Q: What role does the Poland-East Science and Technology Park play in the strategy for the development of the city and region? What is the present stage of the Park’s development?
A: The Poland-East Science and Technology Park was established four years ago. Over this period 8.5 hectares of commercial land - contributed by the Suwałki municipality, which holds an almost 99% stake in the Park - has been provided with modern infrastructure in preparation for a really big investment project which we are going to start this year. It will involve the construction of a multi-functional centre, which will include an International Eastern Innovation Centre, four modern laboratories, a production process workshop, a modern office building with a multi-functional conference room and other premises. Our investors, including Uniglass of Łomża and Achtel of Ciechanów, will have their premises close to the Park. The two companies are already getting ready to apply for construction permits. Additionally, Biatel - a company operating in Warsaw and Białystok – is already moving to the Park and is going to operate one of its four laboratories. A real innovation and investment village is emerging in Suwałki. It will provide employment to around 300 people and will offer a wide range of services for the region.
The Park’s strategic objective is to create an attractive interface between research and business to enable technology transfer as well as innovative forms of business activity and investment. The Suwałki Municipality, University of Białystok, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Warsaw University of Technology, Higher Vocational School in Suwałki, National Institute of Telecommunications and Polish Geological Institute are partners in the initiative, which is supposed to stimulate the region economically. A total of PLN66 million has been set aside for investment projects in the Park. Most of the money comes from the Development of Eastern Poland Operational Programme. External funding has reached 90%. For the time being, the Park operates in the premises of the Higher Vocational School in Suwałki and runs a technology incubator. There are already around 30 businesses working with us, although the Park is still being built and organised. We want to bring together companies, research workers and manufacturers. We give priority to efforts to build an information society and things that are now being developed at the Warsaw University of Technology and University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn. Our mission is also to serve entrepreneurs. Every year we survey them to ask how we could help them in terms of logistics, organisation and production processes.
Q: Can the “East” in the name of the Park be regarded as a unique advantage of the undertaking?
A: The Poland-East Science and Technology Park in Suwałki will certainly be distinguishable by its closeness to the “Eastern markets” of Lithuania, Russia, Estonia, Latvia and the Kaliningrad District, and by broadly understood relations between research and business. The “Poland-East” in our name certainly represents our natural advantage because we act as a “go-between” between the East and the West. As a matter of fact, we render services mainly in this area: we organise business meetings and trade missions to the East for Polish and foreign companies. This is the most important feature that sets us apart from other science and technology parks operating in Poland and Europe. Our region is relatively poorly industrialised, with no large industrial and academic centres. As a result, our mission is patterned against Scandinavian science and technology parks. This mission includes efforts to build an oasis for science, a place where researchers can work on innovative solutions away from the hustle and bustle of the contemporary world. Additionally, the Via Baltica expressway, which links Western Europe with the East, runs across Suwałki and is another great advantage of ours. We want to exploit the opportunity created by our location on this transport route.
Our Park is a “Park by the Road.”