AGH University at the 4th IDUB Progress Review Conference

The event discussed the effects of the implementation of the IDUB programme to date, with a particular focus on the role of internationalisation, the academic development of young staff (including doctoral students), the changes occurring in research, and the challenges faced by the best universities in Poland.

During a panel discussion moderated by Professor Peter Maassen of Oslo University, attended by representatives of the authorities of the University of Warsaw, Jagiellonian University, Lodz University of Technology, and Medical University of Gdańsk, the AGH University Vice-Rector for Science, Professor Marek Gorgoń, emphasised that opening up to the world has resulted in very strong cooperation between the AGH University and internationally renowned scientific institutions. The tangible result of this collaboration is the number of international universities and institutes with which the AGH University researchers published joint articles over the period of 2021-2024 in leading research topics, i.e. 2,700. Thanks to the IDUB programme, AGH University research staff carry out new international projects, establish international contacts, and host outstanding foreign scientists. The AGH University Doctoral School is attracting more and more doctoral students from other countries, and our educational offer in English is expanding, going in line with the trend.

An example of international cooperation supported by the IDUB programme that Professor Marek Gorgoń pointed to was the participation of AGH University scientists in CERN's flagship experiments, such as: ATLAS, ALICE, CMS, and LHCb at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). Owing to the commitment to CERN experiments, AGH University researchers play a key role in investigating the underlying problems of modern high energy physics.  In 2022–2024, the said cooperation resulted in five publications in Nature. Another example of intensive, tangible international cooperation has been a project initiated by a few European universities, including the AGH University, namely the “European Space University for Earth and Humanity (UNIVERSEH).” The seven universities making up the European consortium have been cooperating with over a hundred companies and space agencies, providing students with traineeship and development opportunities. Due to the support of the IDUB programme, technologies and solutions of the future, ones that will be used in missions to the Moon and Mars, are being developed by the established in 2020 AGH University Space Technology Centre.

The conference was also a forum for discussing the future of IDUB in the context of the challenges ahead of the elite of Polish universities.

In their speeches, the Deputy Ministers of Science, Professor Marek Gzik and Dr Maciej Gdula, have confirmed the continuation of the programme.