On the occasion of the upcoming Baltic Windustry 2022 conference, which will take place on September 8 in Gdańsk, BalticWind.EU’s editorial team asked representatives of the Gdańsk University of Technology to comment on the main goals of the event, its genesis and plans for future editions. Registration and a detailed conference program can be found HERE.
BalticWind.EU: What are the main goals of the Gdańsk University of Technology during the Baltic Windustry conference?
PhD Eng. Marcin Łuczak, Director of the Offshore Energy Center at Gdańsk University of Technology:
The fundamental goal of the Gdańsk University of Technology is to strengthen the broadly understood cooperation in the area of offshore wind energy. Industrial research will be a key theme of the upcoming Baltic Windustry conference, which will be held on 8 September 2022 in Gdansk. The organizers – the Offshore Energy Center of Gdańsk University of Technology and the Polish Wind Energy Association – have invited prominent professionals in the offshore wind industry, which already has first experiences in cooperation with universities. Representatives from the world of science and the offshore wind industry will discuss the opportunities and benefits of the synergie.
We would like to show that cooperation brings many benefits at the educational, research and innovation levels. At the same time, due to the strongly international nature of the wind energy sector, we would like to show with concrete examples the tangible benefits of cooperation at the regional, national and European levels.
The Polish industry faced a number of new challenges related to the design, construction and operation of offshore wind farms. The role of the Technical University, and more broadly of the scientific and research community in Poland, is to provide the necessary support to meet these urgent needs.
The first and most important need is staff, because without a sufficient number of qualified personnel, it will be difficult to achieve very ambitious goals. The University’s statutory task is to train new personnel. We show how the Technical University and other universities are adapting their study programs to meet the needs reported directly by PKN Orlen, PGE and others.
Academics have excellent expertise in many fields. On the other hand, industry faces a number of problems at almost every stage of the product life cycle. The solution is to jointly conduct research and development work. Jointly conducted industrial projects introduce opportunities for bachelor’s and master’s theses as well as industrial doctorates.
It is very important to increase the participation of Polish units in European projects – we want to show that obtaining funds from European funds is very feasible and thus encourage the strengthening of international cooperation
PhD Eng. Marcin Łuczak, Director of the Offshore Energy Center at Gdańsk University of Technology
What was the genesis of the conference? Are further editions planned?
The conference is divided into three sections to answer the fundamental questions: (1) How to solve the problem – this is what the research session will be devoted to, (2) How to make money from it – this is the industry session, and (3) Who pays for it – a session on funding sources at the regional, national and European levels.
The conference program was prepared to show how industry-research cooperation generates concrete solutions developed for direct industrial demand.
Until now, in Poland, unlike many other EU Member States, there has been no dedicated platform for discussion between academia and industry. The Baltic Windustry conference fills this gap by focusing on the engineering, technical and technological issues of wind power generation.
We show how implemented research results create and add value in the enterprise on very concrete examples of large Polish (PGE Baltica, PGE Energia Odnawialna, PKN Orlen) and foreign (Siemens Digital Industries Software) companies.
Representatives of universities, as well as scientific and research institutions from Poland and Europe will present solutions developed for the industry, which help to significantly reduce costs, implement modern digital techniques and benefit from it.
Baltic Windustry will be a cyclical, annual event. Subsequent editions will be expanded with panel discussions, thematic workshops. We will also open an invitation for proposals for speeches to create an opportunity to present their results to a wider range of participants. Together with the co-organizer, the Polish Wind Energy Association, we are also considering the possibility of turning the conference into a two-day event.
What audience is the event aimed at? Do you expect a large turnout?
The event is aimed at engineering staff of companies, as well as managers of technical departments. The recipients of the event are students – future employees of the wind energy sector and employees of technical universities and research institutes.
What is the value of cooperation between industry and science for the future of the Polish wind energy sector, especially in terms of local content development?
To quote Ms. Monika Morawiecka, “Offshore wind energy is a flywheel for the entire economy”. The implementation of scientific-industrial cooperation brings a number of benefits.
A great number of new jobs with stable employment for many years to come are created. We create and use new knowledge that we possess. On the occasion of ongoing projects, a number of publications will be produced, raising the rank of Polish universities. We are also becoming a full-fledged partner for foreign organizations.
