Scientists and Businessmen on new playgrounds

Piotr Dardziński, the undersecretary of state in the Ministry of Science and Higher Education, sat down with WBJ Observer to talk about the current state of our universities, the upcoming changes to academic institutions, the steps being taken to increase scientific research, and building closer links and easier cooperation between scientists and businessmen Interview by Ewa Boniecka WBJ Observer: You represented the Ministry of Science and Higher Education at the Polish-Swiss Innovation Day conference, which was recently organized in Warsaw. At that event, the Swiss delegation presented the Polytechnic in Lausanne as an example of the successful transformation of a modest institution into of one of the best universities in the world. The presentation was extremely impressive, and it occurred to me that it may be worth evaluating the success of the Polytechnic in Lausanne in detail and treating it as inspiration for our universities, what was your take on it? Piotr Dardziński: The answer to your question of whether we can be inspired by the example of the Polytechnic in Lausanne lies in the hands of our scientific and academic community. They could potentially choose some ideas for consideration. Of course, it is not possible to change the structure of the university and the composition of professors and students in one year. But I think that we could consider taking the first steps towards introducing a more innovative way of teaching into our colleges and giving them a more international character. We have huge human potential in Poland – many prominent scholars and professors, and extremely talented students – but our universities are too closed in their activities, they have overly bureaucratic structures and are placed too far from the world of business. Nowadays, universities cannot be ivory towers; they have to be open to the outside environment. The academic community should be more open to cooperation with professional people, who can look at the process of educating with an experienced eye and so generate new energy, as the chairman of Lausanne Polytechnic did. We have Polish scholars teaching at highly reputable foreign universities conducting innovative research, so our universities could make the effort to encourage them to work in our colleges and bring their experience here. Does the Ministry of Science and Higher Education have any influence on the running of universities? Universities have autonomy, but it is the ministry, as the regulator in the domain of higher education, that sets the framework in which our universities function. The government is currently preparing a bill, which among other things will reduce outdated bureaucracy in universities. The bill was discussed with representatives of the academic community and it should be implemented in the 2016 academic year. If we want to make a jump in the development of the country, students must learn that the teaching process is linked with research and they should be made to feel that they are active participants in the educational process. In other countries the private business sector is involved in supporting universities and their scientific activity. Is that how we have to do it in our country? There is always too little money for higher education, everybody agrees upon that. The aim of our government is to provide 1.7 percent of GDP for science in 2020, and even that is not very much. The fact is that people in academia work hard, but the system of managing and distributing public money for higher education is not optimal and we have to improve it. Our ministry announced the preparation of a new bill concerning higher education, because there is a need to create a new environment – one in which our financial potential will be properly used. We are also introducing various measures to encourage businesses to get involved in financing scientific research and cooperating with universities. We can already see the trend of businesspeople increasing their budgets for that aim. Funds from the European Union for educational ventures are now provided directly to firms cooperating with scientists, which, together with the funds from the Center of Research and Development, should bring positive results. We would like to see an increase in funds for science, and that science in Poland is not only associated with universities, but also with companies, which can run their own research centers and employ talented students and scholars, like it is in the real world. Businesspeople and managers in charge of firms are more frequently turning to scientists because they are aware that if they want to be competitive on foreign markets, they have to introduce innovation into their products. We should choose industrial branches with the biggest potential for expansion and provide them with innovative technology. Polish scientists and businessmen should act together on a new, improved playground. Those entrepreneurs interested in building innovation point out that it is connected with financial risk, because one innovative proposal will result in making a better product, while another is just a costly experiment. They complain that current state regulations are not clear in that matter, and the tax system does not take their financial risk into consideration. How do you react to those opinions? Well, we can’t cheat ourselves. Not every innovative project is fit for implementation, and risk is an integral part of scientific discovery, but such are the ways of making progress in science. As far as state regulations and the tax system are concerned, we are preparing necessary and anticipated changes. Prime minister Beata Szydło has appointed a special group of experts from all ministries, in which the Ministry of Science and Higher Education is responsible for innovation in science and works on behalf of the Board for Innovation. The new regulations will improve the conditions for conducting scientific research and implementing their results in business. For example, the amount of tax deductions for those firms that introduce innovations will be increased to 50 percent of expenses. The rule regarding better protection of intellectual property and patents will be of great importance to scientists. We would like to introduce some of these changes by January 2017. There is also a large, comprehensive document called “The white book of innovation,” in progress, which gathers diagnosis of all problems dealing with innovation – it should be completed within two years. There are prevailing voices from universities which state that, no matter what we do, scientists from Poland do not gain international fame, no one will win a Nobel prize, even while there are significant innovations in such fields as medicine, astronomy and information technology. What do such opinions reflect? I think that it is a self-protection mechanism – bad historical experiences and national complexes. The paradox is that Polish scientists, students, entrepreneurs, and those working abroad in many professions are gaining recognition. But, as a country we still have the feeling that we are not appreciated enough, and we should do everything to reject such feelings. Coming back to science, I think that there is now significant determination to strengthen our potential, to develop innovative research and implement the results into our economy. But it cannot be done merely through bills, so the determination of the government should be mirrored by the determination of scholars and entrepreneurs. My last question concerns the declining popularity of humanistic studies – there are still fewer students choosing them. Is a qualification from a humanities faculty unnecessary in life and on the job market? The opinion that humanistic studies are not necessary is a vast oversimplification. It is true that when we talk about innovation, we usually have technical studies in mind, but humanistic studies are also important – they teach logical thinking and provide ideas, which are needed in human development. I would like to ask whether the May 3 Constitution was not innovative? Humanistic and philosophical thinking have important and creative meaning. We cannot become technologically obsessed people. The importance of the humanities is indicated by the fact that our ministry is organizing a program of competitions that will engage high school pupils and students in developing their interest and knowledge of philosophy. Poles should have the ability to think with broader horizons, because such an approach is needed in various professions – including technical fields. And humanistic studies, which are developed at a high level in our universities, are a means to such an end. U