According to analysts, the existing sources of growth of the Polish economy are becoming exhausted. Universities are losing prestige and do not have well-developed links with business – yet it is precisely genuine cooperation between researchers and entrepreneurs, wisely supported by the state, that may determine Poland’s further economic growth and technological sovereignty. Instead of yet more “innovation”programmes, we need an ecosystem of trust in which laboratories, businesses and public institutions learn together how to take risks, to experiment and to implement breakthrough solutions.