The strength and importance of establishing and developing lasting relationships between people and institutions combining the potential of American business and education and Pomeranian partners in this area – these are the main topics of the meeting organized on July 16 at Olivia Sky Club by the American Chamber of Commerce in Poland. As part of the programme of the event, which took place in unique spaces with a view of the beautiful panorama of the Tri-City, in the Olivia Business Centre, a debate and a seminar were held.

The special guests of the meeting were 6 lecturers from 16 American universities who visited Poland as part of the Fulbright-Hays Seminars Abroad Program. Poland is one of only three countries (along with India and Ecuador) where this prestigious program takes place this year. The organizer of the visit, which began on July 9, is the Polish-U.S. Fulbright Commission. During the four-week program, participants visit the largest academic centers in Poland and have the opportunity to meet experts from various academic fields who will share their knowledge on international relations, focusing on the United States and Poland. In addition to Warsaw, guests from the USA visit Łódź, Gdansk, Wroclaw, Poznan and Krakow, as well as many smaller towns. After the visit, the participants will prepare plans of classes on selected aspects related to Poland, as well as conduct them at their universities in the upcoming academic year.

The meeting began with a presentation by Joanna Bojarska-Buchcic on the development, cooperation and economic exchange between American investors and companies and institutions from Pomerania.

According to a KPMG report published in April this year, American companies investing in Poland are an integrated part of the economy and contribute to its growth and development. The value of U.S. investments in Poland after the first quarter of 2018 could reach PLN 130 billion. Companies from across the Atlantic make up as many as 220,000 companies. jobs where the average wage is higher than the corresponding value for the economy as a whole. An extensive network of business partners testifies to the high level of integration of American companies that contribute to the creation of added value in the Polish economy. U.S. companies are also involved in CSR activities, strive for gender parity among employees, and intensively cooperate with universities, creating joint projects in the area of research and development. The most popular form of cooperation with schools is offering internships to pupils and students. American companies also create their own dedicated educational programs that can support young people in entering the labor market or engage them in social projects. From the point of view of increasing Polish’s innovation, it is important to implement joint R+D projects by companies and universities. U.S. companies are highly integrated into the Polish economy.

Another element of the event’s agenda was a panel led by Marta Moksa, Managing Director of the O4 Coworking Centre operating within the Olivia Business Centre. The O4 space can be considered as an example of innovative thinking in business, thanks to which it was possible to create one of the largest coworking spaces in Poland. O4 really connects entrepreneurs with a conference and training space, an idea with a business, a flexible office space with services needed by small and medium-sized companies (financing, education, support at Go Global). The O4 coworking ecosystem is based on 4 pillars, meeting the most important needs of small and medium-sized enterprises. O4 also cooperates with various European and global organizations and associations to support innovative market ventures in the most effective way.

All panelists agreed that Gdańsk is a unique place on the map – the cradle of Solidarity, which has always brought together enterprising people looking for opportunities and freedom. This freedom has a dimension both within the social innovations noticed by the representative of the University of Gdańsk, Dr. Adam Jagiełło-Rusiłowski, and within the area of business (which was emphasized by both Wojciech Tyborowski from Invest in Pomerania and Jaśmina Zwierz-Janiak from the Gdańsk Science and Technology Park). Gdansk’s heritage and atmosphere have a positive impact on the level of cooperation between big business, universities and the startup world.

Summing up the meeting, Marta Moksa presented the important elements influencing the possibilities of business development and achieving success in the global dimension:

“It is important that all representatives of business support organizations precisely see their role in the ecosystem necessary to build a sustainable and growing business – from proper education of young talents (UG, PG), through supporting innovators (GPNT), opening the best to the world (OBC, O4) to promoting Pomerania in the eyes of large international companies (Invest in Pomerania). An interesting example of such a path/story is IVONA/Alexa/Amazon – an inspiring story about an extraordinary innovation that grew out of a technology park, which led its creators to international success, continued at OBC.”

A very good atmosphere of the meeting and the exchange of thoughts, also in the backstage part, made the event an extraordinary opportunity to look at our experiences in the eyes of American scientists who are friendly to Poland. You could also notice their exceptional curiosity about how our Pomeranian ecosystem functions. There were also questions about the essence of investments based on EU funds, about social capital and trust in public institutions and contractors, about what we can learn from the Americans, and what they were inspired by us and needed by every look at us from a broader perspective.

Both the participants of the meeting with Polish (representatives of institutions, business and universities) and the guests from the USA emphasized the importance of the meeting, primarily due to the opportunity to listen carefully to the stories of our successes, as well as the effective exchange of experiences and the use of observations of the development of global business projects located in Pomerania.

Text by Monika Bogdanowicz, photos by Natalia Jurkowska.