This year’s edition of the Central European Technology Forum CETEF’26 will focus on areas that are crucial for the future of the economy and the security of the continent. Building technological sovereignty in these fields is becoming a necessity. The event, initiated by the Polish Chamber of Advanced Technologies, has for years brought together scientific, industrial and institutional communities from across Central Europe. I spoke with Dr. Eng. Zygmunt Krasiński, President of IZTECH, about preparations for the Forum, which is held under the patronage of the European Parliament.
CETEF’26 is already the fifth edition of the Central European Technology Forum. Will this year’s event differ from previous editions?
Definitely yes. First of all, it should be emphasized that CETEF is not an initiative of a single institution. The Polish Chamber of Advanced Technologies launched the forum in 2014, but from the very beginning its strength has come from building broad partnerships among scientific, industrial and institutional communities from across Europe. The fifth edition is also special because, for the first time, we are organizing it in Greater Poland — a region with enormous industrial, technological and academic potential — and the Forum is hosted by Poznań University of Technology, the first university in Poland coordinating a network of European universities.
However, the biggest change is the Forum’s very strong focus on technologies related to Europe’s security. In the face of growing geopolitical tensions, the technological race, and the need to build European technological sovereignty, solutions in the fields of defense technologies, dual-use technologies, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, energy, quantum technologies and space technologies are gaining increasing importance. These issues were naturally present during previous editions, but today they have become absolutely crucial. The war in Ukraine, the geopolitical situation, disrupted supply chains and the struggle for access to strategic technologies have all forced Europe to rethink its own technological security. CETEF’26, whose theme this year is “High Technologies for Europe’s Security,” will therefore become a place for a very concrete debate on how to build this technological sovereignty.
So CETEF is not a traditional scientific conference?
No. And from the very beginning that was the fundamental difference. CETEF was not created to organize a series of academic lectures. It is a technological and partnership forum that has for years been building its position as one of the most important international technology events in Central Europe. It is a place where politicians, experts, scientists, entrepreneurs, research institutes, startups and industry representatives meet. More than a thousand representatives of science, industry, administration and the new technologies sector will participate in the 5th Central European Technology Forum CETEF’26, which will take place in Poznań in October. The event is held under the patronage of the European Parliament. We are organizing it together with Poznań University of Technology and the Federation of Scientific and Technical Associations NOT, in cooperation with the City of Poznań and the European university network EUNICE.
Is the Forum’s program adapted to growing geopolitical challenges?
It is extremely rich. The first day has a strategic, policy-level character. We will discuss with representatives of the European Commission, the European Parliament, European partnerships, ministries and agencies financing technological development how the European technological strategy for the continent’s security should look. We will also focus on the next perspective for research and innovation funding, including the proper preparation of the successor to the Horizon Europe program.
The second day will consist of thematic conferences led by experts from specific technological areas — from artificial intelligence and robotics, through quantum technologies, to energy, biotechnology and the transport systems of the future. But the practical part is equally important. There will be brokerage meetings, project matchmaking sessions, technology demonstration zones and discussions about joint European projects. CETEF is intended to generate cooperation and concrete initiatives, not just declarations.
What were the results of previous conferences? Has CETEF actually translated into concrete actions?
Yes, and we have very concrete examples of that. One of the main topics of previous editions was the issue of strategic technologies for Europe and the role of Central and Eastern European countries. Today we can see the effects of those debates. European funding programs have introduced technological priorities related to digital transformation, energy transition, biotechnology, and now also defense and dual-use technologies. In Poland, this has been implemented through instruments such as FENG and STEP.
Of course, it is not the case that IZTECH alone changes European policy. But we are part of an expert community that has consistently spoken about these issues and advocated for them. We have excellent support from the Chamber Council, chaired for years by Professor Jerzy Buzek, as well as representatives in monitoring committees. We participate in consultations concerning European framework programs and submit recommendations to the European Commission. And this is beginning to produce tangible results.
