Poland’s scientific, research and educational potential is immense. Young people in this country are exceptionally capable, ambitious and ever better educated. As a result of the educational boom following Poland’s transformations after 1990, the number of students has increased five times. I think that irrespective of the modest quality of education at some schools of higher learning, the manifold increase of people with university education has been a great success because higher education is always an added value. We also have brilliant scientists – Polish specialists in exact sciences and IT are highly regarded at home and abroad. That is a potential to be invested in and supported institutionally. Of that the government is fully aware and hence the Prime Minister declared that outlays for science and higher education in Poland would be increased in the nearest future up to 2% of the GDP.
It should, however, be kept in mind that the quality of Polish science and university education depends not only on financial means provided. Regretfully, most Polish scientists are employed in universities and many confine themselves to teaching, while ignoring research. For the most part, elderly members of academic staff are stuck in their ways and conduct anachronistic research while the young ones encounter barriers in building their academic careers: it is difficult to be promoted. In general promotion and financial incentives are lacking. What worries me even more is that the greatest scientific achievements, particularly in fields such as astronomy, astrophysics and to some extent archaeology, are scored by those Polish scientists who work abroad. Admittedly, the position of Polish science on the world scene is still weak. Young scientists frequently chose to develop at foreign universities or research institutes. Meanwhile, competition in science has reached a European level, and that is why we have to muster our forces and intensify efforts to actively participate in this rivalry.
I have already mentioned plans to increase budgetary funds for science and higher education. Poland has also obtained a considerable injection of funds for this purpose from the European Union. By 2013, Poland will have received a sum of EUR4.5 billion for developing its research infrastructure as well as scientific and teaching projects. These means have to be used wisely to ensure that successive funds could be obtained in the future. EU funds from the Human Capital Operational Programme will allow us to draw up a diagnosis of the Polish economy’s demand for specialists. As soon as we know what graduates are needed in the economy, we shall be able to allocate extra funds for educating young people in the respective fields and specialties ordered by the Minister of Science.
It is noteworthy that 60% of the R&D sector’s expenditures are covered by the state budget, while in the developed OECD countries two thirds of outlays for research and development come from business entities. As the situation stands now, schools of higher learning have rarely been applying for patents and licences, and have been only incidentally involved in EU Framework Programme projects in collaboration with business companies or contacts with entrepreneurs. We intend to reverse this situation and initiate broader cooperation of science with the business sector. Forms of this cooperation are diversified. But in the main it boils down to introducing new technologies and modernisation, consultancy, product quality research, and various forms of training. Cooperation also takes the form of platforms, technology parks, incubators, and technology transfer centres. We wish to bring about a situation in which schools of higher learning would themselves initiate undertakings to develop cooperation with business enterprises. Schools managed with development prospects in mind and increasingly aware of the need to open themselves up to business needs are bound to win implementation research commissions from the economic sector.
Effective cooperation between universities and businesses by means of contracts and joint projects is one of the ways of developing a knowledge- based economy. The Ministry of Science and Higher Education is actively joining this process as it considers science and business cooperation to be key to stimulating innovativeness in the Polish economy. This is also one of the priorities in our performance. We perceive the need of supporting units eager to join this process. To this end, we have prepared a programme called “Creator of Innovativeness – Supporting Academic Entrepreneurship”. Its objective is to support organizational units operating in the academic world in favour of collaboration between science and the economy. The Ministry’s intention is to endorse initiatives of students and academic staff in taking up innovative work and promoting entrepreneurship. The Programme is also designed to raise qualifications of academic staff in entrepreneurship, intellectual property management and commercialization of R&D work results. I trust that these and similar measures taken will help to increase the number of commercialised technologies and innovative solutions worked out by students, scientific and research workers, that a network will develop of organisational units supporting scientists’ entrepreneurship and that efficiency and effectiveness will stem from activities pursued by organizational units supporting academic entrepreneurship.
Building a knowledge-based society necessitates changes in the system of financing research and development so as to meet the growing competition on the domestic as well as the European and world markets. To this end, a team of experts has worked out a package of reforms to be announced in mid-April. I wish to ensure that we intend to introduce objective and transparent procedures in allocating funds for R&D and higher education as well as more effective methods of managing scientific units. We shall put stress on improving standards of education, raising qualifications and developing staff working in science and schools of higher learning. It is our priority to raise the quality of research and development work, teaching quality and to enhance the competitiveness of Polish science and higher education on the international scene.
I trust that Polish scientists are agreed that it is vital to stimulate innovativeness and to apply research results in the economy as these are the foundations of a knowledge-based economy. We need changes in the management and financing of science. We shall invest in human capital involved in research and development. We strive toward ensuring an effective and more dynamic development of scientific careers linked to the economy. Improving the condition of Polish science and higher education is one of the government’s priorities. This is a great challenge for my department which I took over a few months ago.
Professor Barbara Kudrycka, PhD
Minister of Science and Higher Education