English

The Association of TOP 500 Innovators was founded by the alumni of the TOP 500 Innovators: Science – Management – Commercialization Program. The Association has been set up in order to create an interdisciplinary platform of cooperation between representatives of science and technology transfer in Poland. This cooperation draws on the experience of its members from the program and their personal career. The activities of the Association include promoting innovation, academic entrepreneurship, as well as commercialization of research results. The Association also actively cooperates with government institutions and NGOs in developing the best environment for the innovation ecosystem growth. The Association has over 420 members, both scientists as well as technology transfer and commercialization specialists from research institutes and technology transfer offices from all over Poland. Association organizes an annual international conference to build bridges between Polish and international innovation ecosystems:

The Top 500 Innovators Science-Management Commercialization Program was created by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Poland to help bridge the gap between academia and business. In the course of the Program selected individuals completed a 9-week academic program taught at partnering universities from the Academic Ranking of World Universities: Stanford University, University of California – Berkeley, Oxford University, Cambridge University. The courses provided the participants from Polish universities, research institutes as well as technology transfer offices with skills needed to manage cooperative research projects and bring high-technology products to the market. The curriculum’s focus was on innovation, execution, leadership, entrepreneurship, intellectual property, and technology transfer.