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Published online 21 May 2008 | Nature 453, - (2008) | doi:10.1038/453438a
News: Q&A
Poland tackles science like a business
Polish leaders were disconcerted in January, when the nation's scientists came away empty-handed from the first round of applications for the European Research Council's starting-grant competition. The country is also performing poorly in other European Union research programmes (see page 558). Science minister Barbara Kudrycka explains how the Polish government plans to reform the country's science and higher-education system.
What are the strengths of the existing Polish science system?
We are among the top 20 science nations in fields such as physics, mathematics, chemistry and space. However, we are missing the opportunity to translate this potential into concrete business solutions.
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I am unsure how long before publication the actual interview took place. News agencies in Poland announced about two weeks ago that government dropped its plans to abandon habilitation. Several previous ministers, of different political options, failed to push reforms very similar to outlined by min. Kudrycka due to lack of political will. Poland, even on the background of other Eastern European countries, still has extremely low governmental spending on science, mass emigration of young scientists and low interest in R&D and new technologies among industry.