Participants of the meeting summarising the project | Photo by Olimpia Orządała
On 5 July 2023, at the Krzysztof Kieślowski Film School at the University of Silesia in Katowice, a project-summarising meeting was held. The project’s purpose was to check the possibility of consolidating the universities that are part of the Academic Consortium “Katowice – City of Science”.
Work on the project lasted a year and ended in June 2023. At that time, the organisational team, consisting of 177 employees of seven Katowice universities, participated in working meetings, collected data and developed analyses in five thematic areas:
- team No. 1 – research excellence in increasing social impact and the level of internationalisation,
- team No. 2 – developing a joint action plan for educational excellence,
- team No. 3 – social responsibility of universities and the academic image of Katowice,
- team No. 4 – development of the concept of a joint Green Science Zone and the Network Science Centre,
- team No. 5 – carrying out analytical activities regarding universities synergy.
Dedication of all participants was appreciated by Prof. Ryszard Koziołek, Rector of the University of Silesia: “Thanks to mutual trust, such huge project could be implemented and completed successfully. As universities, we feel individuality, thanks to which we enrich ourselves”.
The result of joint efforts of employees of seven universities is an 800-page report for the Ministry of Education and Science, the key conclusions of which were presented by Prof. Tomasz Pietrzykowski, Vice-Rector for International and Domestic Cooperation of the University of Silesi:
“The most adequate form of cooperation, allowing the full use of the potential of all partners of the Academic Consortium “Katowice – City of Science”, seems to be functional consolidation. Consolidated Silesian universities have a publication output on a comparable level as the University of Warsaw, the Jagiellonian University or the Daniel Fahrenheit Association of Universities in Gdańsk”.
The most important areas subject to possible consolidation include activities in:
- scientific research,
- education,
- international exchange,
- scientific and knowledge communication,
- publishing activities,,
- document archiving,
- scientific information system,
- accommodation activities,
- public procurement,
- IT security,
- academic legislation.
Joint activities of Katowice universities may contribute to improving the quality of research activities, strengthening the attractiveness of the educational offer, increasing the impact on the socio-economic environment and potentially improving economic efficiency.
Suggestions regarding the further development of cooperation among the universities forming the Academic Consortium “Katowice – City of Science” will be analysed in the near future by the university authorities, which, in consultation with the academic community, will make decisions on further cooperation and implementation of the recommendations.
The following universities took part in the ‘Wspieranie procesów konsolidacji uczelni’ [Supporting universities consolidation processes] project (No. MEiN/2022/DIR/1761, implemented as part of the Ministry of Education and Science project co-financed from the Operational Programme Knowledge Education Development from the European Social Fund):
- Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice,
- Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Katowice,
- Jerzy Kukuczka Academy of Physical Education in Katowice,
- Silesian University of Technology,
- Medical University of Silesia in Katowice,
- University of Economics in Katowice,
- University of Silesia in Katowice (leader).
