Arts & International Affairs: Vol. 4, No. 2, Autumn 2019 | Page 34

WROCLAW—A PHOENIX CITY WITH THE INNOVATION GENE
either solving definite issues or improving specific products/services. The city of Wroclaw
finances 30 partnerships/year supporting salaries up to 32 hours per month,
throughout 12 months. The funding is being granted to the company as a public aid (de
minimis). Another investment subsidized by the city is an extended program of visiting
professors. The program is well known and established in the academic community, but
what is novel and very rare, is the city, which provides all resources.
2. The Wroclaw Technology Park (WTP) 3
It was created on a city initiative with collaboration with the Wroclaw Polytechnics
some two decades ago. Today it is No. 1 in Poland, generating most of the novel solutions
originating from the academic community, but in fact outside a traditional academic
environment, i.e. universities and polytechnics. It grew to a very large territory
offering almost 70000 m 2 of rental and technological space, with currently some 220
small- and medium-sized companies (mostly start-ups) working there. It is just a very
live space located not far away from the city centre and in a friendly distance from the
academic institutions. Several large international companies surround the WTP adding
to a unique synergy.
Today, everywhere in Europe start-up hype flourishes. There is plenty of money around,
public and private. Even in the European Commission’s far-reaching plans for the Horizon
Europe (European Commission 2019a)�the key seven-years research program of a
100 billion EUR value�innovativeness and start-ups are in the centre of attention. The
WPT has been doing that with great success for more than two decades.
3. Wroclaw Research Centre EIT+/PORT 4
However, the most ambitious project was the Wroclaw Research Centre EIT+. It is located
in a dedicated 27 ha campus located outside the centre, aiming solely at commercializable
research, primarily in the nano and bio-tech. The detailed specialization was
based upon a very thorough foresight analysis carried in the MAB triangle. Its planning
and operation modes are a Research and Technological Organisation (RTO)�type
R&D institution. 5 The construction of the first phase (about 20+ thousand square metres
lab and office space built and equipped at the highest international standards) has
been completed in 2016. The huge cost of about a quarter billion euros was covered
mostly from the structural funds following the pro-innovation policy of the ERDF programme
(European Commission 2019b) with significant financial, material, and specialists
support by the city. The 27 ha land and old buildings have been donated by the city.
It is a very young institution but already is among the top patenting places in Poland, as
well as offering characterization and technological equipment not affordable even for
3 http://www.technologpark.pl/en/ (Accessed 15 September 2019).
4 https://www.port.org.pl/en (Accessed 15 September 2019).
5 https://www.earto.eu/ (Accessed 15 September 2019).
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