Director of the UG Office of Science, dr Katarzyna Świerk, has been awarded this year's Stars of Internationalisation in the Star of Development category! This is an award for people who have contributed most to the internationalisation of Polish universities.

‘This is a great distinction and a great joy for me. But it is also a motivator to keep doing more and better and to look far into the future because the road to academic excellence is very long and bumpy,' said the winner. 'This award recognises my activities in recent years, which would not have been possible without the openness and trust of the rector's authorities. It is, in fact, an award for all of us, for the University of Gdańsk, which I have the honour to represent.’

The award chapter highlighted the diversity of dr Katarzyna Świerk's activities, who at the same time heads the UG Office of Science and is the UG Plenipotentiary for Open Access to Scientific Publications. In addition, the laureate has dealt with theoretical and practical problems of higher education for several years. She works with the Institute for Higher Education Development and is a certified EU auditor for HR Excellence in Research and Horizon 2020/Horizon Europe.

In this year's edition, awards were presented in nine categories. The winners' contributions to, among other things, promotion, education or management in the field of internationalisation were recognised. The awards were received by vice-chancellors, deans, academics and administrative staff of universities from all over Poland.

This is the seventh edition of the prestigious Star of Internationalisation award, granted as part of the Study in Poland programme, an initiative carried out by the Educational Foundation 'Perspektywy' and the Conference of Rectors of Academic Schools in Poland. ‘The award promotes people who open our higher education institutions to other experiences and cultures,' says Waldemar Siwiński, founder of the Perspektywy Educational Foundation. ‘It is an important community distinction because the work put into the internationalisation of universities is often overlooked, yet it is of great value.’

In last year's edition, the title of Management Star went to the Vice-Rector for International Cooperation, dr hab. Anna Jurkowska-Zeidler, prof. UG. The jury paid particular attention to the organisation of the 'Solidarity with Ukraine' conference and the micro-grant project for Ukrainian scientists.