Business and science cooperation

By the end of January 2017, the City of Poznań in partnership with Poznan’s high schools ran the Wielkopolska Innovation Platform website (WPI).

Wielkopolska Innovation Platform

One of the projects aimed at developing cooperation between business and science was the portal Wielkopolska Innovation Platform (WIP). From 2008 until the end of January 2017, the WIP website was run by the City of Poznań in partnership with Poznań’s universities and institutes. The website’s mission was to support the transfer of knowledge and technology from scientific units to business practice. Back then, universities did not yet have structures in place to promote science for the economy and to transfer knowledge and technology. At present, universities and research institutes already have technology transfer centres in the form of specialised organisational units or special-purpose vehicles, which develop their own contacts with economic operators. In view of the above, it was considered that the WIP website had fulfilled its purpose and it was decided to close it at the end of January 2017.

Innovative Poznań

To continue the initiatives aimed at developing and strengthening contacts between science and business, the city’s service Innovative Poznań was created in place of the WIP portal. It contains information about important events, initiatives, projects and achievements in the area of knowledge-based economy.

Higher schools’ offers

Companies who care about long-term and comprehensive cooperation with the Poznań University of Economics and Business (PUE) have been offered the opportunity to participate in the PUE Partner Club, which is a prestigious forum for the exchange of knowledge and opinions. In order to achieve even more effective cooperation, PUE has created a special offer containing a wide range of specific benefits for partner companies. In order to meet the expectations of entrepreneurs willing to cooperate with PUE on market terms, the PUE Special Purpose Vehicle was established. It engages talented students and academics in commercial projects. The PUE Wielkopolska Business School (Wielkopolska Szkoła Biznesu UEP), which has been providing managerial staff with the opportunity to develop managerial skills and professional management consulting services to companies for over 20 years, is also constantly expanding its offer.

In order to develop cooperation between the Poznań University of Technology (PUT) and local partners, a Foundation for the Development of PUT was established. The Foundation provides, among other things, information and consultation services and carries out advisory and training projects.

At the Adam Mickiewicz University (AMU), the initiation and implementation of activities related to the creation of innovative and entrepreneurial attitudes among academic communities, technology transfer and commercialisation of the results of scientific research conducted at AMU University to a broad social and economic practice is to be supported by the establishment of the University Innovation and Technology Transfer Centre Adam Mickiewicz University. The Centre pursues its objectives by building an information and consultation centre for enterprises and local government institutions interested in cooperation with the Adam Mickiewicz Institute, and also carries out promotional activities presenting the research, training and consulting offer of the Adam Mickiewicz Institute in the economic environment of the city, at home and abroad.