A number of award-winning Polish inventions were exhibited at Warsaw's Museum of Technology March 10-16 during an event called the 15th Innovation Fair.

The exhibits included innovative designs in fields such as medicine, environmental protection, chemistry, construction, energy and metallurgy. These new technologies, equipment and products had won awards last year at the world's leading innovation exhibitions in countries such as Belgium, France, Switzerland and Russia.

Among the award-winning inventions shown in Warsaw was a spectrometric system for the early detection and diagnosis of skin cancer that won a top prize at the 2007 Brussels Eureka World Exhibition of Innovation, Research and New Technologies. Another acclaimed invention on display was bio-material made from microbiological cellulose that can be implanted in the stomach and chest and has specific usage in hernia surgery. Visitors also admired a new precise laser gauge to measure vehicle speeds. Yet another highlight of the exhibition was a technology for the production of fat-free instant pastas. This technology, which won many international awards last year, garnered much interest, as did a miniature reconnaissance robot that can be used for a variety of purposes including bomb disposal.

The exhibition offered an opportunity to show the innovations to domestic businesses. "I am convinced that innovativeness deserves far more recognition in Poland than it currently enjoys," said Maria Elżbieta Orłowska, secretary of state at the Ministry of Science and Higher Education. "Innovation tells us which direction scientific research should take. Unless we take advantage of modern technology, it will be difficult to think of developing new products."

The science ministry is determined to place a greater emphasis on inventiveness and innovation, Orłowska said. However, the ministry does not have enough funds to support innovativeness, she added, which explains why it is necessary to encourage businesses to invest in scientific research. The ministries of the economy, finance and science have joined forces to a develop a system whereby the government will share the risk of introducing new technologies with small- and medium-sized firms, Orłowska said.

"On the one hand, we need ideas and on the other an industry that would make practical use of them to make the Polish economy far more innovative," Orłowska said.

Tadeusz Belerski