: a time of taking specific actions".

Kolarska-Bobińska stressed that Poland has already passed the phase of creating instruments and building institutions that support innovation, also thanks to the structural changes that bring science closer to business. She stressed that now we were at the next "stage of reinforcing all these elements into a single system". Now begins "combining and coordinating policies, institutions and actions at all levels". "This is a difficult stage (...). What we need is co-operation not only between agencies, but also co-operation at the central level" - she said.

She said that with the participation of Ministry of Science and the National Centre for Research and Development, the largest in history European support package for research and innovation was negotiated. In the Operational Programme Intelligent Development and regional operational programs, approx. 11 billion euros will be allocated to R&D (research and development).

Funded initiatives will include research projects carried out by businesses; the creation of new research teams focused on cooperation with business; development of research infrastructure necessary to conduct research with great commercial potential, and staff development for modern science and innovative companies.

When asked by the PAP, how many companies are involved in these activities, she emphasized that it would be wrong to say that nothing happens because "more and more Polish companies shows spending on research and development", but - as she said - "it is still not a lot".

She added that what the ministry is "concerned" that "large state-owned companies, but also large private companies seam to invest little in innovation". She noted that recovery can be seen in the case of the so-called medium-sized companies, and small companies "are only starting to think, they are only beginning to take advantage of these funds".

Ministry of Science reported that the industries of interest to businesses include in particular the IT sector, but potential is also noticed in the transport sector, environmental protection, pharmaceutical industry.

According to Kolarska-Bobińska, only three areas working together, such as research and education, industry and administration (i.e. the triangle of knowledge) "can form (...) a flywheel", which is needed for the development and innovation.

"11 billion is a huge sum for research and development. We need to think how to use it to create institutions, mechanisms, to change the way of thinking (...). Too often in the last perspective we were building laboratories that now stand empty" - she told PAP.

The 7th European Economic Congress was held in the newly opened International Congress Centre. In addition to President Komorowski and three commissioners, the guests of the Congress included more than 20 ministers and deputy ministers of the Polish government, several representatives of the governments of other countries, heads of global corporations and large companies from Poland and Central and Eastern Europe. Approx. 6 thousand people participate in the congress every year.

The main topics this year included: opportunities arising from EU investments, implementation of innovations in the industry and the economy, as well as issues of energy, climate, and international trade.

PAP - Science and Scholarship in Poland

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