Another very important area involves networking and building project consortia. Brokerage meetings organized during CETEF truly work. People meet partners, create consortia and prepare joint projects for the Horizon Europe program. After previous events, we already had examples of Polish companies acting as leaders of international consortia. That is a huge qualitative change.
How do such brokerage meetings work?
It is a highly professional matchmaking system based on the European Commission’s B2Match platform. Participants create competency profiles, schedule meetings in advance and then spend several hours conducting face-to-face discussions concerning specific European calls and joint projects. For many Polish institutions and companies, this is often the first contact with international partners. And within Horizon Europe, it is practically impossible to win a project without a strong consortium. You may have an excellent idea, but you still need trusted partners and a strong position within the European cooperation network.
Will rebuilding Europe’s own industry be one of the leading themes of the technological debates?
Absolutely. For years Europe became dependent on cheap production in Asia. Today we can see the consequences of that policy — disrupted supply chains and dependence on imported electronic components, processors and critical technologies. Without rebuilding European industry there will be no technological sovereignty. This does not mean that everything should be produced in one country. It means creating an intelligent distribution of technological competencies within Europe. Poland has enormous intellectual potential, excellent engineers, highly talented young people and increasingly advanced research infrastructure. We cannot afford to have an inferiority complex. We must fight for our place in the European technological league. And of course, we dream of creating a domestic technology company with global reach.
Yet many Polish innovators leave the country. Why?
Because they often lose to bureaucracy. This is one of the biggest problems. We have excellent entrepreneurs, startup founders and scientists, but the system very often cuts their wings. Excessive regulation, overformalization and a lack of trust in entrepreneurs cause people either to give up or move their projects abroad. Meanwhile, technologies develop quickly. You cannot expect a startup to function like a government office. If a young company is eliminated from a competition because of one missing document, it means the system is functioning badly. That is why during CETEF we strongly emphasize the need to simplify procedures, improve cooperation between science and business, and create conditions enabling the scaling of Polish technologies.
IZTECH plays a special role in all these activities, not only as the main organizer of the Forum. Why are you taking on these additional responsibilities?
Yes, it is true that our role is much broader and extends beyond the framework of the main CETEF organizer. The Chamber is above all an expert community and a platform integrating various competencies. We have more than one hundred members — technology companies, universities, research institutes and industry organizations. We are not a large administrative organization. Our strength lies in our ability to connect people, extract expert knowledge and build partnerships. Thanks to this, we are able to initiate large-scale projects such as CETEF, conferences on technological sovereignty and activities related to the Horizon Europe program. IZTECH also actively participates in consultations concerning European research and technological programs.
Your competencies and experience are quite unusual for the technology sector. Does that help?
I think so. Indeed, my professional path has been quite interdisciplinary. I am an electronics engineer by education and a specialist in industrial automation and fiber-optic technologies. I worked in research, including in Japan, but later I also entered the financial sector. Among other things, I helped create management systems and the BOŚ brokerage house. Thanks to that experience, I learned to view technologies not only from the engineering perspective, but also from the business and financial perspectives. And that is enormously important today. A great invention alone is not enough. One must also understand management, financing, international cooperation and relationship building. At my home institution, the Institute of Fundamental Technological Research of the Polish Academy of Sciences, I served as Director of the National Contact Point for the Horizon 2020 program, and for many years I have also been involved in research and innovation management as a Research Manager and Administrator (RMA). This is a very important profession in modern research institutions. Such people help build research strategies, organize international cooperation and effectively manage European projects.
So CETEF is, in a sense, also an attempt to change the way people think about technologies in Poland?
Exactly. We want to show that technologies are not merely an addition to the economy. Today they are the foundation of security, competitiveness and national development. Europe can no longer simply consume technologies developed elsewhere. It must co-create them. And Poland must be part of this process — not as a subcontractor, but as a partner co-deciding on the directions of development, also through increased national investments in science and research. And that is precisely why we organize CETEF. Not for the event itself, but in order to prepare recommendations and build real competencies, partnerships and projects that in a few years will translate into a stronger position for both Poland and Europe.
Interview by Jolanta Czudak
