"The global competition is getting fiercer and competitors from other countries never sleep. Europe only stands a chance if the strenghts of many partners are united in cross-border projects", states Professor Maik Gude of the TU Dresden Institute of Lightweight Engineering and Polymer Technology (ILK) during the first Saxon-Polish Innovation Day" in Wroclaw.

The Innovation Day was organised by the TU Dresden Transfer Office and hosted by the Free State of Saxony Liaison Office. The patronage of the Consulate General, the Saxon State Ministry for Higher Education, Research and the Arts (SMWK) and the partner cities of Wroclaw and Dresden underlined the political importance of the cooperation between the two countries.

Prof. Müller-Steinhagen, Rector of TU Dresden, emphasised the excellent experiences in the cooperation between the two countries. "Our goal is to sustainably establish the cooperation network in the Saxon-Polish border region that is already based on long-term bilateral agreements and individual projects." The ILK's scientific cooperation with five universities in Poland has existed for over 20 years. Since 2017, there has been a ‘joint PhD programme’ between the TU institute and the Warsaw University of Technology.

In the future, these cooperation agreements are to be sustainably expanded through a platform, which was launched by the Transfer Office, and which is to be operated with the support of the ILK. "Through our cooperation platform Xborderinnovation existing networks are made visible and research results are efficiently transferred into application. This is the only way to make use of competitive advantages for our joint region in Europe and beyond", explains Christiane Bach-Kaienburg, Head of the Transfer Office at the Technische Universität Dresden. Professor Hubert Jäger, Director of the Institute of Lightweight Engineering and Polymer Technology affirms this: "Partnerships lead to innovations much quicker. We at TU Dresden are willing to actively accompany the process together with Poland."

The demand for this cooperation platform, determined by the participants in a survey, left Bach-Kaienburg with only one conclusion: "This is a clear mission for us to build up the platform."

Further interesting information on the German-Polish innovation meeting can be obtained in the film contribution by the MDR Sachsenspiegel.