Academic Gdynia Innovation Days Conference a Great Success
The first edition of the Academic Gdynia Innovation Days (Gdynia I-Days) at Gdynia Maritime University has come and gone.
Organised by the newly established GMU Technology Transfer Centre under the leadership of Director Dr Magdalena Kukowska -Kashuba, the event was held in the University's main T. Meissner hall on 13th and 14 April 2023. The conference was the culmination of more than two years of activity under the innovation incubator 4.0 project in which GMU has worked in consortium with the Silesian University of Technology, the project leader.
The conference was organised in two parts: DemoDay and TransferTechDay, which brought together scientists, innovators, business representatives, University authorities and other stakeholders interested in the various fields of science, technology and innovation.
The main objectives of the conference were the promotion of innovation and new technologies in the areas of science, business and society, as well as the creation of a platform for the exchange of knowledge, experience and ideas between different sectors. The conference also allowed for interdisciplinary discussions and cooperation between scientists and the social and economic environment. The event contributed to the support of creativity and academic entrepreneurship and promoted Gdynia as a centre for innovation and technology.
The Gdynia Innovation Days Conference focused on innovation, inventiveness and new technologies, and their market implementation and application in various areas. The main topic of the conference were the solutions found in current global trends that were developed as part of the pre-implementation work under the Innovation Incubator 4.0 project, as well as their practical aspects. The solutions promoted by GMU include information technology and communication, innovation in the maritime and port sectors, mechanical and material industries, and innovative functional food.
The Gdynia I-Days programme included lectures, discussion panels and poster sessions. The conference was attended by researchers, experts, patent agents and business representatives who shared their knowledge on the individual topics.
One of the main points of the event was an exhibition session entitled "We have a patent for this", which was attended by scientists carrying out pre-implementation work as part of Project II 4.0. Innovators from GMU presented their achievements during a session called "From Concept to Product", which also included discussions with members of the Investor Panel. The Investor's panel included representatives of investment funds: Netrix - Grzegorz Stemplowski, Interizon - Jarosaw Parzuchowski as well as industry companies MPL Techma sp. z o.o. – Paweł Moszczyński, Crist SA - Mirosław Roliński, and ZMPG SA – Aleksandra Cilindź. During the conference, the investors voted in the Main Award category, and in addition, each of the participants of the event could cast their vote in the Audience Award category. Before the close of the first day of the event, Innovation Broker Anna Żuławska, together with scientists, took guests on a tour of the laboratories and workshops in which the GMU inventions were developed.
The second day of the conference saw many speeches and lectures take place and the announcement of the results of the competition. GMU Rector Professor Adam Weintrit presented awards to the winning teams. The main prize was awarded to the team under the leadership of Professor Karol Listewnik for the "Ship-wide electrical power quality monitoring system for electrical machines and equipment". The audience award was won by the "Docking System for Offshore Installations" presented by the project coordinator, Paweł Kołakowski.
Attending TransferTechDay as a guest of honour was the deputy mayor of Gdynia, Katarzyna Gruszecka-Schupła, who spoke of Gdynia's efforts to support innovation. Justyna Janiczak of the Pomeranian Development Agency, as well as representatives of funds investing in new solutions, Sławomir Kucharski of Netrix and Jan Wyrwiński of AlfaBeat, also spoke about the innovation ecosystem and support for its development. Sławomir Olszewski of the Gdynia Science and Technology Park, a graduate of GMU, spoke of an innovative 3D print and reverse engineering workshop. The value of intellectual property in contacts with investors was discussed by patent spokesperson Anna Kawalec. The conference ended with a lecture by GMU Innovation Broker Anna Mazanek, who gave an assessment of the Innovation Incubator 4.0 project and spoke of the creation of the CTT, and the important role of the innovation broker and technology transfer in the support of scientists and the development of innovative academic ideas and products in a lecture entitled "The Germination of Innovation at GMU".
The Academic Gdynia Innovation Days Conference was an important event which highlighted the commercial potential of scientific solutions and drew attention to new technologies and products as well as providing a platform for interdisciplinary dialogue. Honorary patronage over the conference was provided by Professor Adam Weintrit, the Mayor of Gdynia, Wojciech Szczurek, the Polish Chamber of Patent Officers and the Polish Patent Office. The event partners were Alfa Beat, Interizon and the Maritime Economy.
The Gdynia I-Days event, will return annually to promote academic innovation, the development of cooperation between science and industry and GMU innovations. We hope to see you next year!
The project was financed by the Ministry of Education and Science as part of a non-competition project entitled "Support for the management of scientific research and the commercialisation of the results of R&D work in scientific units and companies", which is carried out within the framework of the Smart Growth Operational Programme 2014 - 2020 (Action 4.4).
