Three years of research universities in Poland. IDUB conference in Gdańsk | Gdańsk University of Technology

In 2019, the Ministry of Education and Science conducted the first competition under the "Excellence Initiative - Research Universities" program. Selection of the winners of the first IDUB competition was a turning point for higher education and science system in Poland. Gdańsk University of Technology took second place in the country in this competition and was ranked highest among technical universities.

The progress review conferences have been held every year since then at a different university. Previous IDUB reporting conferences were held at University of Warsaw (2020) and at Jagiellonian University (2021). Thanks to IDUB, top ten universities selected in the ministerial competition receive a subsidy increased by 10% each year (until 2026 inclusive), and universities that took places 11-20 receive an additional 2 percent.

Universities use additional, multi-million funds mainly by opening programs that support the competences of scientists, as well as their research projects. Gdańsk University of Technology has so far used over PLN 30 million for all activities under the IDUB program. Such support allowed i.a. to open 30 programs supporting scientists and their research work, organize three international conferences, create international research teams and establish wider research cooperation with the countries of the Baltic Sea region. Part of the funds was also allocated to modernization of research and teaching infrastructure.

First day of the conference

– We can all unequivocally state that the distinction in the IDUB program was not only a great appreciation of the previous achievements of our universities, but also the beginning of new opportunities for dynamic development and presentation of their full potential - said Prof. Krzysztof Wilde, rector of Gdańsk University of Technology. – Transformation into a legitimate research university is a long process, requiring not only a lot of work and consistency, but also significant financial resources. Here in Gdańsk, thanks to close cooperation with the ministry, we have built lasting and solid foundations for such a transformation. In addition to programs supporting our researchers, who are now broadening their knowledge and competences in international institutions, we regularly host international researchers and experts who transfer their knowledge to young researchers, doctoral students and students.

Apart from the Rector of Gdańsk University of Technology, we could listen to introductory speeches of Wojciech Murdzek, the secretary of the Ministry of Education and Science, and Prof. Lauritz Broder Holm-Nielsen, chairman of the team of experts under the IDUB program, co-author of the report on the Polish system of science and higher education.

– The 20 Polish universities awarded in the "Initiative of Excellence - Research Universities" program are the elite of the academic community in Poland, emphasized Wojciech Murdzek. - I am glad we have the opportunity to summarize past achievements, but also to set the direction of future actions in order to achieve the goal set out in the act, i.e. "improving the quality of science and university management". Our universities should be known in Europe and globally thanks to the high quality of education, didactics, research, and cooperation with the international research community and business.

­– When being in the middle of the process of change, it is sometimes difficult to assess whether all activities are going in the planned direction - emphasized Prof. Lauritz Broder Holm-Nielsen, associated with developing the IDUB program from the very beginning. – Therefore, we meet in a wide group to look at them from different perspectives. IDUB is a long-term process that requires a lot of commitment. It is also very well prepared and we can already see that its basic assumption, i.e. stimulation of development and changes, works perfectly. We are not even at the halfway point, and we have already managed to make progress at the level of university management, creating a scientific environment conducive to researchers, or the way of transferring knowledge – added Prof. Nielsen.

Next part of the 1^st day of the conference involved four discussion panels, attended by a total of twenty scientists - representatives of Polish research universities and foreign experts from Denmark, Hungary, Romania, Norway and Great Britain.

Topics of the panels:

1. Strengthening collaboration with the global academic community.
2. Searching for an appropriate research field: changing the research profile due to the potential of the university, current, global challenges and emerging opportunities.
3. Striving for sustainable progress in the process of implementing the mission of universities.
4. Working out effective and efficient development programs for employees.

Prof. Peter Maassen from the University of Oslo, who led the first discussion, said that science is neither local nor national. It is global. And we must work on redefining the models of international cooperation, create multilateralism, and create new relationships with other institutions. Cooperation of equal partners in the equal world of science - this is what we should strive for and work on.

Second day of the conference

On the second day of the conference, researchers discussed, among others, the integration and consolidation of Polish science and higher education system. The introductory speech on that day was given by Prof. Arkadiusz Adamczyk, chairman of the Scientific Policy Committee.

The second day of the conference began with a speech by Prof. Arkadiusz Adamczyk, chairman of the Scientific Policy Committee at the Ministry of Education and Science, who briefly presented the priorities of the scientific policy.

– This conference is part of the goals that guide the Scientific Policy Committee - said Prof. Arkadiusz Adamczyk. - [...] The Committee listens carefully to the voice of the research community and the outcomes of these three conferences will be taken into account in future work – assured Prof. Adamczyk.

Then Prof. Simon Gaskell led a discussion panel "Integration and consolidation of the Polish science and higher education system", attended by Prof. Przemysław Wojtaszek, Vice-Rector for Research Projects and Doctoral Studies at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, Prof. Marcin Moniuszko, Vice-Rector for Science and Development at the Medical University of Bialystok, Prof. Krzysztof Wilde, Rector of Gdańsk University of Technology and Prof. Przemysław Żywiczyński, chairman of the IDUB coordinating team from the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń. The experiences of universities related to the integration process, as well as cooperation networks and forming alliances with European universities were discussed during the panels.

Prof. Krzysztof Wilde, Rector of Gdańsk Tech, discussed the experiences of Gdańsk related to consolidation of universities, presenting individual activities implemented as part of the Fahrenheit Universities, including debates at three universities, work on the FarU logo, organization of the Fahrenheit Picnic.

– Currently, Gdańsk University of Technology is classified in the Shanghai ranking in the range of 801-900. As union of three universities, we are able to reach the range between 501-600 and gain greater recognition in the world. [...] Consolidation is important, we are working to convince the community of the benefits it brings - emphasized Prof. Krzysztof Wilde.

The expert panel chaired by Prof. Lauritz Holm-Nielsen was attended by: Prof. Éva Kondorosi, Prof. Peter Maassen, Mariana Chioncel, PhD and Prof. Simon Gaskell. The experts discussed, among others, the progress made by universities participating in the IDUB program, solutions developed in other countries, as well as the challenges faced by Polish research universities. It was highlighted during the discussions that IDUB gave the universities an incentive to intensify their research efforts, and many examples of university innovations were provided at the conference.

Then, following the recommendations of experts for universities participating in the program, host of the event Rector Krzysztof Wilde, thanked the participants for participation in the conference, in particular the experts, members of the international research efficiency committee and representatives of the ministry and university employees involved in the organization of the event.

Wojciech Murdzek, secretary of the Ministry of Education and Science, spoke at the end of the second day of the conference.

– I am convinced that all the conclusions, observations and reflections of this year's progress review conference, the previous ones in Warsaw and Krakow and the future ones, will make it possible to prepare even better for the interim evaluation and build good experiences for the entire program. [….] Thank you for the work you have done and let's continue this mission of excellence, the mission of research universities - summed up Wojciech Murdzek.