Summary of 2018 Poland Day in Silicon Valley at Stanford University
Internet of Things was this year’s theme of the US-Polish Trade Council’ s (USPTC) 16th annual Poland Day in Silicon Valley at Stanford University. The US-Poland Science and Technology Symposium welcomed government officials, representatives from academia, business executives, and community leaders. The speakers and panelist explored all things cloud, cybersecurity, smart cities, smart transportation, blockchain technology, and cryptocurrency.
The first day, with the initiating tour of Stanford University and afternoon round-table discussion on the value of exchange, things needed to be changed, and who-is-who at the symposium, culminated with dinner, and a talk on the role and structure of executive education by Stanford assistant provost for executive education, Mr. Paul Marca.
The second day was the Poland Day devoted to hard work with back-to-back panels, keynotes, and networking. Dr. Piotr Moncarz, chairman of USPTC and Stanford Adjunct Professor, welcomed the lineup of esteemed guests. Mr. Mark Chandler, International Relations Director for the City of San Francisco stated in his remarks he hasn’t missed a Poland Day since its inception, and praised the event as a very important one to the region. The opening note on the state of the Polish economy was given by Mr. Tadeusz Koscinski, deputy minister in the Ministry of Entrepreneurship and Technology of Poland. Dr. Janusz Bryzek delivered his brilliant talk about the beauty and doomsday of robots and AI taking over more and more functions in human lives.
Mr. Ted Taube, Honorary Consul of Poland and Chairman of Taube Philanthropies, shared his story of success in Silicon Valley, and of his passionate work restoring the Jewish-Polish 1000-year history. Mr. Taube is the recipient (2015) of the highest level of Polish distinction for a foreign civilian from the President of Poland.
Dr. Marcin Krupa, president of Katowice, opened the discussion on the role of smart cities in transportation, housing and the delivery of services, followed by a panel discussion moderated by Dr. Kincho H. Law, Stanford University. Dr. Krupa also announced that Katowice will host the upcoming 24th Annual UN Climate Change Conference. Poland has hosted the Conference twice before – Poznan in 2008 and Warsaw in 2013. Mr. Jim Wunderman, CEO, Bay Area Council, presented the work aimed at smart cooperation between autonomous administrative entities forming a metropolitan area.
Dr. Michal Kurtyka, deputy minister in the Ministry of Energy of Poland, presented the national program of Poland in the area of electromobility with the goal of 1 million of electric cars on Polish roads by the year 2025. The talk was followed by a panel on smart energy, electromobility, and smart transportation to reduce energy usage and costs, relieve traffic congestion, and reduce the housing crisis experienced by cities worldwide.
At the gala dinner Dr. Artur Chmielewski, a space program director at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, presented a vision of Poland’s significant participation is international space programs.
The third and last day of the symposium offered an opportunity to visit corporate Silicon Valley, and a visit to Project Based Learning (PBL) laboratory at the Civil and Environmental Department at Stanford University.
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View the agenda:
