Raising the standard of services provided to foreigners at the University of Gdańsk by increasing the linguistic competence of the administrative staff, creating a Welcome Centre and Welcome Point - places of comprehensive services for the foreign part of the academic community, and introducing foreigners to Polish culture - these are the main objectives of the project entitled 'Hello, nice to SEA-EU! Welcome to the University of Gdańsk, European Maritime University'. The project received funding from the Welcome to Poland Programme (NAWA), and its manager is mgr Dominika Brulińska from the UG International Cooperation Office.

The University of Gdańsk pursues a strategy of increasing internationalisation, which results in participation in the European University of the Seas-SEA-EU project. The growing number of foreigners studying and working at the university encourages continuous improvement in the quality of services offered to them.

- 'The main objective of the project "Hello, nice to SEA-EU! Welcome to the University of Gdańsk, the European Maritime University" is to raise the standard of services provided to foreigners and the prestige of UG by increasing the language competencies of the staff, making it easier for foreigners to function in Polish and university life, as well as familiarising foreigners with Polish culture and enhancing the image of UG as an open and friendly university for people from abroad,' - says mgr Dominika Brulńska, Head of the International Cooperation Office of UG.

These goals will be achieved by creating a Welcome Centre and Welcome Point at UG, running English language workshops for UG administrative staff, organising training on the employment of foreigners and the verification of foreign diplomas. In addition, guides and safety cards will be prepared in English, and the university campus will be marked. There are plans to organise 'Days of Polish Culture'.

- 'An analysis of the problems and needs of foreign students studying in Pomerania (including UG) conducted in 2017 revealed the key problems they face. Among them are: difficulty in administrative and formal issues (e.g. legalisation of stay in Poland), difficulty in socio-cultural adaptation, language barriers of university staff (report "Potential of the Pomeranian Voivodeship to attract students from outside the region" commissioned by the Pomeranian Voivodeship Self-Government),' - says Dominika Brulińska. - 'Therefore, our project aims to solve these difficulties through a series of specific, previously mentioned activities.'

The project will be implemented between 01.05.2022 and 30.04.2023, and the funding received for this purpose from the NAWA programme amounts to nearly PLN 400 thousand.