Thursday 14th May: Poznan Day 2

As always, links and pics to follow...

Another 9am start. Team arrives with luggage to the public Adam Mickelwicz University (after the famous Polish poet of the same name), the largest university in Poznan. 

Poznan is a student city, with c.a. 150, 000 students with a population of c.a. 600,000. The city had a different feel both in terms of aesthetic and vibe, in both respects it resembles a Polish version of a UK university town.

First a meeting with a HE researcher at AMU, providing us with a great insight into research and research policy in Poland. Though not one of the three main themes we may mention something in the report, if we can find space.

This was then followed by a meeting with AMU’s financial director who gave us an account of how finances are managed in public universities.

Next a meeting about the three main theme of this tour with a senior academic, AMU’s Pro-rector for Research and International Relations.

We then had a tour of AMU’s (most impressive) Morasko Campus.

Then a pleasant surprise. We had some time to visit Collegium Da Vinci, a smaller private provider that has a very creative ethos, with a brief meeting with the Chancellor.

Again, the three points that struck us most today about Polish HE were:

• The private sector is not just business degrees, with also distinctive offerings in creative and niche markets.
• The physical infrastructure and estates in public universities has been invested in over the last ten years. The best compares well with the best in the UK, and Polish HEIs have been successful in securing EU investment to this end.
• The public universities have been in recent years moving to decentralised budgeting and even space charging, as well as greater overall reform of their financial systems.

Then it was a seven hour train journey to Krakow. The team spent a lot of long days in meetings, absorbing and making notes on vast amounts of material, and travelling between venues. Perhaps not surprisingly they fell asleep while I was drafting this blogpost. Then a midnight check in and to bed!

I may have broken them – sorry! Anyway, welcome Krakow.