UE Forum 41

6
FORUM_nr 41 / 2015
© Gstudio Group – Fotolia.com
and skills into action, as well
as to establish good contacts,
have a proven track record
of the cooperation with business
practitioners and, finally,
incorporate this hands-on
experience into teaching programmes.
There are financial
benefits, too. An increasing
number of the university
employees actively seek out
business partners and the
Centre acts as an intermediary
and helps them in bringing
the deal to a successful
conclusion. Of course, there
are, and there will always be,
academics who don’t want to
engage in such cooperation. In
retrospect, I can say that the
changes in each of the areas
are beneficial.
What are the most popular
services provided by the
Centre?
The Research and Knowledge
Transfer Centre targets its
offer at all economic entities:
companies of all sizes across
a range of industries, which
operate in both domestic
and international markets,
non-profit organisations, local
and regional institutions,
and also the in-house staff. As
far as the external contracts
are concerned, at present we
are working on numerous
solutions aimed at optimising
transport, logistics and
finance. We also devise development
strategies, conduct
market research of the energy
sector, do consumer behaviour
research and provide
expertise in finance, accounting
and real estate valuation
(mostly commissioned by
courts). Our staff commission
mainly field research (among
companies, institutions and
individual customers) by
means of both traditional and
online methods (research is
carried out on regional, national
or international levels).
Our customer base includes
other higher education institutions
and research institutes,
for whom we also carry out
field research.
Both the business community
and the university employees
stick to their mantra that
“things can’t be done at university”.
Do you take efforts
to overcome this stereotype
of being bogged down
in bureaucratic procedures?
We challenged the stereotype
a long time ago. Where
there is a will, there is a way.
I would like some matters to
be settled faster, but not all
decisions rest with me. There
are sometimes situations
when I encounter administrative
obstacles. Well, if they
can’t be removed, you can try
to circumvent them.
What is going to be „the
unique feature” of the next
decade?
I would like the Centre to be
a strong brand. The Research
and Expertise Centre was
founded and headed by the
late Prof. Zofia Kędzior for
many years – she was the
person who created the brand
and for the last 20 years we
have been working diligently
to strengthen it. I would also
like the Centre to stand out
for its excellent academic,
technical support and administrative
personnel, which are
prerequisites to maintaining
a good brand image. Moreover,
there should be a steady
increase in the number of
contracts. We are on track
for these “unique features”
to become the attributes of
the Research and Knowledge
Transfer Centre.
Wiedza – zarówno ta gromadzona przez
przedsiębiorstwa, jak i ta pozyskiwana
z zewnętrznych źródeł – stanowi we
współczesnej gospodarce kluczowy czynnik
rozwoju. Jest bowiem źródłem innowacji,
a zdolność do wdrażania nowych
technologii staje się stopniowo integralną
częścią strategii nie tylko przedsiębiorstw,
ale także całych gospodarek.
Knowledge – the one gathered by enterprises
and the one acquired from the
outside – is a key development factor in
a modern economy. It is a source of innovations,
since the ability to implement
advanced technologies gradually becomes
an integral part of strategies adopted by
businesses, as well as entire economies.