IN POLAND ŁUKASIEWICZ RESEARCH NETWORK WAS CREATED. PORT IS A PART OF IT

On Wednesday, April 3rd, 2019 in the seat of PORT Polish Center for Technology Development a press conference took place, concerning creation of the Łukasiewicz Research Network and the change of legal form of PORT from a company into a Network Institute. The participants included: Piotr Dardziński, PhD, the President of the Łukasiewicz Research Network, Piotr Dytko, the former President of the Board of PORT Polish Center for Technology Development company and Andrzej Dybczyński, PhD, the Director of the newly created Network Institute.

In Poland the Łukasiewicz Research Network was created, which will be a real bridge between science and economy. PORT Polish Center for Technology Development, as the only research and development organization in the region of Lower Silesia, became one of its links. By the Łukasiewicz Research Network Act, dated February 21st 2019, PORT was transformed into a Network Institute, operating under the name of Łukasiewicz Research Network – PORT Polish Center for Technology Development, with effect from April 1st, 2019.

Many areas in the Network
Creation of the research network opens a new and important chapter of Polish science. 37 research institutes were included, the majority of which had operated until now under the Ministry of Entrepreneurship and Technology. They represent various fields of science, including: biotechnology, chemistry, pharmaceuticals, electronics, electrical engineering, material science & engineering, precise engineering, metallurgy, optics or aviation.

Goals of the Łukasiewicz
The goal of the Łukasiewicz is conducting applied research serving the development of Polish companies and the state economy. Thanks to the long-term operational strategies and the combined potential of 38 research and development units the Łukasiewicz will create a significant and interdisciplinary offer for business. It will be the background not only for big corporations, but also for small and medium-sized enterprises, for whom it will provide the necessary competence to an innovative growth. It will also allow a more effective cooperation of the included research institutes, inter alia by unification of management mechanisms of finance, human resources, real estate and intellectual property laws, as well as it will enable an effective supervision of the integrated institutes’ operations. – Establishing the Łukasiewicz is a statement of aspirations to cooperate with European and global institutions – announces Piotr Dardziński, the former secretary of state in the science ministry, who was appointed on April 1st as President of the Łukasiewicz Research Network. – We become today an important partner to such organizations as the German Fraunhofer Society, the French Carnot or the Finnish VTT. Our international cooperation so far enters a brand new, global level of challenges. By joining top of the league we get a chance to access international grants and economic partners.

PORT as a Network Institute
With effect from April 1st, 2019 PORT was transformed into a Network Institute and changed its legal form. Because of it, Piotr Dytko stepped down as President of the Board. – My mission was to stabilize the Company’s situation, to change its legal form and to ensure its continuity, possibilities of further growth and peace for the years to come. That was the primary objective and that is exactly what has just been completed. This year was for me a period of hard work; in that time we have developed the Company’s strategy, we have raised its revenues by 70%, we have developed the research and development division significantly and we have gathered great scientists – Piotr Dytko points out.

Science in service of economy and society
Andrzej Dybczyński, PhD, was appointed as a new Network Institute Director; since March 2018 he acted as the Managing Director, COO and Proxy and as a part of the Company’s Board he was involved in the transformation process. – The Łukasiewicz becomes a bridge between the world of science and economy and PORT becomes a key bay of that bridge. We want to conduct research in the fields strategic for development of our country and, at the same time, research meeting the true needs of Polish companies – points out Andrzej Dybczyński, President of the Łukasiewicz Research Network – PORT Polish Center for Technology Development. – Our goal is to create new technologies in the fields of material science & engineering, biobanking and biotechnology. We want to pursue science which brings quantifiable, direct benefits to economy and society. We have the ambition to become the first-choice research organization for entrepreneurs, start-ups and young, talented scientists willing to pursue applied research. In twenty years we want to be what today ITRI on Taiwan, VTT in Finland or VIB in Belgium are – those are our benchmarks and that is our goal.

Human and research potential
Creation of the Łukasiewicz means joining the institutes located in 11 cities. That sums up to about 8 thousand employees, including over 1.5 thousand researchers and 4.5 thousand technology&research workers. Thus, the third biggest project of research institutes network will appear in Europe – following the French and the German ones, and that will allow us to achieve the “scale effect” and enable the creation of complex research services offers for entrepreneurs, based on their common potential.