The last decade of the Doctoral Forum of Polish Universities (DFUP) was summed up by the organisation's members during a three-day meeting at the University of Gdańsk. At the opening of the jubilee meeting, the Vice-Rector for International Cooperation, dr hab. Anna Jurkowska-Zeidler, prof. UG emphasised the importance of student and doctoral voices for the university’s development and congratulated the Forum on ten years of operation.
The session was chaired by DFUP President Sebastian Barczak, a doctoral student in the Doctoral School of Humanities and Social Sciences at UG, who pointed to cooperation as the basis for the functioning of the doctoral community, both in the field of professional associations and in collaboration within the National Representation of Doctoral Students.
The three-day meeting resulted, among other things, in the appointment of an Advisory Board consisting of the Vice-Rector for Science and International Cooperation of the University of Białystok, prof. dr hab. Izabela Święcicka, Editor-in-Chief of the Journal for young researchers 'Progress' and one of the founders of the DFUP, dr Dominik Bień from the University of Gdańsk, legal advisor and former President of the DFUP, dr Dominik Delczyk, and two-time President of the National Representation of Doctoral Students Jarosław Olszewski. During the meeting, appointments were handed out to current members.
During the panel 'DFUP - yesterday, today, tomorrow', the origins of the organisation, founded ten years ago, were mentioned. The DFUP was founded by a small group of people from several universities and, at the time, had no budget or organisational structure. Dominik Bień and Piotr Syczak from the University of Gdańsk talked about the first activities undertaken by the Forum, including preparing a report on the position of doctoral students, which drew attention to the difficult financial situation of young researchers. The activities of the first authorities and subsequent terms of office of the Forum led to the development of an organisation whose voice is vital not only in the doctoral community. During the panel, there was also a discussion on the development of the DFUP to date and the organisation's prospects.
The President of the National Representation of Doctoral Students mgr inż. Michał Klimczyk also spoke, describing the recent legal changes related to, among other things, extending the deadline for terminating doctoral studies, extending the deadline for completing doctoral dissertations, submitting a dissertation and lifting the ban on employing a doctoral student as an academic teacher.
The meeting participants also had the opportunity to visit the campus in Oliwa and the Seal Sanctuary in Hel. In the opinion of the President of the DFUP, the meeting was successful; Gdańsk is one of the most critical places on the doctoral map of Poland and will undoubtedly be the venue for future meetings.
