|
Warsaw has a significant share in the country’s entire educational and scientific potential. Its appropriate utilisation is critical in order to increase the competitiveness of Polish products and enterprises, attain a high and stable level of economic development and fulfil social aspirations. The Warsaw Technopolis concept is one of the ways to achieve these goals. It is a proposed common denominator of a number of independent initiatives and programs in Warsaw that aim to transform this city into a significant centre of economic knowledge-based development. These initiatives generally consist of concentrating high-tech firms around institutions of higher learning and R&D institutes in order to facilitate mutual co-operation and drive the formation of new companies by ensuring access to knowledge and talented workers while providing optimal living and working conditions. The main elements of this concept are:
Creating an economic and social environment that comprehensively encompasses the entire life cycle of a knowledge-based enterprise – from basic research and practical application to the creation of fully mature technology companies.
The restructuring and modernisation of all facets of Technopolis communitys life – including ensuring a high standard of living; safe and decent housing; all needed services; easy access to the work place and full recreational facilities in order to make this community most attractive for knowledge-based firms and their high-skilled employees.
Creating a “window on the world” for Polish technical know-how, enabling Polish scientists and enterprises to participate in the global economy by co-operating with leading international firms in the Technopolis;
Maintaining an appropriate balance between:
In order to attain the above-mentioned goals, it is necessary to co-ordinate the initiatives and efforts being undertaken by various institutions and entities in Warsaw. One of the means of combining and co-ordinating these activities will be the creation of a common information system and a virtual co-operation space, which can be accessed by all interested parties regardless of their localisation.
The most advanced concrete implementation of the Technopolis concept is the Bemowo Campus in the Warsaw-Bemowo borough, on 500 hectares of land under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Defense, primarily the Military University of Technology. The project envisages creating a Science & Technology Park aimed at the formation of new high-tech firms and the attraction of existing ones, as well as a comprehensive urban infrastructure in its environs — including a residential district, a shopping and service centre, recreational facilities, etc. The Centre for Executive Training and the Conference Centre are planned on the Bemowo Campus besides the S&T Park.
The strong Military University of Technology and the Bemowo borough involvement in the project as well as the support of the City of Warsaw authorities are major conditions to bring the Technopolis concept into being and constitute a unique opportunity to implement this initiative on an appropriate scale.
Jacek Kosiec
jkosiec@uott.uw.edu.pl
|
