Univentum Labs, a special purpose vehicle of the University of Gdańsk, has for 10 years been bringing together two seemingly distant worlds: science and business. A space has been created where scientific innovation meets market needs. To celebrate the company's decade of activity, an anniversary meeting was held on November 18, 2024 at the Olivia Centre, which has recently become the new home of Univentum Labs.
A summary was given of what the company has achieved in 10 years of operation - including how UG spin-offs have developed and how the academic entrepreneurship environment in Poland is currently shaping up. Among those invited to the meeting were Univentum Labs' partners: representatives of business, local government, scientific institutions and NGOs. The guests were welcomed by the President of Univentum Labs, dr hab. Sylwia Mrozowska, prof. UG, the Vice-President of the company, dr Andrzej Poszewiecki , and the Vice-Rector for Development and Finance of the University of Gdańsk, dr hab. Paweł Antonowicz, prof. UG.
‘In the last decade we have seen an increasing emphasis on socio-economic impact and capitalisation, particularly through the creation of special purpose vehicles and spin-offs,’ noted the Vice-Rector. ‘The structure of the University of Gdańsk reflects strong institutional complementarity. In addition to the Univentum Labs, there are also: the Analysis and Expertise Office, University Research Services Laboratory, Technology Transfer Office and University Centre for Applied and Interdisciplinary Research. The key idea is for all these entities to work together in a complementary way.’
The introductory lecture ‘Innovation and megatrends - horizons for regional development’ was delivered by the special guest of the ceremony: Maciej Grabski, President of Olivia Centre.
‘Gdańsk has the historical predisposition to once again become Poland's trade gateway to the world. Our task is to rebuild these traditions and use the region's potential to attract investment and create new jobs,’ said Maciej Grabski.
He also pointed out that investment in developing the digital competencies of the workforce - including in the field of artificial intelligence - is key to increasing the region's productivity and competitiveness. The Pomeranian region has the opportunity to become an important economic and innovation hub, especially in view of shifting global supply chains.
The prospects and challenges facing special purpose vehicles were discussed by Krzysztof Gulda, a board member of the University of Warsaw's special purpose vehicle UWRC sp. z o.o., in a lecture entitled ‘University special purpose vehicles - success or failure’.
‘We have a common ambition for special purpose vehicles to become a key link between the worlds of science and business,’ asserted Krzysztof Gulda. ‘Thanks to their flexibility and ability to react quickly, they can effectively identify promising research projects and support their commercialisation.’
In addition to the commercialisation of research results, SPVs attract business customers by offering them access to scientific staff or research infrastructure and the possibility of joint project implementation. In order to achieve this, a synergy between university and business is needed. Dr Krzysztof Mazur from the Jagiellonian University spoke about his vision of technology transfer between university and business. According to him, building a team in which scientists and entrepreneurs cooperate rather than compete is one of the biggest challenges in creating start-ups. To achieve success in the commercialisation of research, close cooperation between scientists and entrepreneurs, business experience - and mentors to support young researchers in the development of their start-ups - are essential.
The ceremony was also an opportunity to take stock of Univentum Labs' ten-year history. ‘Our company is an excellent example of an organisation that can adapt to a changing environment. Flexibility and openness to new challenges are key to our success,' said the company's Vice-President, dr Andrzej Poszewiecki. He mentioned the three key pillars on which the company's activities have been focused so far: co-creation of new market entities, implementation of research projects and servicing commissioned research, as well as popularisation of science in the business environment and market approach among scientists.
‘Our company has enjoyed considerable financial success, which has enabled us to invest in new projects and support young researchers. Thanks to effective cooperation with the university, we have managed to create several spin-offs that have the potential to become market-leading companies,' added dr Andrzej Poszewiecki. Among the company's successes, he mentioned the organisation of successive editions of the Young Fahrenheit competition: 'This is our investment in the future. We give young scientists the opportunity to develop their business ideas and support them in transforming scientific research into innovative products and services.’
Dr hab. Sylwia Mrozowska, prof. UG, who has been president of the company since October 2024, talked about the vision of the future for Univentum Labs.
‘Among other things, we want (together with the Marshal's Office) to develop a regional programme of support for spin-offs, which is our mission and also an opportunity for the further development of academic entrepreneurship,’ she assured. ‘We believe that in creating innovative spin-offs, it is crucial to understand the needs of both scientists and entrepreneurs. We are already meeting today at a round table to discuss the model of support and funding for academic entrepreneurship in the Pomeranian Voivodeship. We are also looking at models at the interface between science and business at European universities with a successful track record in commercialisation, in order to draw inspiration from best practices when developing our own model.’
The President also presented the TalentBridge programme, which will aim to introduce students to the world of innovation and entrepreneurship and promote a culture of cooperation between science and business.
‘Our student internship programme is an opportunity for young people to get involved in entrepreneurship from the very beginning and gain experience not only with us, but also in companies cooperating with the university,’ said prof. Sylwia Mrozowska. ‘As part of our educational activities and support for student entrepreneurship, we want to create a meeting space where young people can present their scientific and business projects. Organising such meetings allows us to build direct relations between entrepreneurs and scientists, which fosters the emergence of new innovations.’
Among the key activities, the president also mentioned: the realisation of projects appreciating the first effects of the development of entrepreneurial attitudes (Young Fahrenheit), support for the development of academic spin-off companies, support for the development of academic entrepreneurship, project consulting, as well as the realisation of research services to support sustainable development, marketing services for scientists and training services.
The role of R&D strategy in the process of transferring research results to the economy was discussed by dr Jakub Jasiczak, chairman of the SPV Alliance. ‘As Special Purpose Vehicles, after 10 years of activity, we have gained competences to become a partner of universities in creating R&D strategies and inspiring scientists to take up socially and economically relevant challenges,’ he said. 'We want universities to bet on deep tech, bringing together interdepartmental and interuniversity teams to create innovative solutions that will truly change the face of technology.'
