Polish-Swiss Innovation Day 2016

Polish-Swiss Innovation Day 2016 – Internationalization of innovative activities

The conference Polish-Swiss Innovation Day will take place on 20th April 2016 at the Copernicus Science Centre, in Warsaw. It is co-organised by the Embassy of Switzerland in Poland and the Polish-Swiss Chamber of Commerce, together with the Ministry of Science and Higher Education and the Ministry of Development. The objective of the conference is to further develop a policy dialogue between Switzerland and Poland on science and innovation, exchange best practices and emphasize the role of innovation in gaining competitive advantages in small and medium-sized enterprises as well as in global corporations.
At this year’s conference, the following three panel discussions will be held:

• Internationalization of innovative activities
• Innovation in practice in the Business Service Sector
• Fostering innovation through public procurement

Discussions will be accompanied by testimonials, which can be used as inspiration for the panel discussions.

“I believe that Polish-Swiss Innovation Day is an excellent forum for the exchange of experiences which bring us closer to our goal: a modern economy. Swiss practice in the area of innovation is a great inspiration. I hope that the results of the projects implemented under the Swiss Contribution will allow us in the next few years to begin together many technologically advanced ventures developed by Polish entrepreneurs and inventors. The effects of these works are very valuable for us, as it will contribute to the rapid implementation of the Action Plan for Responsible Development of Poland, which aims to strengthen the capacity of our economy in the coming years. Polish-Swiss Innovation Day is a good opportunity to sustain what we have achieved together so far and to reflect on the forthcoming challenges”– underlines Jadwiga Emilewicz, Undersecretary of State at the Ministry of Economic Development.

“The Polish-Swiss Innovation Day is a discussion forum gathering science, business and government representatives”, explains H.E. Andrej Motyl, Ambassador of Switzerland to Poland. “Switzerland has been at the top of several world rankings on innovation for many years, and I’m often asked: what is the secret of Switzerland’s success? There are many factors that can be mentioned, such as favorable macroeconomic policies; a good mix of skills and graduates, which corresponds to the needs of the labor market; and a strong performance in R&D. The Swiss government’s role in promoting innovation is actually quite secondary. Innovation in Switzerland is not the government’s business. It is the private sector that innovates. This is why we have invited a number of Swiss company representatives to participate in the Polish-Swiss Innovation Day and to share their experiences. They are also major investors in Poland who contribute to the socio-economic development of the country.”

“Innovation comes from practice. That is why during the Polish-Swiss Innovation Day 2016 we would like to learn from companies how they become successful: what is the meaning of innovation for them? How to combine business with science? What role should play the government in terms of fostering innovation? On the other hand, we will learn from representatives of the Business Service Sector how Poland succeeded in becoming the leader of innovation in sectors which in the recent past had not been associated with innovation. We also expect a highly interesting discussion on fostering innovation through public procurement. It is well known that the price as a factor for making a decision does not lead to the choice of the most economically efficient solution. Therefore, we would like to discuss together the question: Is it possible to create a system in which innovative solutions will be fostered?”, says Ulrich Schwendimann, Managing Director of the Polish-Swiss Chamber of Commerce.

“The Polish-Swiss Innovation Day is an excellent example of how to facilitate the cooperation between businesses and scientists. It is of key importance to strengthening the relations between them in order to stimulate the boost of the innovation of the Polish economy. Only the partner cooperation may transfer ideas and research developed by Polish scientists into specific products and services that will enhance the competitiveness of our economy”, says Piotr Dardziński, Undersecretary of State of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education.

The confirmed participants of the conference include:

• Mrs. Jadwiga Emilewicz, Undersecretary of State at the Ministry of Development,
• Mr. Piotr Dardziński, Undersecretary of State at the Ministry of Science and Higher Education,
• President of the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development (PARP),
• Director of the National Centre for Research and Development (NCBR),
• Mr. Johann Richard from the Swiss Space Office at the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation.

The business sector will be represented in panel discussions by Mr. Zbigniew Palenica (Solaris), Mr. Christian Spichiger (Stadler), Mr. James Ottewill (ABB), Mr. Marcin Mazurowski (Roche), Mr. Angus Kidd (Credit Suisse) and Mr. Marek Szymański (President of Franke and the Polish-Swiss Chamber of Commerce).
The detailed program of the conference, information about the speakers and registration form are available at Polish-Swiss Innovation Day

Partners of the Conference: