The University of Gdańsk has won the European Universities - Alliances of the Future competition in the Support for Ukraine category. At the European Universities Conference in Warsaw, the award was received by the Rector, prof. Piotr Stepnowski.
Sharing experiences and taking joint initiatives leading to the development of long-term, structural, sustainable and systemic cooperation in education, research and innovation across Europe are the objectives behind the European Universities Conference, a new initiative dedicated to alliances of higher education institutions from across the European Union.
The culmination of the conference's first edition was the award ceremony for the European Universities - Alliances of the Future competition. The National Agency of the Erasmus+ Programme and the European Solidarity Corps announced the competition's winners. Nominations were awarded in five areas: personality, innovation, cooperation with the socio-economic environment, Erasmus+ excellence, and support for Ukraine.
The main prize in the category Support for Ukraine was awarded to the University of Gdańsk and was received from the hands of the Deputy Minister of Culture of Ukraine by the Rector of the University of Gdańsk, prof. Piotr Stepnowski.
During his speech, prof. Piotr Stepnowski spoke about the UG's involvement in, among other things, international cooperation, linguistic and cultural diversity, interdisciplinarity, inter-sectoralism and equal opportunities in access to education.
Our university has carried out and continues to carry out several support activities. We hosted children of soldiers fighting in the war. Twice - in May last year (read here) and in April this year (read here) - together with NAWA, we hosted an international conference, 'Solidarity with Ukraine, the aim of which was not only to express support for our eastern friends but also to systematise aid activities for the academic community there and to evaluate the past year of aid, the programmes implemented and to determine further actions in this regard.
The organisers of the Warsaw conference also nominated the Vice-Rector for International Cooperation, dr hab. Anna Jurkowska-Zeidler, prof. UG, for the award in the 1. Personality category.
The Jury included: dr Anna Budzanowska - Champion ESOF 2024 - EuroScience Open Forum, Waldemar Siwiński - Founder of the Educational Foundation Perspektywy, and dr hab. Paweł Poszytek - General Director of the National Agency of the Erasmus+ Programme and the European Solidarity Corps, Bartosz Stawiarz - Director of the Office for Cooperation with the Regions and the Office for Erasmus+ Sport.
The Conference of European Universities is addressed to rectors of HEIs in Poland which belong to European University Consortia, as well as to representatives of academic circles aspiring to participate in European University Alliances - i.e. all rectors, deans, coordinators, heads of departments interested in the initiative of internationalisation of HEIs.
