There is a proverb that
states, “When you travel, you learn things about the people and places you see”
(Anon). Participating in the Poland
study tour allowed me to “move out of my comfort zone” to network and expand my
learning and understanding of the Polish public and private Higher Education
system.
During the week, we met many senior representatives both in the
public and private universities who were very welcoming. They engaged in conversation
about their Higher education systems, which are different from the UK’s. Within
the UK, although universities charge tuition fees, they are ‘state-funded’ and
are responsible for employing their own staff; there are a very small number of
private universities. Similar to the UK
experience in the early 1990s to meet the higher education demand, polytechnics
were amalgamated with or became fully fledged universities. Similarly, in Poland it led to the introduction of many private
universities, with a great deal of competition between universities to attract
students.
Most UK universities are
becoming more business focused whilst the private universities in Poland have
been and continue to be very competitive, business focused and offer higher
quality services compared to their public
universities. The number of international
students in the UK is high despite
the restrictions on student visa entry but the number in Poland is small.
A few aspects put a
smile on my face, firstly, students worked full-time during the week and opted
to study at weekends, secondly, Polish universities do not operate a system of
external examiners similar to UK to
ensure university assessment guidelines are adhered in the marking and
moderation process and finally, plagiarism
is seen as a criminal offence!
The study tour was an
informative and insightful experience as the people we met were welcoming,
willing to share information and I saw some scenic landscapes and extraordinary
historical sites.
