IC² Institute Director Robert A. Peterson will represent The University of Texas at Austin in the Council of PLUS IP, a bilateral program established in 2014 by the U.S. State Department and the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education.
PLUS IP (Poland-U.S. Innovation Program) is a public-private partnership that brings together government, business, and academia to advance innovation through joint venture and joint R&D projects between the United States and Poland. The two countries are sharing best practices and expertise to replicate successful U.S. innovation models in Poland.
This effort provides opportunities for joint projects between U.S. and Polish companies and organizations aimed at promoting access to capital, more rapid and effective commercialization of technology, strengthening and expanding regional innovation clusters, improving collaboration in key economic sectors (i.e., defense, energy, health, and science and technology), and fostering the innovation ecosystem.
PLUS IP is led by a council of some two dozen governmental and non-governmental entities from both countries, including the U.S. Departments of State, Commerce, and Defense. The University of Texas at Austin is the sole university on the Council.
In addition to representing the University, Dr. Peterson will serve as U.S. co-chair of the Science and Technology Working Group of PLUS IP. The Working Group and the Council will meet in Warsaw during the week of October 5.
The IC² Institute has a long history of engagement in Poland. Between 2003 and 2007, the Institute designed and operated a program that provided knowledge-based economic development projects for Poland. The projects were funded through a Lockheed Martin-Poland offset agreement and included an assessment of technology commercialization in Poland. The program established two new technology business incubators in Warsaw and Lodz, transferred the UT Master of Science in Science and Technology Commercialization degree program to the University of Lodz, and established a technology commercialization Innovation Center. The program also delivered workshops for entrepreneurs and provided international business development to Polish technologies resulting in new business, customers, and partners in the U.S. and other markets.
For more information about PLUS IP, see its website at https://www.plusip.nauka.gov.pl.