Opening session
Modern Silesia. The position of the region on the economic map of Poland
Upper Silesia is moving away from coal. An excellent transport infrastructure, a rapidly developing airport and well-educated staff – these are the main advantages of Silesia, which is becoming a magnet for a growing number of new investors and projects. One of the most important challenges and opportunities for the region is to create a single metropolis. How to create positive changes? What types of investment projects does the metropolis and the voivodeship need in order to attract the key players and strengthen competitive advantages?
Thematic session – Hotels
The city of business meetings
Accommodation facilities, a large and comfortable conference centre, and experience in the organisation of large-scale events of international importance – these elements build the strength of Katowice on the map of important business meeting centres and impact the economic and cultural development of the region. Katowice will host the UN Climate Summit in 2018. Will the event become a springboard to success for the hotel industry? Will business tourism become a significant driving force behind the development of the city, as well as an important element of promotion of Katowice? What conditions have to be met?
Thematic session – Staff
The Silesian recipe for the difficult labour market
The modern business services industry experiences a thirst for well-qualified staff, and the rivalry for talents is becoming more and more apparent. Does the education policy pursued by the Silesian Voivodeship keep pace with the changing needs of the labour market and the specific expectations of the SSC/BPO industry? How to intensify co-operation between institutions of higher education and business? How to encourage the most talented graduates to stay in Upper Silesia? Does the design of an office matter to employees? How important an argument has it become in recruitment processes?
Thematic session – Offices
The rivalry for lessees is becoming fiercer
Katowice has bravely fought its way into the circle of main players competing for investors from the SSC/BPO sector. In terms of the amount of modern office space, Katowice has outstripped Poznań, thus becoming the fourth regional market in Poland in this regard. However, the rivalry for lessees is becoming fiercer. Will office buildings in Katowice keep attracting lessees effectively with more and more interesting designs and facilities/incentives? Do the support from local authorities and investment comfort still constitute the greatest assets of investing in that location?
Thematic session – Warehouses
Economic prosperity: How long will it last?
Increasing dynamics of economic growth, an increasing retail sales volume, a competitive labour market, road infrastructure development, and widespread availability of land for new developer investment projects – these areas are key to the success of the warehouse sector. Does Upper Silesia have these advantages? What does the warehouse market need in order to continue its growth? How to persuade lessees to locate their businesses in that part of Poland? Would a special economic zone spanning the whole of Poland provide an opportunity or a challenge for Silesia? How will the logistics industry develop in the region in the era of e‑commerce? What is the importance of a particular location to further growth of the industry?
Thematic session – Shopping centres
A recipe for retail trade in a new form
Today Polish cities experience their own problems and challenges related to the development of the retail market – new shopping centres will keep emerging, but at the same time there is a growing need to reinvigorate high streets. Do shopping centres and high streets compete with one another? What should be changed in order to reconcile the interests of shopping centre developers and local governments? A vision of retail trade in the eyes of business and local governments.