GMU Hosts Conference of Rectors of Academic Schools CRASP
This year’s plenary session of the Conference of Rectors of Academic Schools in Poland (CRASP) took place at Gdynia Maritime University from 21st until 23rd October. Besides the election of new members of the Main Council of the Ministry for Education and Science, the conference also saw a discussion on the current situation on Poland’s border with Belarus, as well as the presentation of Polish Accreditation Commission certificates of excellence.
The first day of the conference was devoted to a meeting between the members of the CRASP Praesidium in the GMU Senate meeting hall. The group’s talks centred on a number of topics, including the elections to the Ministry for Education and Science Council, to be held the following day. Also discussed was the situation on the Polish-Belarus border, on which the Rectors adopted an official position.
Deliberations on KRASP’s application for membership of the Polish Olympic Committee resulted in the adoption of a resolution.
The day came to a close at the Mercure Hotel in Gdynia where members attended a gala dinner, hosted by HM Rector, Professor Adam Weintrit.
The main event during the second day of the conference were the elections to the Central Science and Higher Education Council - the representative body for science and higher education, responsible for providing opinions and assessing legislation put forward by the Ministry for Education and Science.
A total of 87 Rectors from higher education establishments throughout Poland elected 12 members of the Ministry for Education and Science Council. The newly elected Council’s term of office is due to begin on 1st January 2022 and the elected members are:
Professor Tomasz Bączek (Gdańsk Medical University)
Professor Krzysztof Diks (Warsaw University)
Professor Stanisław Kistryn (Cracow University)
Professor Agnieszka Merkisz-Guranowska (Poznań University of Technology)
Professor Tomasz Miczka (The Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice)
Dr Marcin Pałys, (Warsaw University)
Professor Alicja Przyłuska-Fiszer (Józef Piłsudski University of Physical Education in Warsaw)
Professor Jan Szmidt (Warsaw University of Technology)
Professor Stefan Szyndel Marek (SGGW / Warsaw University of Life Sciences)
Professor Władysław Jan Wiktor (Cracow University of Economics)
Professor Jacek Witkoś (Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań)
Professor Wojciech Zyzak (The Pontifical University of John Paul II in Krakow)
Rectors attending their first plenary session were also presented with KRASP membership badges.
Following the close of the conference, the members of CRASP met with journalists for a press briefing where they discussed the Ministry for Education and Science’s budget forecasts and decisions for the academic year 2021/2022, the evaluation of the quality of scientific activity, and the return to face-to-face teaching.
The press briefing was attended by Arkadiusz Mężyk - Chair of CRASP and Rector of the Śląsk University of Technology; Professor Michał Jerzy Zasada - Deputy Chair of CRASP and Rector of the Warsaw University of Life Sciences; Professor Wiesław Banyś - CRASP spokesperson, Rector of the University of Śląśk in Katowice during 2008-2016, and Chair of CRASP for 2012-2016; Professor Jerzy Lis, Rector of the AGH University of Science and Technology in Cracow, and Professor Adam Weintrit, Rector of Gdynia Maritime University and host of the 2021 CRASP Conference.
The afternoon of the second day was spent on the Dar Młodzieży. As fate would have it, bad weather conditions prevented the sailing ship from leaving port, giving the Rectors the chance to take a commemorative group photograph and sing shanty songs together onboard.
The third and final day of this year’s conference took place on Saturday 23rd October in the Maximum Auditorium at the Faculty of Navigation and was dominated by presentations of representatives of the Ministry of Education and Science and National Contact Point for Horizon Europe.
Polish Accreditation Commission certificates of excellence were also presented on the day.
