During a ceremonial gala accompanying the conference ‘International Students in Poland 2025’, prizes were awarded to the best foreign students studying in our country and to people connected with the academic community who support the internationalisation of Polish universities in a special way. Dr hab. Danuta Gutowska-Owsiak, prof. UG from the Intercollegiate Faculty of Biotechnology UG and MUG, was among those awarded with the Stars of Internationalisation.

The ‘Foreign Students in Poland’ conference is held annually as part of the ‘Study in Poland’ programme and is co-organised by the Educational Foundation ‘Perspektywy’, the Conference of Rectors of Academic Schools in Poland (CRASP) and a selected Polish higher education institution. In 2025, the honour of co-hosting the conference fell to the University of Gdańsk, symbolically combining two anniversaries: The 20th anniversary of the Study in Poland programme and the 55th anniversary of the University of Gdańsk.

The Internationalisation Gala took place in the beautiful interiors of the Gdańsk Shakespeare Theatre, which is a special place for the academic community of the University of Gdańsk because of the late Professor Jerzy Limon, a long-standing lecturer at the Faculty of Languages of the University of Gdańsk, as well as the initiator and first director of the GST.

'It is no coincidence that we are meeting at the Gdansk Shakespeare Theatre, a place created by Professor Jerzy Limon. Professor Limon perfectly reflected the values of this conference: he was a dreamer and a visionary who believed that an Elizabethan stage could be rebuilt in Gdańsk,' said UG Rector prof. dr hab. Piotr Stepnowski, welcoming the guests, among whom were representatives of ministries, local authorities, and the diplomatic corps. The Rector and the guests were greeted by prof. Bogumiła Kaniewska, President of CRASP and Rector of Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, and Waldemar Siwiński, President and founder of the Perspektywy Educational Foundation.

The focal point of the ceremony was the awarding of prizes to the winners of the INTERSTUDENT and Stars of Internationalisation competitions.

INTERSTUDENT 2025

The INTERSTUDENT awards were presented for the fifteenth time. The chapter traditionally honoured three students in the basic categories: undergraduate studies, master's studies and doctoral studies. Four special awards were also granted. Ambitious international students who achieve excellent academic results, but above all who are involved in the life of their academic community and who have decided to associate their education with Poland, were recognised.

Winners and recipients of the INTERSTUDENT 2025 competition:

• Kateryna Fadieva from Ukraine, a student at the Jagiellonian University in Kraków (category: Bachelor's studies)
• Gregory Phelan from Ireland, a student at the Warsaw University of Life Sciences (category: Master's studies)
• Safya Elsharkawy from Egypt, a doctoral student at the AGH University of Science and Technology in Krakow (category: Doctoral studies)
• Hatice Kübra Öz from Turkey, a student at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań (special award) - for activities promoting women's rights
• Anastasiia Kononenko from Ukraine, a student at the Technical University of Łódź (special award) - for outstanding achievements in the use of modern technologies
• Nasim Mondal from India, doctoral student at the University of Warsaw (special award) - for outstanding research on migrants and promoting Polish universities abroad
• Michail Koutentakis from Greece, a student at the Medical University of Warsaw (special award) - for world-class research and commitment to universal access to medical services

In their speeches, all award winners highlighted what an open, hospitable and safe country Poland is. The students also appreciated the quality and diversity of Poland's educational offer, emphasising that the education they receive in our country meets the highest international standards.

‘The quality of education we receive is excellent,’ said Gregory Phelan. ‘Irish employers highly value graduates with a diploma from a Polish university.'

