The University of Silesia has established cooperation with Polskie Wody in Gliwice. The main goal will be to use the experience, educational and scientific potential of the University, as well as the engineering and technical potential of Państwowe Gospodarstwo Wodne Wody Polskie – Regionalny Zarząd Gospodarki Wodnej in Gliwice.
On 30 November 2020, Mirosław Kurz, Director of Wody Polskie in Gliwice, and Prof. Ryszard Koziołek, Rector of the University of Silesia, signed a letter of intent concerning the planned cooperation. The undertaken activities, conducted for the purpose of sustainable water economy in Poland, will include e.g. presentation and promotion of joint achievements in Poland and abroad, exchange of information and experiences between the staff of both units, preparation of opinions, expert opinions and studies, organisation of scientific and technical conferences, seminars, courses and trainings, as well as joint operations in the field of student practice and hiring graduates.
‘Cooperation between the University and Państwowe Gospodarstwo Wodne is an opportunity to prepare and implement research projects and research and development projects related to water management, climate change, and implementation of modern solutions in water management. Such cooperation is extremely important, particularly in the age of climate change, when implementation of modern, knowledge-based, system of water resources management may mitigate or reduce the effects of climate change. The operating directions of Wody Polskie are consistent with the research directions of scientists from the Silesian Water Centre and Faculty of Natural Sciences of the University of Silesia in Katowice’, claims Assoc. Prof. Andrzej Woźnica, Professor of the University of Silesia, Director of the Silesian Water Centre of the University of Silesia in Katowice, technical coordinator for cooperation with Wody Polskie.
‘One of the University’s tasks is to provide modern education for innovative enterprises. On the one hand, this means an opportunity to employ university graduates in Państwowe Gospodarstwo Wodne Wody Polskie, and on the other hand, it is about developing and preparing study programmes in such a way that graduates grow to be respected specialists in the labour market, capable of taking up modern challenges of water management immediately after they graduate. The important thing here is cooperation between Wody Polskie and the University of Silesia by using the human resources of Wody Polskie in the educational process, as well as to optimise the study programme’, adds Assoc. Prof. Andrzej Woźnica, Professor of the University of Silesia.
The common goals and care for the good condition of waters also resulted in opening a study programme at the University of Silesia that is dedicated to water management. Aquamatics – interdisciplinary water environment management, studies enabling to educate a competent staff, whose task is to manage waters and water environments.
‘Not only does Regionalny Zarząd Gospodarki Wodnej in Gliwice encourage the staff of the unit to take up studies in aquamatics to enrich their knowledge, but also waits impatiently for the graduates of this major to become employees of Wody Polskie’, emphasized Mirosław Kurz, Director of Wody Polskie in Gliwice, highlighting the demand of the institution for employees specialised in this field. ‘I really hope that the whole support that both units are planning to mutually provide to one another under this cooperation, will contribute to their development and even more effective operation’, he adds.
Since the very beginning of its existence, Państwowe Gospodarstwo Wodne Wody Polskie – Regionalny Zarząd Gospodarki Wodnej in Gliwice has placed strong emphasis on cooperation with public entities, including educational, research and scientific institutions. In July 2020, a similar agreement was concluded between Wody Polskie in Gliwice and Silesian University of Technology. The mutual exchange of knowledge and experiences between universities allows for more effective implementation of projects, as well as research and development programmes.
