Local government officials from Tricity and the surrounding area gathered around the idea of creating a metropolitan district in our region and took part in the 11th Metropolitan New Year's Meeting. This time it was held in the University of Gdańsk Library, which symbolically emphasised the links between our university and the socio-economic environment and the important role it plays in the sustainable development of the region.

The year 2025 is a special year for both the UG and the Gdańsk-Gdynia-Sopot Metropolitan Area (OMGGS), a fact that resonated repeatedly in the speeches of the assembled guests. For the University, this is the jubilee year of its 55th anniversary, while for the OMGGS, it may turn out to be a landmark year with the passing of the metropolitan law.

‘I can confirm: we are in the final stages of working on a metropolitan law for the Pomeranian Metropolis. I firmly believe that this spring will be ours and I wish us continued cooperation of this kind,' said Deputy Minister of the Interior and Administration Tomasz Szymański, who was present at the meeting and thanked all the local government officials and partners involved for their titanic work.

‘This is the second time we have met in the hospitable surroundings of the University of Gdańsk Library,’ said Aleksandra Dulkiewicz, the Mayor of Gdańsk. ‘This shows how strongly the scientific community is involved in building the metropolis.’

Michał Glaser, President of the Management Board of the Gdańsk-Gdynia-Sopot Metropolitan Area Association, introduced the attendees to the report on the activities of the OMGGS for the year 2024 (made available to the guests in full in hard copy), and talked about the upcoming plans and goals:

‘The metropolis is the municipalities and counties, but not only; the metropolis is the cooperation of local governments with the region, the metropolis is the region, the state, business and universities - because the metropolis is our common good,’ he said. ‘Such an assumption lies at the heart of the metropolis' strategy, which is based on three ambitious goals: we want to become a metropolis of knowledge, a European port of new ideas and the best place to live.’

Among the specific tasks facing the OMGGS were the optimisation of public transport, the creation of an energy hub based on wind farms and nuclear power, facing the climate challenge together, fostering innovation, as well as social issues such as the integration of migrant women and migrants. Many of these naturally fit in with the University of Gdańsk's strategic objectives related to the social responsibility of science, support for the idea of equality, the development of offshore wind energy, or R&D activities. President Michał Glaser also drew attention to the extremely important role played not only in the region but in the whole country by the two seaports located within our metropolitan area, which account for over 13% of Poland's GDP. There is no doubt about the importance of the Baltic Sea for Poland, and there is no doubt that the University of Gdańsk has made a major contribution to its research and protection, according to the UG motto: In mari via tua.

‘Madam President promised you that things would really be happening in 2025, but I can say that things have already been happening at the University since the first days of the new year, as we have entered the celebrations of the University's 55th anniversary, into which we are also symbolically fitting this meeting,' said UG Rector prof. dr hab. Piotr Stepnowski. ‘It is a great honour and privilege to welcome you to the University of Gdańsk, especially to this building, to the Main Library of our university, which apart from its traditional role - the reading room and the book collection - also performs other functions. For many years we have been trying to make it a special place: a venue for cultural, artistic and scientific events, a place for permanent and temporary exhibitions, a place for theatre performances and meetings. I speak of this new library formula for a reason, because it is a change that we are all experiencing. Universities are changing, but cities are also changing, spaces are changing, society is changing and challenges are changing. To these changes we as universities must adapt. That is why we are extremely grateful to be able to collaborate with the Metropolitan Area on this big project that we perceive from a “think big” perspective.’

The Rector emphasised that we think about the university in the context of the development of the whole region: it is the universities that are the engines of change and innovation, providing the necessary knowledge and modern solutions to the challenges of the present day. He also noted that, thanks to the university, the metropolis is fed by talented people from all over the country who come to study at UG and often stay here. At the end of his speech, Prof. Piotr Stepnowski mentioned that it might be worth starting to think about transforming the University of Gdańsk into a Metropolitan University, especially in the context of the planned federalisation of the Fahrenheit University: ‘This could be a pilot programme for Poland - and we have known for a long time that everything starts in Gdańsk,’ he said.

The fundamental importance of multidimensional cooperation for the development of the metropolis and how important it is - also in the educational process - to prepare our citizens for the changes to come was also stressed in his speech by the Marshal of the Pomorskie Voivodeship, Mieczysław Struk.

The ceremony was highlighted by a performance by the Gdańsk Academic Orchestra, which, as its conductor and conductor Marcin Janek pointed out, is itself metropolitan in character, as it brings together students from various Tricity universities. The assembled guests were also able to watch the premiere screening of a jubilee film documenting 55 years of the history of the University of Gdańsk.