The first part of the event included the official opening of the first call for applications. Paweł Pacek, Director of the Technology Development Office of the Industrial Development Agency JSC, which is responsible for creating the ecosystem and partnerships in the incubator ESA BIC Poland, said, "As ESA BIC Poland, we want to help young successful companies reach for the stars and catch the future 'stars' of space - that's why our slogan is Catch the Star."

Speakers on the ESA BIC CEE panel, 'How to succeed with ESA BIC ", included: Anna Arató - ESA BIC Hungary, Michal Kunes - ESA BIC Czech Republic and Jeremija Hranjec - ESA BIC Austria. The moderator of the meeting was Michal Chwieduk - ESA BIC Poland.

At the conference, the offer of the incubator ESA BIC Poland and all partners forming this initiative was presented. Start-ups had the opportunity to learn about the incubation process and the benefits of the incubation manager’s supervision who coordinates the process. There was also time to make new business contacts and meet the people who make up the ESA BIC Poland family.

The European Space Agency Business Incubators (ESA BICs) are the largest network of business incubators in Europe. Their goal is to support and inspire early-stage entrepreneurs with space-related ventures.

Through the incubation process, these ventures become commercially viable solutions. ESA BIC provides support in the form of non-repayable funding, business space, and business and technology consulting in various segments of the space industry. It is worth noting that ESA BIC Poland is the 26th centre established within the ESA BIC network.

Innovators and entrepreneurs from all over Poland can apply for the incubator. The incubator itself is operated in two cities - Warsaw and Rzeszów. The activities of ESA BIC Poland are implemented and coordinated by the Industrial Development Agency JSC in cooperation with the incubation centres in Warsaw and Rzeszów. The incubation process in Warsaw is managed by the Foundation for Technological Entrepreneurship, while Brain Embassy provides office space for the newly established companies. In Rzeszów, both the incubation process and the provision of office space are handled by Rzeszowska Agencja Rozwoju Regionalnego S.A..

Micro, small or medium-sized enterprises operating on the market for no more than five years and developing products or services based on space technologies or specialising in this sector can apply for the ESA BIC Poland programme.

The package of services offered within the framework of the ESA BIC Poland incubator for SMEs includes:

- non-repayable financing of up to EUR 50,000 for product or service development,

- technical support for up to 80 hours

- business development support, and mentoring for up to 50 hours,

- access to office space and technical infrastructure for the duration of the incubation period,

- legal advice for up to 10 hours,

- the right to use the ESA BIC brand,

- access to the international network of the ESA BIC community,

- international promotion of the project.

To be accepted for incubation in ESA BIC Poland, the applicant must present a business idea related to the space industry, i.e., propose the use of technologies from the space sector for the needs of other industries (spin-off) or the use of technologies used in other industries for the needs of the space industry (spin-in).

Recruitment will be continuous. In a year, 2 dates are scheduled for evaluation of submitted applications. The next scheduled evaluation date is April 14, 2023. Application materials will be made available on esabic.com on January 20, 2023.