海角大神

One of the clearest illustrations of 鈥渂rain gain鈥� in Poland comes from the southern city of Krakow which is experiencing a mini-boom in information technology 鈥� at a time when much of Europe鈥檚 tech scene is in a windless ocean.

The global reverse migration 鈥� turning brain drain to brain gain in many countries 鈥� is obvious here: Some 70 IT and multinational firms have opened, employing 20,000 skilled workers 鈥� Poles and foreigners alike. Cisco opened in May, and its 90-person staff will soon climb to 500. Google moved an R&D office here. State Street, Capgemeni and Lufthansa, Shell, Brown Brothers, and Philip Morris, to name a few, are all present.

The hopeful call Krakow a small Silicon Valley of Central Europe. And the buzz here is a magnet for brain gain: It鈥檚 a small oasis of Polish bohemia with 14 colleges and universities, and a bar-arts-and-film scene, and 鈥� not destroyed like Warsaw in World War II 鈥� it retains its Austro-Hungarian architectural charm.

In reporting for 海角大神鈥檚 鈥渂rain gain鈥� project, I met a cluster of young and bright reverse migrants here in a translucent glass-and-steel tech-park. Recent-hires at the British firm Element14, an online interface provider for electronic parts sales, they are part of the vanguard of Poland鈥檚 brain gain. Their profiles tell as much about this city鈥檚 bright future as the vibrant draw it is at the moment.

Jaroslaw Grabon, a software engineer, was born in Poland, but his family moved to Germany. Now, in an admittedly 鈥渨renching鈥� decision, he鈥檚 come back to Krakow, leaving a flat and friends in Munich. He says he got a call from a Krakow headhunter for Shell, and decided, out of curiosity and interest in the country, to move back.

鈥淚 felt better in Poland than Germany in ways I can鈥檛 easily explain, but it was a big decision. I left the whole family. I sent out 120 CVs and got 80 positive replies. Gdansk was a possibility but I decided on Shell. Then moved here [to Element14].鈥�

Alessandro Lombardi couldn鈥檛 get work in his native Italy 鈥� but, here, he鈥檚 wired-in.

Tomasz Wasilewski worked in Warsaw for a Silicon Valley firm that employed many people like him, offspring of 茅migr茅 Poles who went abroad earlier. But he was sold on Krakow and moved here, partly because of the Krakow buzz and partly for the experience.

A young Finnish woman, Marianne Kuukkanen, arrived this year and says that the city鈥檚 multicultural environment requires looking 鈥渕ore closely at oneself, and I think this has made me more efficient and aware at my job and with others.鈥�

They report that the multicultural work environment, the new business models being employed, and the need to stay current in tech developments pipe a new and different mentality into Krakow.

鈥淓veryone who is here can move somewhere else if they want, to any other site. We are not bound by nationality. Poles who return have a much bigger influence than elsewhere and they know this. It is a factor in their choice. Because it is a smaller setting,鈥� says Wojciech Burkot, of his hometown, Krakow. He, himself, is a part of the Krakow buzz as head of Google鈥檚 R&D unit here, a reverse IT migrant who came home after years abroad to wrestling with increasing Google鈥檚 search engine speed.

The Krakow setting is key to drawing 鈥減eople smarter than us that [keep] the company growing 鈥� and improving, says Mr. Burkot.

鈥淚t鈥檚 all city, city, city,鈥� says Ramon Tancinco, head of strategy and business development in central Europe for Cisco. He spent two years on a team deciding where to locate the office, and landed on Krakow. 鈥淲e look at regions not countries, and Krakow is at an East-West corridor and in a stable EU country. When you bake in the student population, that鈥檚 very strong.鈥�

Indeed, the area is low income and high education 鈥� some 400,000 students live in the corridor between Krakow and Wroclaw 鈥� giving it a dense population base that overseas firms call 鈥渟ustainable advantage.鈥� And the city鈥檚 old square with its 11th and 14th century churches and charms and endless cafes are not lost on firms. For example, Kazimierz, the old Jewish quarter made famous in the film Schindler鈥檚 List, is rid of its postwar thuggish character and is a cultural center.

The city鈥檚 international draw, too, is key, says Elaine Barnes, a senior manager at Element14. 鈥淲e need 23 languages in one city. English is the business language, German is No. 2. We looked at Hungary and Finland, Sweden, and Poland. The Czech Republic. We couldn鈥檛 find the breadth of language anywhere else [but Krakow].鈥�

The ferment of brain gain among European youth and IT wonks and mavens may be in the air. Yet 鈥� like visiting any school classroom to 鈥渟ee鈥� education 鈥� it is often difficult to instantly quantify something as amorphous as 鈥渂rain gain鈥� taking place.

Google鈥檚 Burkot suggests that brain gain is 鈥渋ncremental in Poland.鈥�

His colleague Tancinco thinks he sees it, though. 鈥淭he empirical evidence of gain in Krakow is that when I came here four years ago there was one venture capitalist. Now there are six or seven. That is a barometer. Venture capitalists need to see a talent pool of emerging firms with good ideas or they won鈥檛 come. You need to see an incubation, a pool of start ups to be the next 鈥榳hatever.鈥� 鈥�

And, another plus for Krakow鈥檚 continued boom is that hasn鈥檛 recorded the corporate horror stories heard nearby out of Ukraine or Russia. There is less mafia and corruption. 鈥淕o east of here and it is a wilder ride,鈥� says one analyst.

鈥淭here is no support for gangsters here, I鈥檝e never been shaken down or been told to give a bribe,鈥� says Richard Lucas, a British citizen who owns 11 companies in Krakow and has been here 21 years.

One bit of learning gained by Mr. Wasilewski, who moved from Warsaw (Poles may seek work overseas but are often reticent to move internally) to Krakow, is about practice. He assumed there was a set of general rules applicable everywhere in the industry he works. But he found out differently.

The US firm he worked for in Warsaw stressed getting jobs done simply. 鈥淭hey wanted us not to make work complicated by adding structure, but to be efficient and nice to the customer. The focus on being direct and pleasant was a big thing to learn,鈥� he says. 鈥淭hat was new."

鈥淏ut they have a different way of resolving client problems than the European firm I work with now. The Americans wanted me to be a buffer, to dissolve problems. But this European firm wants client problems reported directly to the front line. They say, 鈥榩ut us in direct touch, don鈥檛 filter.鈥欌��

Tancinco from Cisco suggests that Krakow鈥檚 advantages are growing geometrically as hires from abroad accumulate here. The bulk of new hires 鈥渟pent time overseas,鈥� he says, and they add breadth to local know-how and an intangible element that allows them to be effective in a multinational company.

鈥淲ith a broader perspective, you learn to work around problems, not to take 鈥榥o,鈥� or to treat petty issues as final 鈥� [whereas] working around problems is more difficult if you don鈥檛 have a broader view.鈥�

He adds a caveat: 鈥淲hat I haven鈥檛 yet seen are professors starting companies. At MIT, everyone has a side business. In Poland, it is still either-or, business or classroom. Silicon Valley is all about 鈥楢nd.鈥�"

鈥淏ut this may change.聽We鈥檒l see.鈥