Poland - Switzerland: "Ambition to get to the top".

It was one of the first official acts of Polish Ambassador Iwona Kozlowska when she took over business in Switzerland in 2020 - in the midst of the Corona crisis: she launched a Polish-Swiss Business and Technology Forum. It was a complete success, and in the meantime the event seems to have established itself. The third event was held in Bern on September 18-19, 2023, and was again attended by between 100 and 150 visitors from both countries. In the form of panel discussions, various aspects of economic, political and research cooperation were highlighted. Future developments, e.g. from Industry 4.0 to Industry 5.0, were also discussed, as well as current challenges in cooperation between Switzerland and the entire EU or in the context of global developments such as climate change and demographic development.

Innovation at eye level

Switzerland and Poland have stable bilateral relations. This has been emphasized time and again. As a nearshoring location and as a sales market for high-quality capital and consumer goods, Poland has become increasingly important for the Swiss economy in recent years. Poland has also become a weighty international player as an investment location: measured in terms of investments made, the country is the No. 1 in the EU, as Ambassador Iwona Kozlowska noted in an interview with this medium..

While Poland is interesting for Switzerland as a sales market and resource for workforce, Poland is primarily interested in know-how transfer. They are aware of Switzerland's financial strength and its reputation as a center of innovation - and also as a haven of political stability with secure framework conditions. But especially in terms of innovation, Poland has caught up: with the Billon Group (blockchain solutions for document management, digital financial transactions and tokenization), Vigo Photonics (infrared sensor technology) or Elproma (electronics), three of the most innovative Polish companies were presented. These three companies illustrate that when it comes to technology, the two countries see eye-to-eye. And not to forget: Some Swiss innovation is also "Made in Poland", for example in the form of the now listed Kudelski Group from Lausanne - its founder Stefan Kudelski came from Warsaw.

Building trust - removing regulatory hurdles

There is no denying that many things work well between the two countries. However, as Ambassador Iwona Kozlowska also acknowledged, there is still a lot to be done in Poland. But: "We have the ambition to get right to the front." She sees a need to catch up in the area of vocational training, for example. Here in particular, the Swiss dual education system is seen as a role model. In Poland, for example, Prof. Dr. Joanna Cygler from the Lukasievicz Research Network emphasized the need for more openness toward a wide variety of competencies in companies. Even if the Polish startup scene does not need to shy away from international comparison in terms of dynamism, there is still a lack of entrepreneurial maturity at times, as Marcin Rzetecki, President of the Polish Blockchain Association, notes: "Young people need to learn better how to delegate and share the work.

And different regulations are sometimes perceived as hurdles. Marek Dutkiewicz, founder of HR Campus in Switzerland, knows both "cultures" very well: While in Switzerland many things are done with a handshake and trust, he still experiences things differently in his home country. Dr. Ing. Pawel Stezycki, also from the Lukasiewicz Research Network, agreed: "I employ six lawyers, although I would really only like to have one," he said, referring to the extensive contracts that are often the order of the day in cooperations.

Fruitful "bottom-up" cooperation

Where are the most important areas for cooperation between Swiss and Polish institutions? Economically and in the research context, it's primarily pharmaceutical, financial and information technology. Blockchain is a prominent example of this. The Swiss-Polish Blockchain Association has recently been established with the aim of networking Zug's "Crypto Valley" with exponents of the equally dynamic Polish blockchain scene - in the classic "bottom-up" manner. And it was precisely this bottom-up approach that became clear time and again at the Polish Business and Technology Forum: cooperation cannot be imposed "from above", but must come from below. Accordingly, behind all existing collaborations or those just starting out are initiatives by individuals. The Forum has set itself the task of networking these individual initiatives. In the meantime, there are numerous opportunities for cooperation between Switzerland and Poland. The difficulty may lie in finding the right point of contact among the multitude.

Contact points for initial information

Establish business from Switzerland with Poland? Swiss companies can get initial information here:

• Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Bern 
• Consulate of the Republic of Poland in Basel (further locations in Zurich or Geneva are planned)
• Switzerland Global Enterprise (S-GE)
• Swiss-Polish Blockchain Association 

Interesting for research collaboration:

• Polonium Foundation (Foundation for Cooperation between Polish and Foreign Scientists)
• Lukasiewicz Research Network (22 institutes with over 4500 scientists and engineers)