A formal session of the Warsaw University of Technology Senate was held on February 10, 2020, to mark the award of the status of a research university in the competition “Excellence Initiative – Research University”. “For the Warsaw University of Technology, this means prestige and distinction as well as a substantial financial support to drive the proposed reforms,” said Minister of Science and Higher Education Jarosław Gowin.

The Warsaw University of Technology is among the 10 top universities in Poland to be awarded the status of a research university in the competition “Excellence Initiative – Research University” (Polish abbreviated name “IDUB”) sponsored by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education. The purpose of this program is to support the competition winners as universities which have what it takes to successfully compete with the best universities in Europe and the world.

Minister Jarosław Gowin: the University can get PLN 365 million in a 7-year outlook

“My congratulations to the Warsaw University of Technology for this spectacular success! This is a new beginning for the Warsaw University of Technology, just as it is for science in Poland at large,” said the head of the Ministry of Science, Jarosław Gowin. 

“This means prestige and distinction as well as a substantial financial support to drive the proposed reforms at the University. Assuming that the Warsaw University of Technology will successfully pass the mid-term evaluation, the University can get at least PLN 365 million in additional funding in a 7-year outlook,” the Minister remarked.

He emphasized that the University had been selected in the IDUB competition by an international panel of experts comprising former rectors and vice-chancellors of leading European universities and former ministers and prominent scientists representing all fields of science. “The authority of the judging panel guaranteed for the entire academic community that the competition outcome would be impartial and well-founded,” stressed the Minister of Science.

“The fact that this win has come in a competition which is all new to Poland, the success of the Warsaw University of Technology is even greater,” said the Minister of Science and Higher Education. The Minister reiterated that full transparency was one of the guiding principles of the competition. “This is why, for this competition, we decided to make all reports with assessments and their substantiation published in the Bulletin of Public Information,” added the Minister.

He said that there were several elements of the University’s action plan that the panel of experts rated highly in their report summarizing the assessment of the application by the Warsaw University of Technology; those elements included the fact that the University intends to enhance its impact on the world’s science in Priority Research Areas, notably through the programs “Innovative WUT” and “WUT Accelerator” and by increasing WUT’s participation in research grant programs, especially in the EU international programs.

“As emphasized by the experts, one of the highlights of WUT’s plan is to establish a Network of POB Research Centers, estimated to cost PLN 120 million,” said Minister Gowin.

“The experts were very impressed by the potential of the Polish science,” summed up Jarosław Gowin.

WUT Rector Prof. Jan Szmidt: being named a research university has made our expectations come true

“Being named a research university has made our expectations and ambitions at the Warsaw University of Technology come true. Certainly, this is a great challenge and an organizational feat that will require us to change the system behind how the Warsaw University of Technology operates, including modification of its organizational structures,” said Prof. Jan Szmidt, Ph.D., D.Sc., Eng., the Rector of the Warsaw University of Technology.

He added: “this will ensure a more efficient use of the capabilities of our excellently qualified faculty and the stock of research infrastructure accumulated through continuous endeavors.”

“Developing a broadly understood culture of quality at the University has now become a major task. The financial resources that we are about to receive will help us build a strategy oriented to a strong improvement of scientific efficiency and turning that into teaching effectiveness, which together with top-class faculty development comprises the mission of a university such as the Warsaw University of Technology,” the Rector remarked.

He also pointed out that this requires the Warsaw University of Technology to “give back to the society, including to the environment, and to tackle head-on the fundamental challenges of the contemporary civilization, which,
in terms of strategic management, should be reflected in taking responsibility for the effects of our actions, after all, a product of public confidence.”

“We have proposed measures to greatly improve the attractiveness of a scientific and teaching career for the best alumni talents of ours and of other universities with development in mind. This will be driven by internationalization as a process to add an international, intercultural and global dimension to education at the university level,” underlined Prof. Szmidt.

In his words, the Warsaw University of Technology intends to “provide a strong support to and integrate research around Priority Research Areas.”

“The whole academic community of the Warsaw University of Technology will take part in the effort. Actions in response to the civilization and social challenges mentioned above will include setting up research centers with a large degree of scientific autonomy and a strong interdisciplinary angle,” promised the Rector.

“I am positive that we are starting a new, next chapter in the rich almost 200-year history of the Warsaw University of Technology,” emphasized Prof. Szmidt.

Warsaw University of Technology in the “Excellence Initiative – Research University” project

Vice-Rector for Research Prof. Rajmund Bacewicz, Ph.D., D.Sc. presented an overview of the implementation plan of the project “Excellence Initiative – Research University” at the Warsaw University of Technology. The main objective of the Warsaw University of Technology is to transform the University into a model of a world-class scientific center.

The Warsaw University of Technology will establish research centers dedicated to Priority Research Areas (Polish abbreviated name “POB”). Those centers will have a virtual nature with minimum administrative facilities and will manage the funds granted in line with the specifics of the POB’s operations. Competitions for research grants will become a basic form of support for research with a view to use the research results in applying for international projects.

The Warsaw University of Technology wants to support innovation at the University, including through the program “Innovative WUT” and by setting up an accelerator fund for spin-offs.

The project provides for a reward system for authors of the best publications and patents. The University offers programs to boost international exchanges under the IDUB project. Fellowship opportunities for scientists and doctoral students from abroad will be a key element of that.

The Warsaw University of Technology is set to allocate considerable funding to innovative teaching methods and support for outstanding talents among students. It is the University’s desire to transform the teaching system at WUT to fit in the model of a research university. Education of doctoral students ranks high on the priority list and the University will offer them attractive fellowship programs. New modules in doctoral curricula will be implemented (including what is called the Researcher’s Toolkit).

The action plan also provides for changes in the University governance (management by objectives) and optimization of administrative workflows. An IDUB project management chart to be applied at the Warsaw University of Technology is under development. Important personnel decisions have also been made. New appointments have been made for Project Manager and Center Heads across POBs.

1st IDUB competition: key information

Top 20 universities across Poland qualified for the first competition “Excellence Initiative – Research University” (Polish abbreviated name “IDUB”). All of them met the legally stipulated requirements for scientific categories awarded during the latest comprehensive evaluation of scientific units in terms of the number of fields and disciplines pursued by a university. In addition, none of the subject area courses administered by a university could have a negative assessment of the Polish Accreditation Committee (PKA). An international panel of experts in the science and higher education sector selected 10 winning universities which are well positioned to become research universities in the future.

These are (in the order of names on the list of the competition winners):

1. University of Warsaw, Warsaw
2. Gdańsk University of Technology, Gdańsk
3. AGH University of Science and Technology, Kraków AGH
4. Warsaw University of Technology, Warsaw
5. Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań
6. Jagiellonian University, Kraków
7. Medical University of Gdańsk, Gdańsk
8. Silesian University of Technology, Gliwice
9. Nicolaus Copernicus University, Toruń
10. University of Wrocław, Wrocław

More information about the “Excellence Initiative – Research University” programme at the Warsaw University of Technology can be found in our article.