INTERNATIONALISATION STARS 2025

The statues for the ‘Stars of Internationalisation’ were awarded for the eighth time this year. The purpose of this prestigious community award is to honour individuals associated with the academic community who have made special contributions to the internationalisation of Polish higher education institutions. The award was presented in nine categories: Teaching Star (the sponsor of the award is the National Agency for Academic Exchange, which was represented at the presentation of the statuette by its director dr Wojciech Karczewski), Research Star, Management Star, Marketing Star, Rising Star (the sponsor of the awards in these four categories is the Foundation for the Development of the Education System, represented by Director Mirosław Marczewski), Development Star, Public Diplomacy Star, Science Diplomacy Star (the sponsor of the awards in these categories is the IREG Observatory on Academic Ranking and Excellence, represented by Waldemar Siwiński, President of IREG) and Distinguished Star.

Winners and recipients of the Star of Internationalisation 2025 award:

• Prof. Małgorzata Włodarczyk-Biegun from the Biotechnology Centre of the Silesian University of Technology (Research Star).
• Prof. Katarzyna Antosz from the Faculty of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering at Rzeszów University of Technology (Star of Education)
• Edyta Lachowicz-Santos, Director of the Internationalisation Office at the University of Economics in Katowice (Management Star)
• Dr Tomasz Maliszewski, Head of the International Cooperation Department at the Medical University of Białystok (Marketing Star)
• Bartłomiej Kowalik, Head of the Department of International Cooperation and Internationalisation at Jan Długosz University in Częstochowa (Rising Star)
• Prof. Janusz Szpytko, Director of the AGH UNESCO Centre at the AGH University of Science and Technology in Krakow (Development Star)
• Dr. Małgorzata Bonikowska, European Centre, University of Warsaw
• ( Public Diplomacy Star)
• Dr hab. Danuta Gutowska-Owsiak, prof. UG from the Intercollegiate Faculty of Biotechnology UG and MUG ( Science Diplomacy Star)
• Prof. Andrzej Kraśniewski, former Secretary General of CRASP, Plenipotentiary of the Rector of the Warsaw University of Technology ( Distinguished Star)

Prof. Andrzej Kraśniewski and dr Małgorzata Bonikowska could not be present at the gala - their short speeches were screened to the guests in a film version. The award on behalf of the Professor was received by the Rector of the Warsaw University of Technology, prof. Krzysztof Zaremba, while the award for the Doctor was presented to the Rector of the University of Warsaw, prof. Alojzy Nowak, and the Director of the UW European Centre, dr hab. Kamil Zajączkowski.

All the winners and laureates emphasised that although the ‘Star of Internationalisation’ award is of an individual nature, it is in fact a distinction for entire teams, as work for internationalisation is always of a beyond-personal nature.

Prof. Andrzej Kraśniewski and dr Małgorzata Bonikowska could not be present at the gala - their short speeches were screened to the guests in a film version. The award on behalf of the Professor was received by the Rector of the Warsaw University of Technology, prof. Krzysztof Zaremba, while the award for the Doctor was presented to the Rector of the University of Warsaw, prof. Alojzy Nowak , and the Director of the UW European Centre, dr. hab. Kamil Zajączkowski.

All the winners and laureates emphasised that although the ‘Star of Internationalisation’ award is of an individual nature, it is in fact a distinction for entire teams, as work for internationalisation is always of a beyond-personal nature.

'This award perfectly reflects my beliefs about what science should be,' said prof. Danuta Gutowska-Owsiak, Science Diplomacy Star from the University of Gdańsk and MUG, in her speech. 'Science should be international, it should be open, it should be based on diversity and on the free flow of ideas, concepts and experiences. From the very beginning, I have practised science in an international environment; it is a completely natural situation for me - I cannot even imagine doing it any other way.'

Read more about the laureates and their contribution to the internationalisation of Polish higher education at: Academic community awarded masters of internationalisation 2025 - Perspektywy Education Portal.

The gala was honoured with performances by the Gdańsk Academic Orchestra and the UG Vocal Studio. The orchestra performed one piece already at the beginning of the ceremony: the moment when the curtain was raised and they saw more than forty musicians hidden in the depths of the stage made a big impression on the attendees. The orchestra and the Vocal Studio also presented a mini-concert of film music, which crowned the official part of the event.