What we managed to achieve and what still lies ahead? New Year's conversation with the Rector of Gdańsk Tech | Gdańsk University of Technology

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Date added: 2025-01-02

What we managed to achieve and what still lies ahead? New Year's conversation with the Rector of Gdańsk Tech

Rector
Prof. Krzysztof Wilde, Rector of Gdańsk University of Technology. Photo: Renata Dąbrowska/Gdańsk Tech

Have the last twelve months been a good time for Gdańsk University of Technology?

Definitely yes! This is another year of development for our university and many plans have been implemented. The end of the year is always an opportunity to sum up and I do this summing up with a smile and a sense of satisfaction. I would like to emphasize that we succeeded most in one thing. The atmosphere. Even if it sounds trite, it is the key to success for me. If we like each other, respect each other, if we smile at each other every day and feel part of the university community, work is easier and more effective. When we have good relations with each other, in situations where we have to act quickly, with an idea, cooperating and listening to each other, we know how to do it and this year has shown it once again. A university without people is just a collection of empty buildings, even if they are the most modern laboratories. And a university without motivated, inventive people who reach beyond the horizon will never be competitive nor innovative. This is exactly what we know how to do – integrate around common goals and act effectively. This is what I, as the rector, find very encouraging and pleasing.

A good example of such effective and joint actions is the Eco-innovation Center, which was opened in early December.

This is a multi-year project that has required effort and determination. The entire process, from the idea to the grand opening, took a dozen or so years, and the construction of the investment took place during an exceptionally difficult period: the pandemic and the outbreak of war in Ukraine. The prices of building materials were rising day by day, Covid restrictions delayed subsequent stages of implementation. Despite this, we succeeded and this is a success that consists of the work and commitment of many people. The number of problems that we managed to overcome with joint forces and ideas is truly countless. And I will repeat it yet again – if we did not feel the sense of this investment, had we not known how to cooperate with each other, listen to each other, we definitely wouldn’t have celebrated the opening of the Centre in December.

However, this is not the end of investments on the campus…

On the contrary, I would even say that this is the beginning of the implementation of our next, long-term project, which is the Green Campus. We will create it slowly but successively, because it requires large financial outlays and modern, architectural solutions. But it is worth waiting, because the effect will be the opening of the university to the city and the penetration of the urban fabric into our area. The Gdańsk University of Technology Campus as a green part of Wrzeszcz, where nature goes hand in hand with the latest technology, where pocket parks, rain gardens, small retention are being created, where you want to come for a walk, meet friends, where there are no fences and everyone is welcome – this is our goal.

There is a lot of work ahead of us, and we are starting in 2025, developing the area around the Eco-Innovation Centre. This will be the first step towards further actions.

We are also working intensively on opening our building on Sobieskiego Street. The Security and Defense Technology Center is already being set up in the premises of the former university library. Laboratories for scientists and offices for the administrative staff of the Center are being equipped. The next stage is to modernize the entire building, together with the so-called director's villa. This will be a multifunctional space, intended for both our students and scientists. More protolabs, interactive rooms and laboratories will appear.

We are also slowly preparing for the initial work on the premises of the Academic Sports Center, where a sports and entertainment hall is to be built, which will serve not only the university, but also the residents of the Tri-City.

In 2024, the University of Technology moved up 100 places in the prestigious Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU), the so-called Shanghai Ranking. We are there for the fifth time in a row.

This is yet another proof that the work of the entire academic community of Gdańsk University of Technology brings tangible results. We were classified the highest among all technical universities in Poland. However, this situation may change in 2025. The Shanghai Ranking is an unusual list: entering or staying in it is guaranteed, for example, by having a scientist with a Nobel Prize or publications in the most important world scientific journals: "Science" or "Nature". Scientists with a specialization in engineering and technology, and there are most of them at Gdańsk University of Technology, have really minimal chances of publishing in such a journal, because their research does not fit the profile of these titles. That is why rankings are important and we always try to be as high in them as possible, but it should be the effect, not the goal of our activity.

And it is the Research Impact Leaders Award, granted by Elsevier - a global company dealing with information analysis, that is the effect of the publishing activity of scientists from Gdańsk University of Technology.

We received this prestigious award in two categories: "Engineering and Technology" and "Life Sciences / Agricultural Sciences", but we also had the most nominations among all universities, as many as four in six categories. In the area of "Engineering and Technologies", the fact that the works of authors from Gdańsk University of Technology were cited above the world average was appreciated, over 10% of them were in the first decile of the most frequently cited articles, and over 20% were published in the top 10% of journals. That is why it is worth doing your own thing, regardless of whether it will gain us points in a given ranking or not necessarily, because it simply may not fit the nature of our work. The most important thing in a scientist's career is the impact that their research can have on the socio-economic environment and this should be the main motive of our research work.

That is why a special think tank is being created at Gdańsk University of Technology...

It is called ‘Impact PG’ and it includes scientists, but also employees dealing with implementation and cooperation with entrepreneurs. If we want to be competitive, innovative and have an impact on our reality and the socio-economic environment, we must act effectively and in response to the needs of this environment. Hence the think tank, which is to be aware of these needs and set the directions of research so that it brings measurable benefits.

So far, Gdańsk University of Technology has not felt the effects of the demographic decline, which is already visible in Poland. In 2024, we were once again among the top universities most often chosen by candidates for studies. Can next year change this?

Those universities that do not develop and do not respond to the needs of young people may fear the effects of the demographic decline. We have long been investing in teaching and creating study programs in such a way that they are not only interesting for our students, but also provide them with specific skills and competencies that will allow them to find their place on the job market. That is why we created the Center for Innovative Education, that is why our lecturers learn how to change their classes to make them attractive and students get the most out of them.

The demographic decline causes the laws of the market to start working, where quality ultimately wins over quantity. And it is precisely the care for quality – both teaching and scientific - that guides our actions. I know that young people can see and appreciate this.

Finally – personal dream of the Rector for Gdańsk University of Technology. What would make you most happy in 2025?

Multi-year business agreements with external partners who focus on innovation in their industry and see the need for long-term cooperation with scientists. That is, regular research programs with companies with good and transparent financing, enabling research and implementation work on innovative solutions or inventions. I dream of Gdańsk University of Technology as a university in the role of a research hub, providing constant technological and technical support and proposing innovations that are then implemented and used for the development of the region, Poland and Europe.

Unfortunately, this is not a popular model of cooperation between science and business in Poland or even in Central and Eastern Europe. This is what happens in Western Europe, for example in Scandinavia, where large technology companies are often established near the university, which supports them as a research center, in return receiving constant funding for R&D activities. I am daydreaming here, but building social prosperity, hand in hand with business and local government, by co-creating world-beating, top companies, is something that Gdańsk University of Technology should strive for.

And by the way, for this new year, I would like to wish the entire community and myself predictability of tomorrow, because these days it is a luxury idea. May in 2025, in addition to health and happiness, each of you also have peace and a sense of security for these and future years. In such a climate and a good, friendly atmosphere, we will cope with everything, and maybe even realize one of our dreams.

Thank you very much for the interview.

Interviewed by Barbara Kuklińska-Nowak from the Promotion and Press Release Office

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