Themes and Issues: Why Poland is Interesting

Poland is a hidden gem in Europe, with more history, science and culture to offer than is commonly realised. For example, Polish mathematicians originally broke the Enigma cipher, work that shortened the war and saved countless lives. (Bletchley Park extended their work to later versions of the cipher and made it work on an industrial scale).This is in addtion to a number of Nobel Prize winners in Literature and Science, just to name a few significant contributions to world culture.

Poland has the second oldest university in central europe (the Jageillian in Krakow, after Prague), and was the first nation to have an education ministry.

Initial desk research has revealed a number of interesting and distinctive features of Polish Higher Education. For example. Polish HE has a large recent private HE sector that has played an important role in widening participation.

Poland’s Higher Education System has also undergone vast change in recent years. The system has played a key role in supporting Poland’s transition towards democracy, entry to the EU and alignment with the Bologna Process.

The study tour will seek to gain an understanding of the organisation and make-up of the Polish higher education sector, focusing on three broad themes:

1.    Quality assurance;

2.    Student demand, including internationalisation and the emergence of the Private Sector;

3.    Governance, including the student voice.

We will be writing about each of these themes over the coming weeks.

As always, we look forward to sharing our findings with you all.