May 26th, 2021

This is a topic of great importance to every region and its inhabitants.

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Economic development and the achievement of competitive advantages by individual countries and regions in the modern world are increasingly dependent on the speed at which new, innovative economic entities appear on the market. Therefore, the efforts of public authorities are often directed at the development of entrepreneurship and the intensification of innovation processes. The transformation of knowledge into new products, services, technologies or organizational solutions requires appropriate infrastructure, including centres of innovation and entrepreneurship.

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Living in the Baltic Sea Region means being privileged in many contexts. We are known as one of the most innovative and entrepreneurial regions in Europe. For most of us pre-incubators, technology parks, incubators, technology transfer centres, loan and guarantee funds, seed and venture capital funds, business angels and clusters are the reality, which we witness all around. However, we also know that there is still much to be done – that is why the focus on the innovative forces unleashed by young and academic-based entrepreneurs is so crucial for our regions to observe and strengthen.

The innovativeness of the economy largely depends on the ingenuity and entrepreneurship of the scientific community, because universities are the centres that shape the attitudes and personalities of young people. The intensification of cooperation between universities and academics with the business community, local/regional administration and support institutions is the key to success. And we all must still work on mastering this cooperation.

Support for academic entrepreneurship should be comprehensive at the regional level. This requires the cooperation of universities and their pro-enterprise structures with technology parks, clusters, venture capital funds, etc. Success in this area depends on the initiatives of regional and local authorities leading to the development of Regional Innovation Systems as a cooperation network of enterprises, administration, scientific and research institutions and innovation centres.

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The European Union, in the face of globalization and the transition to the knowledge-based economy model, promotes the development of entrepreneurial attitudes from an early age. Society's activity in the field of entrepreneurial activities contributes to the increase in the number of entities stimulating the region's economy, which is why it is so important to support such activity.

The exchange of good practices adds to the further development of entrepreneurial spirit and innovativeness in the regions. Events like the seminar held today have the potential to enhance the cooperation between the Baltic Sea regions in this respect and enable a constant transfer of knowledge, equipping us with better tools to design and develop appropriate policies to boost the entrepreneurial and innovative ecosystems.

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Please watch the two video recordings of the seminar below and share them with your partners and other interested parties.

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by Marta Czarnecka-Gallas, BSSSC Secretary General and Mieczysław Struk, the Marshal of the Pomorskie Voivodeship