News

2008-09-17 New Science and Technology Park in Gdansk





The Science and Technology Park named after Professor Hilary Koprowski was opened during the official ceremony on 4th of September, 2008 in Gdansk, Poland.

Hilary Koprowski was born in Poland in 1916. He is a prominent virologist and immunologist, a doctor of medicine and professor at the Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, the USA. He was the first scientist to develop the vaccine against polio, the virus responsible for the Heine-Medine disease. He was the director of Wistar Institute in Philadelphia for many years, and he currently is the director of the Institute for Biotechnology and Advanced Molecular Medicine and the center for neurovirology at the Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia.
Gdansk Science and Technology Park is located within the The Pomeranian Special Economic Zone - a separated area in the Pomeranian region that offers favorable conditions for business development. The new premises and infrastructures (ca. ca 27.000 sq. m) were launched in the centre of Gdansk on the plot of 3 ha, in the direct vicinity of main universities: Gdansk University of Technology, Medical University of Gdansk, and University of Gdansk. This is now the second science and technology park located in TriCity. The first one- the Pomeranian Science and Technology Park is located in Gdynia.
During the scientific part of the event, the panel discussion, moderated by the former Polish Prime Minister, current member of the European Parliament, prof. Jerzy Buzek has taken place. The panelists, among them the Deputy Minister of Science and Higher Education, Deputy Minister of Economy, Deputy Minister of Regional Development, Rector of the Gdansk University of Technology, as well as the regional authorities’ representatives together with scientists and the audience discussed the current status, challenges and perspectives of the innovative economy in the Pomeranian Region.
Also a concept of Baltic Centre for Biotechnology and Innovative Diagnostics Biobaltica, which is planned to be established in the GSTP, was presented by Krzysztof Bielawski, who is the President of BioBaltica Ltd. as well as associated professor at the Department of Biotechnology, the Intercollegiate Faculty of Biotechnology, University of Gdansk-Medical University of Gdansk.
The idea of building in Gdansk a modern, complex infrastructure for biotechnology and diagnostics, concentrating the research potential of three main universities: University of Gdansk, Medical University of Gdansk and Gdansk University of Technology, together with industry partners and with strong support from the regional government will be also presented during the ScanBalt Forum in Vilnius, Lithuania on 26th of September, 2008.
Source: www.scanbalt.org