After several months of reorganisation, the Alumni Association of the University of Gdańsk is back in a new form. For almost thirty years SAUG has been bringing together graduates of the University of Gdańsk who wish to continue to work for the benefit of the university and maintain contact with the academic staff. Mr Eligiusz Michałek became the new president of the organisation. Marcel Jakubowski talks to him about the future of the Association.

MJ: What does the UG Alumni Association do?

Eligiusz Michałek: - We have managed to organise ourselves after the death of our Founder, Mentor and Friend, dr Henryk Lewandowski, who ran the Association with great passion and success. We will continue his achievements. Currently, we want to strengthen our cooperation with the University of Gdańsk. Therefore, we will take part in a conference organised this year by dr hab. Wojciech Zalewski, prof. UG, Dean of the Faculty of Law and Administration. We will lead our own panel at it - "Why study at the WPiA?".

- And what about the individual clubs, that is, the Pomeranian Lawyers' Club, the Tourism, Sports and Entertainment Club and the Culture and Development Club?

- The Lawyers' Club will be involved in those activities I mentioned. However, we also have regular meetings organised by the Culture and Entertainment Club headed by Ms Murka Maria Sykora. In March we are planning a celebration which will take place at Gdańsk Restaurant with the help of Ms Maria Lewandowska, a restaurateur. We will invite women from the world of science, culture, art and business.

- Which people can join your association?

- We are the Alumni Association of the University of Gdańsk, so all creative and willing to act graduates of the University of Gdańsk are welcome to join.

- Do you meet often?

- In November we organised a trip to Malbork. There, we held a meeting of the Board and the establishment of statutory authorities. We also visited the castle in Malbork. So we combined a tourist trip with organisational matters.

In December, we had our annual Christmas wafer meeting, this time at the Kashubian Philharmonic in Wejherowo. It was attended among others by the Vice-Rector for Research, prof. dr hab. Wiesław Laskowski, the Dean of the Faculty of Law and Administration, dr hab. Wojciech Zalewski, prof. UG, the Mayor of Wejherowo, Krzysztof Hildebrandt, and members of the association.

To our meetings, we invite graduates who have achieved success in various areas of social and economic life. In the coming months, we want to invite and promote graduates who work in public administration. Many of them have achieved great success in state and local government structures and businesses.

In addition, we represent the association and the university at various celebrations. We have very good relations with the Jagiellonian University Alumni Association, we invite each other to celebrations, for example for the 650th anniversary of Jagiellonian University and the 50th anniversary of the University of Gdańsk. We support and promote our Alma Mater at home and abroad through various activities.

- What goals does SAUG pursue?

- Firstly, it is to link the alumni circles with the academic staff. Secondly, we try to develop contacts between associations of individual universities. We exchange experiences with Vilnius University and, as I have already mentioned, with Jagiellonian University. An important objective is also to show potential students that it is worth studying at the University of Gdańsk, because of its highly qualified scientific staff and 21st-century conditions. Upon graduation, we invite you to join SAUG.

MJ: Thank you for the interview.

SAUG Christmas Eve

More about SAUG at: http://www.absolwenci-ug.pl/