Gdynia Maritime University GMU

Speech of the Rector of Gdynia Maritime University On the Occasion of the 103rd Anniversary of Maritime Education in Poland

Ladies and Gentlemen!

Ceremonial occasions like today take place only three times during the year. There's the inauguration of the academic year, our University's own Celebration Day on 8th December, and on the anniversary of maritime education in Poland on 17th June.

In preparing today's speech, I had difficulty deciding what period of time to summarise. During the inauguration of the academic year, it's simple. I summarise the previous academic year. In December, I summarise the past year. Today, however, I have decided to say something about our successes so far this year and those from the end of the previous year.

I am unable to list all our successes. You will hear about some of them during the second half of the sitting when will present distinctions and awards. Already I'd like to take the opportunity to congratulate all of those who will be singled out for honour today.

Ladies and Gentlemen!

This is a special time. The third year of the current term of office is over, and many investments have begun. Some of them have already been completed, others will be completed this year or next year, and others still will be completed in the next term of office.

I would like to mention in particular here our largest investment, namely the Centre for the Offshore Industry currently constructed in Gdansk. This facility will not only serve us as a University, but I think it will also serve the entire country for many years to come. It is an integral part of the government's decision to develop our offshore wind energy industry. The Centre for the Offshore Industry will be the new headquarters of the GMU Maritime Institute. Construction work will be completed during the summer of this year, and at the beginning of the autumn, in October, or maybe in November, we will officially open the Centre. For those of you who have not yet seen the building, I would like to point out that it is next to the Wisłoujście Fortress, on the way to Westerplatte. The building is a few hundred metres long, so it's hard to miss.

A few weeks ago, we performed a topping-off ceremony at the Sport and Recreation Centre. That same day, we held an outdoor banquet for our staff. The Sports Centre could also be handed over this year, however, under the agreement, part of the work must be completed next year, so that the project will be settled under the budget for 2024. I expect that the Sports and Recreation Centre will probably open in April or May of next year, which we will then connect with Sports Day at our University.

We are also currently carrying out renovations at the Faculty of Navigation, with visible changes being made in the areas surrounding the Faculty building in Skwer Kościuszki

Ladies and Gentlemen!

Today, immediately following the ceremonial raising of the flag on the University building, a ceremony took place to attribute the name of Captain Stanisław Kosko to the square on campus. Stanisław Kosko is one of our great predecessors. He held the role of director of the Maritime School in 1937-1939. He opened the Faculty of Transport and Maritime Administration and began the construction of a swimming pool. It was he who decided to transfer the Dar Pomorza to Sweden in August 1939, where it remained safely interned throughout the war. A few days before the outbreak of the war, Captain Stanisław Kosko, a GMU graduate, was drafted and boarded the auxiliary ship "the Gdynia". Unfortunately, the ship was bombarded on 2nd September. Captain Stanisław Kosko died from his injuries on 8th September 1939. He was buried secretly by a group of staff and students from our University in the Witomino Cemetery, in Gdynia. 

But why am I talking about this now? Why have we chosen today to name a part of our campus after Captain Stanisław Kosko? In 2023, we are currently undergoing a voyage commemorating the expedition of the Lwów to Brazil, when the first ship flying the Polish flag crossed the equator. Stanisław Kosko took part in the voyage as a student of the Tczew Maritime School.

Ladies and Gentlemen!

Just yesterday, the Senate of our University unanimously granted the honour of Doctor honoris causa to Professor Hans Rummel of Hochschule Bremerhaven University. The ceremony for the conferral of the title will take place on 7th October, the day before the inauguration of the new academic year. During the final sitting of the academic year in May, the Senate of Gdynia Maritime University made the decision to initiate proceedings for the award of the title of Doctor honoris causa to Professor Bradford Parkinson of Stanford University, the creator of GPS. We have been in contact with the Professor, who has agreed to accept this dignity. The procedure will, of course, last a few months, and likely only be completed at the beginning of next year.

I was also recently by Odessa Maritime Academy that the late Professor Bogumił Łączyński will be posthumously awarded with the honorary title of Doctor honoris causa by the University.

As Director of the Ship Management Office, Professor Bogumił Łączyński will be replaced on 1st July 2023 by Captain Dariusz Jellonnek, whom I have invited to attend today's celebrations

Dariusz Jellonnek is a graduate of our University, a long-standing director of the company V.Ships, the vice-president of the company Polish Baltic Shipping, and a well-known person in the marine environment. While working at V.Ships, he recruited more than a thousand ship officers. I think that the election of Captain Dariusz Jellonnek to the role of Director of the Ship Management Office will prove to be a very good decision.

Immediately after the ceremonial sitting of the Senate, I would like to hold a meeting in the Ship Management Department to introduce the director to the Office's staff.

Ladies and Gentlemen!

The offshore wind energy industry is not only the new buildings but also the new study programmes we offer. This year, we have launched a second edition of our Offshore Wind MBA in English, postgraduate studies at the Faculty of Navigation, and at all faculties, we have launched 1st or 2nd cycle degree programmes connected with offshore wind energy.

We have hosted representatives and delegations from various countries – Great Britain, Norway, Ukraine, Finland, France, Turkey, the United States, the Philippines, Germany, and recently from China, during which we signed a contract with the world's largest maritime university - the Dalian Maritime University. The reason for the visit was a meeting with the Consulate General of China, who promised to support this cooperation. I would like to remind you here that in addition to the Hochschule Bremerhaven, who we have been working with for 45 years, we have also been cooperating for almost as long with Shanghai Maritime University. Our activity on the international stage is increasing every year.

