It will take 0.3 seconds to issue an electronic driving license from the moment information about passing the exam is entered into the system. The Minister of Digital Affairs announces a complete reconstruction of the mObywatel application. Janusz Cieszyński, Minister in the Chancellery of the Prime Minister responsible for digitalization, and Przemysław Koch, Director of the Central Informatics Centre, presented the project for a new version of the mObywatel application at Impact'22 in Poznań. It is now intended to be a single place where citizens can handle matters from all offices (that are willing to engage in this undertaking, we should add). – The mObywatel application embodies the 3 P's – it is meant to remind, organize, and notify about official matters, such as official correspondence – Minister Janusz Cieszyński tells 300Gospodarka. As can be read on the project's website, mObywatel will be integrated with registers: CEiDG (Central Register and Information on Economic Activity), KRS (National Court Register), ARiMR (Agency for Restructuring and Modernisation of Agriculture), and the Register of Bailiffs and Notaries. Thanks to this, it will automatically recognize the user's entitlements, including, for example, powers of attorney granted to another person. The application is intended to send notifications, for instance, when a tax refund is pending, a decision on a child's admission to kindergarten has been made, or a subsidy from the municipality is available. – 0.3 seconds, which is the blink of an eye, will be the time it takes to issue an electronic driving license from the moment information about passing the exam is entered into the system – Przemysław Koch, Director of COI, promotes the new possibilities. The application will also inform about approaching expiry dates of documents, such as ID cards or passports. mObywatel is to utilize an integrated e-Payments system, which will allow, among other things, "immediate processing of official payments without commission". The application is undergoing a form of public consultation, as everyone will be able to test the service and then fill out and send a survey to the creators evaluating the proposed solutions. – We foresee this project taking approximately 12 months, but the first services will appear later this year – announces Minister Cieszyński.

Columbus Energy has entered into a framework agreement for strategic cooperation with Google Cloud Poland and Saule – a subsidiary of Columbus Elite Global – aimed at facilitating the energy transformation process for Columbus's clients and scaling the operations of Columbus and Saule. The agreement was announced at the Impact'22 congress in Poznań. "Columbus Energy [...] has entered into a framework agreement with Google Cloud Poland sp. z o.o. based in Warsaw and Saule S.A. based in Warsaw, outlining the parties' joint activities in the following areas: – strategic cooperation in the energy transformation process for Columbus clients using Saule's products, with marketing support from Google Cloud Poland, – technical and technological cooperation, by providing Columbus with tools and resources for developing growth strategies and architectures for scaling Columbus's operations in selected global markets, providing Saule with tools and resources for the development of PESL (perovskite electronic shelf label) and their mass commercialization, ultimately across all territories where the Google group of companies offers its cloud products, and preparing both companies for scaling their operations based on Google Workspace, Google Cloud, and Google Ads products" – Columbus Energy states. Furthermore, the parties have expressed their intention to undertake joint activities in the areas of research and development concerning the creation of new products for the IoT sector; information exchange on innovations and experiences within the renewable energy sector and commercial cooperation in this regard; support in securing funding for the energy and digital transformation process, as well as marketing, including the promotion of the "Green Transformation Card" developed by the Carbon Footprint Foundation operating under Columbus. The agreement defines the broad areas of cooperation, with each area to be regulated in detail through separate agreements. The agreement entered into force upon its conclusion and is valid for a period of five years. Saule Technologies is a Polish company developing a new generation of printed perovskite solar cell technology. The company was founded in 2014 by Olga Malinkiewicz – the inventor of the method – along with Piotr Krych and Artur Kupczunas. Currently, Saule Technologies boasts a team of over 50 scientists, engineers, and administrative staff from more than 17 countries. Over the past year, Saule Technologies, in collaboration with engineers from Korea, Malaysia, the United Kingdom, Singapore, and Japan, has been constructing a unique, world-first production line for printed perovskite cells. Columbus Energy is a company specializing in photovoltaic microinstallations. The company is listed on the New Connect market.

