Prof. Ryszard Pregiel, president of the Polish Chamber of Commerce for High Technology, a new business organization that aims to promote the development of technology and innovation in Poland, talks to Ewa Dereń.


The Polish Chamber of Commerce for High Technology, launched in Warsaw Feb. 1, brings together universities, banks and 90 technology companies from various industries. They share a common goal-to develop technology and innovation and to support the country's economic growth. There are many business organizations in Poland. Is this new organization really necessary?

Many companies applying for European Union funds try to prove that they are innovative and committed to introducing modern technology. They also want to demonstrate that they support technological and organizational innovation and its use in business. Collaboration between science and business is a slogan that everyone uses today, but few organizations have managed to put it into practice. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are the main beneficiaries of funds available under the EU's Innovative Economy operational program. There are nearly 2 million SMEs in Poland. If just 10 percent of them decide to apply for these funds, we will have a flood of applications. It will be a very difficult task to assess their merit and rank them. From the point of view of modern industry and advanced technology, there is a risk that the funds will go towards second-rate ventures. In order to prevent this we have taken steps to ensure that EU resources are assigned in the best possible way and that the necessary legal, financial and community conditions are created to efficiently carry out projects funded from these resources. In comparison with other business organizations in the country, the Polish Chamber of Commerce for High Technology is an exceptional institution. First of all, it brings together three groups of entities-research institutions, manufacturing plants and banks-and they must work together to ensure commercial success for every new technological idea. The chamber's members include two leading Polish banks, BRE Bank SA and Bank Pekao SA.

Among the chamber's 94 members, who work in the area of advanced technology, 38 companies are either owned or co-owned by technology professors who concurrently work at Polish universities. This is actually a small number considering that universities nationwide employ a total of 14,500 technology professors; only a small percentage of them run their own businesses, and only a few hundred work for technology companies or industrial plants, in addition to pursuing their academic careers. For the rest of them an academic career has become an aim in itself. We have to overcome this career stereotype. A professor of technology deserves this title only if they can apply their research in practice.

Polish scientists and scholars seem to share a strong belief that researchers are only supposed to do the thinking and conceptual work, while production should be handled by industry and the corporate sector. Aren't you worried that your idea may run into resistance from the academic community?

I suspect that the battle to change the approach at universities may prove to be more difficult than enacting some new laws. There is still a belief in Polish academic circles that if a professor starts their own company, this work "on the side" will interfere with their teaching responsibilities and hurt their scientific stature.

Such thinking is unacceptable today in relation to technological sciences. Nothing gives a professor more credibility in the eyes of their students than their industrial and business achievements. They need to keep developing their skills and grow professionally because otherwise they won't be able to keep abreast of the competition in their field. I believe that companies owned by professors have a huge role to play in contributing to an increased competitiveness of the economy. Such businesses are able to quickly carve out niches for themselves on the global market when it comes to advanced technology.

Polish law does not permit state-owned universities to set up private companies that would be able to use university laboratories and other facilities. Is this the right approach to this issue?

The matter is regulated by a law on public finances that classifies universities and state-run research institutes into government administration institutions that are not allowed to set up private companies. Admittedly, a new law on higher education, which was introduced a few years ago, relaxes this prohibition, allowing universities to set up companies if their operations are exclusively based on the transfer of technology, which means trading in licenses and know-how. But this is the only exception. It is difficult to understand why a university cannot set up a business together with one of its professors to manufacture some complicated laboratory equipment or lasers, for example. Universities should receive the right to set up companies as soon as possible; the matter should be up to the school's head to decide. We have requested the finance minister to amend the law and expect a swift and positive decision on the matter.

What methods does the chamber plan to use to encourage university professors to combine research work with practical application?

It is essential to change the approach at universities to the involvement of research workers in private businesses. As I said earlier, there are many psychological barriers that need to be overcome in this area. We will try to persuade the authorities of Polish universities of technology to change their approach to academics wanting to manage hi-tech companies. We will try to show that this kind of work benefits researchers rather than hinders their scientific and teaching activities. Moreover, scientific career paths need to be adapted to contemporary requirements when it comes to technological development. The main criterion for promoting a scholar at a university of technology should be their technological and design achievements, reflected by the number of patents and applications, and the commercial results of their work. Research publications should not be the only factor considered. In this area, we are in complete agreement with Prof. Barbara Kudrycka, the minister for science and higher education; the ministry has embraced our proposal in its new guidelines for a reform in the education system. We have to get it through to Polish researchers that starting a business is in fact the only way to achieve remuneration commensurate with their talent. Nowhere in the world are university professors paid lucrative salaries. Even in wealthy and highly developed countries, professors are paid big money not for their academic work, but for the practical results of their research.

Andy Hopper, a Cambridge University professor with a Polish background, is a good example in this context. This acclaimed scientist is the owner of four companies, in addition to a private airport and an airplane. His managerial activities do not raise protests from the authorities of his university, which is one of the best universities in the world. In Poland, there are also such people. Prof. Janusz Filipiak from the AGH University of Science and Technology in Cracow is the president of the ComArch company, a leading provider of IT systems and software for businesses in Poland. Filipiak has showed his colleagues that it is possible to be successful in the corporate sector without giving up one's research career. To showcase similar success stories, the chamber is organizing a forum for Polish scientists dealing with advanced technology who have achieved significant success in business, both in Poland and abroad. The forum will be held in the fall in association with the Ministry of Science and Higher Education and the Ministry of the Economy. We will invite scientists who have been successful in business and made money on their inventions and know-how. We want them to tell us how they did it; concrete examples are the best motivation.

Under the current regulations in Poland, private businesses are not allowed to set up research centers; only government institutions may do so. But the parliament is reviewing a new law on the support of innovation that gives private businesspeople the right to establish R&D centers. Has your chamber contributed to this new bill?

Of course, we have been very active in this area. The bill is extremely important because up to now industrial businesses had no legal possibilities to create independent research centers. Apart from the Polish Academy of Sciences and universities, there are only two other types of research institutions in Poland: state-run research institutes and state-owned research-and-development centers. To spur the development of innovation, research institutes should also be set up by companies and become their integral part. Such private institutes are referred to as "research and development centers" in the bill. In the future, these centers will constitute the primary research base of Polish industry. Today, all big global corporations have their own research centers. Of course, in order to carry out this plan, the government has to provide assistance, both in terms of legal regulations and funds from EU coffers. The lower house of parliament has nearly completed work on the law, which will regulate matters related to the establishment of research and development centers. Significant funds from the EU's Innovative Economy Operational Program have been allocated to support these centers. We intend to be strongly involved in carrying out these plans.

The Polish Chamber of Commerce for High Technology was established with the support of the government and launched its operations in the presence of many government officials. Deputy Prime Minister Waldemar Pawlak took part in the opening meeting of the chamber. Former Prime Minister Jerzy Buzek, who also attended the meeting, became chairman of the chamber's supervisory board. Do you think the Polish scientific community is ready to accept the ideas promoted by your organization?

The Polish Chamber of Commerce for High Technology is embarking on a range of long-term activities. For decades under communism, the scientific community was alienated from industry as a result of the employment policies at the time, and this divide cannot be crossed overnight. But there is no third option. Either we succeed or will be sidelined by our competitors in Europe and elsewhere. Poland is hardly a superpower in terms of natural resources; nor do we have enough capital to compete with global corporations; so all we can do is invest in intellectual capital. And we have to succeed within the lifetime of this generation, because Poland will never again receive so much financial assistance for this purpose. We have until Dec. 31, 2015 to spend the funds that we have been allocated. Unless we put them to good use they will be lost-and we will also squander our historic opportunity.