Experts at the “Engineering for Security: Universities and Industry in the Service of Defense” meeting—organized by the Perspektywy Educational Foundation, Poland’s National Centre for Research and Development, and Business & Science Poland in cooperation with Polish Armaments Group—said decades of peace steered research toward comfort and quality of life, but today’s threats demand a shift.
Waldemar Siwiński, founder of Perspektywy, said rising aggression and incidents in Europe show security can no longer be taken for granted.
Technical universities must be “on the front line,” he said, adding that their role is equally vital to rebuilding Europe’s defense industry.
Business & Science Poland President Bartek Czyczerski called stronger defense capabilities a geopolitical necessity and an opportunity to build competitiveness through civil-military collaboration.
Spending alone is insufficient, he argued; investments should also strengthen the civilian economy.
He cited a recent case in which Europe “lost trade negotiations with the United States” not for economic weakness but for lacking defense leverage, urging an ecosystem where the military, government, industry and academia reinforce one another.
Krzysztof Jóźwik, rector of the Łódź University of Technology, noted that Russian aggression extends beyond Ukraine, pointing to incidents such as drones over Copenhagen’s airport.
Europe must be ready to counter such threats, he said, underscoring the need for university–industry cooperation.
Marek Kalbarczyk, head of the Polish Armaments Group’s Brussels office, said innovation flows have flipped: civilian markets now generate many digital advances later adapted by the military.
He pointed to Ukraine’s innovative use of civilian-developed technologies, including unmanned systems, to resist Russian forces.
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Source: PAP