Together with the Minister, Grzegorz Witkowski, who is present at today's sitting of the Senate, we nominated Poland for the IMO Council at the International Maritime Organisation in May. The day was dedicated to the promotion of maritime education at the forum. I hope that our efforts will result in us being nominated to the Council in a few months.

Ladies and Gentlemen!

Since I have invoked the Minister's name, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you very much for helping us to reach a successful outcome in our attempts to gain pay rises for our staff. The money is already in the University account, and in June, each of you will receive an increase of at least 4.4% from October until December of last year, and a further 7.8% from January. Almost 900 employees will receive a pay rise, which is why the work associated with this is still ongoing.

Minister, I would like to thank you very much for your cooperation in this matter. In you, we had a real advocate for our cause. These were not simple conversations. They took place not only in the Ministry of Infrastructure but also in the Ministry of Finance. The money was finally allocated to us following a decision by the Sejm Budget Committee. 

Ladies and Gentlemen!

In addition to our international successes, to which we can certainly also add my own personal success, when in February I was elected the Chair of the International Association of Maritime Universities, and therefore for two years we will be leading the Association, we have also enjoyed a lot of success in science.

Four of our young scientists have received scholarships from the Minister of Education and Science. These are: Dr Agnieszka Lazarowska, Dr Paweł Dąbrowski, Dr Mariusz Specht, and Dr Paweł Górecki.

Several of our staff were once again included in Stanford University's list of the most influential scientists. Please note that this is not the first time I have mentioned this University today. We are starting to refer more frequently to international leaders in higher education, many of who are our partners and are on a level to which we also aspire. 

During this past year and a half, we have also received recognition at home, in Poland. We received a special "Eagle" award from the newspaper "Wprost" in the category of "Regional Innovation". When at the rewards ceremony I was presented with the statuette, the presenter took several minutes to enumerate our successes. I was proud to represent a University, which can boast of so many significant achievements, and many of them will be presented with awards and decorations in just a moment.

I would like to thank all of you for what you do in our lecture halls, laboratories, workshops, simulators, at gatherings, meetings, and on our ships. Your work is recognised, and our standards continue to improve. Up until a few years ago, our first-class awards were given to those who scored 100 - 200 points. Today, the winners of these awards have closer to 1000 points and this gives me great satisfaction. 

I'm referring here to Professor Gnaciński, who has positively concluded the habilitation process on four occasions. Professor Magdalena Bozalecka, Professor Kalina Detka, Professor Przemysław Ptak, and Professor Grzegorz Rutkowski.

Ladies and Gentlemen!

The opening of the University's Technology Transfer Office has been one of our recent great successes

We have added two new Omega-class yachts to the University's fleet, and on these yachts, we won the first trophy in the Polish Championships.

For many months, we struggled to repair the "Horyzont II" training and research vessel, which in the autumn had a serious breakdown at sea. The Shipyard committed to carrying out the repairs within 26 weeks. That's 6 months. For half a year, we were unsure if the ship would ever return to the water. At the end of May, the vessel underwent trials at sea, and after being given the green light, a week ago it set off on its previously planned expedition to Spitsbergen. Two days I was contacted by the ship's captain, who informed me that the "Horyzont II" had safely reached Spitsbergen. There is a group of scientists from the Polish Academy of Sciences on board who will spend some weeks or months at research bases. Also on board were students from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering.

The Dar Młodzieży is today in Rouen, where it is taking part in the  Grand Armada. L'Armada is a celebration that takes place every five years to commemorate the Normandy Invasion during World War II. There shall shortly be a change of captain on the ship, with Captain Rafał Szymański being replaced by Captain Waldemar Frankiewicz.

Ladies and Gentlemen!

The 15th International Conference on Marine Navigation and Safety of Sea Transportation TransNav 2023 will take place next week and will involve representatives from 43 countries. In total, a total of 69 nationalities are represented by the Scientific Committee and among the reviewers. The conference has been permanently included in the maritime conferences calendar in Europe and around the world.

Yesterday, we signed an agreement on cooperation between Polish technical universities in project management. This is an initiative of twenty Polish technical universities and Gdynia Maritime University is glad to be one of them. In December last year, we signed a consortium agreement entitled "Science for the Sea" together with eight universities from Western and Eastern Pomerania.

Ladies and Gentlemen!

In other things, we are returning to normal post-pandemic. This year, after a three-year break, we held the Maritime Ball. We found time to organise another sports day, an event where all our Faculties participate in competitions in various sports competitions. We organised an outdoor banquet for our staff. Our Students organised a Student Ball. These are all things that are particularly enjoyable after the years of the pandemic when we could not organise such events.

The University's academic choir, which is here with us today, is also successful. Let me mention four concerts performed in collaboration with Andrea Bocelli and a tour to the United States, which took place a month ago. These events are worth mentioning, and thanks to this the name of our University is mentioned today in the press around the world.

Ladies and Gentlemen!

I certainly haven't mentioned all our successes. I have a short draft of this speech in front of me, and looking at it I think there are certainly many important things that I haven't said. Nevertheless, I wish to remind you that you can read about what is happening at the University on the website, which for the past 3 years has been run in Polish and English. In the files you have been given, you will find the latest issue of the university's newsletter. I would like to the editor, Małgorzata Sokołowska, a rapid recovery from her recent unfortunate accident.  

Ladies and Gentlemen!

To conclude, I would like once again to congratulate all those who will be awarded today, and at the same time to send my condolences to those of you who were very close to gaining these awards, as there was considerable competition. There were indeed many candidates for these awards. Once again, I extend my thanks to all of you.