From January 1, 2023, there will be a departure from WIBOR as the benchmark for calculating loan interest rates. The primary option, assumed by the government and the KNF, is for GPW Benchmark and the banking sector to jointly develop a new benchmark. If this is not achieved in time, the Polonia rate will be adopted. – Replacing WIBOR with the Polonia rate is not the baseline scenario. It is a contingency plan in case the banking sector does not develop a method for transitioning to the benchmark developed by GPW Benchmark sufficiently early. The transition to this specific benchmark is the baseline scenario – said Jacek Jastrzębski, Chairman of the Polish Financial Supervision Authority (KNF), in an interview with Marek Chądzyński at the Impact’22 conference in Poznań. – If we fail to do this quickly enough to move away from WIBOR by January 1, 2023, we will switch to the Polonia rate – states the KNF head. According to the original schedule, WIBOR was to be withdrawn from the market in 2025 anyway. However, drastic interest rate hikes, which translate into a significant increase in WIBOR, are accelerating work on creating a new benchmark. Jastrzębski also pointed out in Poznań: – The trend of replacing benchmarks like WIBOR with rates based on overnight rates is not solely a Polish trend. A move away from WIBOR to such a rate would happen anyway, and now it will be accelerated. The Successor to WIBOR: What's It All About WIBOR is the rate used to calculate loan interest. Due to its significant volatility and dependence on interest rates, we have recently observed a sharp increase in mortgage loan installments. Consequently, as we reported in this article, government plans within the framework of assistance for borrowers repaying mortgages anticipate a quicker departure from WIBOR than previously planned. If the banking community, together with the benchmark administrator, does not establish how to replace WIBOR sufficiently early – so as to manage to move away from it in new agreements from January 1, 2023 – then the Polonia rate would be the basis for the new benchmark. Polonia is the average overnight deposit interest rate that banks place with each other. In turn, according to 300Gospodarka's information, when it comes to the direct successor to WIBOR, to be developed by GPW Benchmark, the likely candidate is WIRD – the Warsaw Deposit Market Index. This is the average interest rate for overnight deposits placed by banks, financial institutions, and large enterprises. According to the administrator, GPW Benchmark, this benchmark is not only lower than the three-month and six-month WIBOR rates, on which banks currently base interest calculations, but also lower than the Polonia rate published by the NBP. On Tuesday, May 10, the government adopted a draft law specifying the detailed principles of borrower assistance, including the departure from WIBOR from 2023 – we reported on this in this article. WIRD: Why Can't It Be Adopted Immediately? The main reason why the Polonia rate is being considered as an alternative, contingency benchmark is that WIRD, as such, could not be directly applied in loan agreements because it is a short-term rate. However, an index can be created based on it that will serve as the basis for loan interest rates, similar to the SARON rate, which replaced LIBOR at the beginning of this year for setting interest rates for, for example, Swiss franc loans. From an overnight rate, a three-month rate index can be calculated, for example, using the compound interest method. This, however, requires appropriate calculations, the development of a methodology, and the implementation of the new benchmark by the banking sector. Importantly, simulations prepared by GPW Benchmark indicate that an index based on WIRD would be lower not only than current WIBOR rates but also than a similar index created based on Polonia. The administrator conducted calculations based on data from the last five years, and throughout this entire period, WIRD (and WIRF) were significantly lower than the rate provided by the NBP. According to our information, GPW Benchmark will begin publishing the new benchmarks on May 17 or 18. The company is currently commencing consultations with the financial sector on the methodology for developing these rates.

GovTech will allocate 70 million PLN to support digital education in Polish schools. On May 11th, during the Impact'22 conference in Poznań, the ministry, together with Dell Technologies, presented what a "classroom of the future" might look like. The Ministry of Education will allocate 70 million PLN to support digital education for Polish students – in the form of financing software, presentations, or training on how to conduct classes using modern technologies. This is part of the government's "Laboratories of the Future" program, which also includes other initiatives. The aim is to facilitate and demonstrate to schools or organizations how to teach skills needed to operate advanced technologies on a daily basis. Funding for this purpose is already available, and organizations will soon be able to apply for these funds – says the government's plenipotentiary for GovTech, Justyna Orłowska, in an interview with 300Gospodarką. Orłowska is the Plenipotentiary of the Prime Minister for GovTech and the head of the GovTech Centre. Her role in the government includes supporting digital transformation. The governmental "Laboratories of the Future" project, in turn, is an educational initiative implemented by the Ministry of Education and Science in cooperation with the GovTech Centre at the Chancellery of the Prime Minister, led by Orłowska. Its goal is to support all primary schools in building future competencies among students in the so-called STEAM fields (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics). On May 11th in Poznań, during the Impact'22 conference, in collaboration with Dell Technologies, an interactive "classroom of the future" showroom was presented, demonstrating what learning new competencies might look like in practice. Children participating in the event could try out 3D printers or use equipment supporting virtual reality technologies. – This can be a model example of cooperation between administration and the private sector in the field of new technologies – said Orłowska during the press meeting accompanying the presentation of the "classroom of the future."

Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego (BGK) announced on Wednesday during the Impact congress in Poznań the establishment of the 3W Interdisciplinary Innovation Centre. The project will be established in cooperation with, among others, the AGH University of Science and Technology in Krakow and the Łukasiewicz Research Network. – This is a new chapter in how science, innovation, and business can be connected – said BGK President, Beata Daszyńska-Muzyczka. – This is an important step in joint action for climate change. Friends from numerous universities will join this consortium around issues related to 3W, meaning water, coal, and hydrogen – said a professor representing AGH. The 3W Innovation Centre is a new initiative that will connect three institutions and ensure cooperation between finance and universities. This is intended to lead to the creation of a cooperation centre that will become a hub for jointly applying for new, large projects. The agreement that will officially initiate the new project was signed on Wednesday during the Impact CEE congress.