NCBR Conference

At the National Center for Research and Development, we ask ourselves every day what is the task and responsibility of innovators in this situation. What is our responsibility? With 15 years of gathering diverse experiences, we are convinced that this time requires a particularly intensive search for new technological and organizational solutions. It is in the innovations that arise at the interface between business and science that we are looking for answers to challenges related to industry, climate, energy, health, education, digitization, access to clean water and food, and finally state security and global security.

The conference "Horizon of Innovation. The 15th anniversary of NCBR” is a good moment to, among others, discuss all the problems in a group of outstanding minds - experts and innovation creators from Poland and abroad who have significant achievements. Of course, we also invited those who strive - at various decision-making levels - to create optimal conditions for conducting research and development activities, increasingly going abroad. Dreamers will also be with us - start-up creators who have achieved success and want to talk about their path.

Questions pave the way

We organize the conference "Horizon of Innovation. The 15th anniversary of NCBR” in a two-day extended formula. We will ask our guests many questions. During our 15 years of activity, we have certainly learned to ask questions. They are usually the basis of important inventions and development leaps. We thought for a long time about the questions that we would like to address with you on October 27-28 this year at Expo XXI in Warsaw.

On the first day, on the main stage of the conference, we will ask: ▪ How to develop and commercialize valuable projects in Poland? ▪ What are the key conditions for global expansion? Do Polish innovative companies have a chance for global success? In what areas? To what extent should public institutions help them, and what is the role of investors? ▪ Which sectors of the economy are looking forward to innovative solutions and why? ▪ What can technology do for us and are Polish companies ready for a technological leap in line with the fifth industrial revolution? How will AI take control of Industry 5.0? ▪ Can we be proud of native technologies in medicine, pharmacy and biotechnology? Can we imagine the trends in the development of medical innovations in 10 years? ▪ How to shape the further development of innovation in Poland? What financing model should be adopted? ▪ What does it mean to make good use of the opportunities related to the new financial perspective of the European Union?

There will also be seemingly lighter topics, but important: ▪ Is it possible to measure R&D? How to effectively test the effects of research and development support? ▪ Can scientific success be achieved in Poland? How can you make the best use of new opportunities without losing sight of the mission of science? ▪ Does gender matter in R&D? What are the challenges faced by women as leaders of R&D projects and what has changed in the last few years? ▪ Who is an IT specialist 4.0: an innovator, a craftsman or an entrepreneur? What helps to successfully compete with researchers from around the world?

Innovation crosses borders

We all observe that cooperation between innovators - also on an international scale - has never been simpler and more intense. That is why, parallel to the main stage, on the first day of our conference, specially profiled, truly forward-looking debates will take place.

In an international group of experts, we will ask a somewhat provocative question: why bother with international projects at all? But we will be discussing seriously the challenges ahead. The smaller and the huge ones. One of the biggest challenges is the implementation of the New European Innovation Agenda, adopted by the European Commission in July this year. In this context, we will consider what conditions must be met for Europe to become a global power for innovation and start-ups in the field of high technologies.

There will be plenty of space to show how the National Center for Research and Development supports innovators whose ambitions are global. We will present the activities of our Office and Department for International Cooperation, the NCBR Office in Brussels and the National Contact Point for EU Research Programs operating within our structures, which conducts hundreds of consultations and seminars on the possibilities in the European Horizon Europe program.

It is certainly still worth debating - and the participants of the conference can count on it. We will be discussing about increasing Polish participation in Horizon Europe. About who and what can achieve even thanks to partnerships under this program. And also about ways to strengthen international cooperation of scientists, entrepreneurs and innovators so that they can fully benefit from the latest knowledge and available technology.

We will present the specifics of international competitions. The invited experts will try to find an answer to the question about the future of R&D cooperation in Europe and beyond. They will also consider support models under bilateral and multilateral cooperation.

The icing on the cake will be the story about the entry of Polish start-ups to the American market, i.e. the summary of the pilot edition of the acceleration program with the State of Nevada (NCBR-NAP). There are already plans for further cooperation! If this program did not cover your company - look for new opportunities. Together, we will consider what else we can do to support start-ups with global aspirations in making them come true.

Progress has the flavor of innovation

What can you expect on the second day of the conference? It will be innovative again and green at the same time. There will be many surprises.

We will talk thoroughly about the effects of the BRIdge Alfa program, implemented with the support of European Funds under the Smart Growth Operational Programme, as well as the successor of this program, about which we are asked more and more often. We will present the NCBR report on venture capitals, our guide to the most important issues in the context of supporting innovation. We will seat our beneficiaries on "hot chairs" and put them in the fire of questions. We will consider the role of corporate venture capital funds in the industrial transformation. Together with representatives of start-ups, funds and industry think-tanks, we will reflect on the lessons of failures, which are sometimes inevitable and sometimes quite the opposite.

We will give the afternoon to green technologies. We will be talking about our 9 flagship projects supporting the European Green Deal strategy, financed by European Funds under the Smart Growth Operational Programme. Thanks to this transformation, under the wings of the National Center for Research and Development, future heat and power plants, innovative biogas plants, energy storage technologies and heat and cold storage technologies, energy and process-efficient buildings, ventilation for schools and homes, sewage treatment plants of the future and home retention technologies will be built. We will talk about the importance of these projects for the environment and economy, but also for our common safety and comfort. And also about when we will see prototype installations in the 1: 1 scale.

The conference "Horizon of Innovation. The 15th anniversary of NCBR" is also a great opportunity to show the impact of innovations that arise in the dialogue between science and business on specific areas of life. That is why our beneficiaries will show participants the products that have been created due to various grant programs. You will be able to see how they work.

We want to talk about it all, because the National Center for Research and Development has been not only an institution financing research and development. This is, of course, at the heart of our business, but rightly so, much more is expected from us. Therefore, by organizing the "Horizon of Innovation. The 15th anniversary of the NCBR, we invite everyone who cares about a safe, prosperous, but also modern future. Let's talk and act, jointly taking on the greatest challenges of today.

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