Gdynia Maritime University GMU

Inauguration Speech of HM The Rector
of Gdynia Maritime University, Professor Adam Weintrit

Ladies and Gentlemen,
Esteemed Guests,
Distinguished Academic Community, and Dear Students,

It is with great joy that I welcome you to the inauguration of the academic year 2023/2024 at Gdynia Maritime University.

The inauguration of each academic year is an important event in our University's academic calendar. It is an occasion for celebration for the entire academic community - including all those who come here on a daily basis to study, teach, carry out scientific research, and administration work, therefore further developing and supporting our Alma Mater.

I am extremely grateful that, like every year, we once again celebrate this exceptional day in the company of our dear guests, who accepted the invitation for today's inauguration. The weather hasn't been kind to us, yet many of you have devoted this work-free day and come here, to Kościuszko Square, to celebrate together this moment when you will become students of our University.

Dear Students, ladies and gentlemen, today's inauguration takes place under circumstances different from usual. Typically, the honorary podium was positioned at the side of our training ship Dar Młodzieży, but this year, things are different. Dar Młodzieży has been sailing in the Atlantic for many weeks and has been successful in several regattas held there.

A week ago, a historic event took place. Dar Młodzieży crossed the equator exactly on the hundredth anniversary of the first ship sailing under the Polish flag to carry out the same feat: the training ship of the Maritime School in Tczew, Lwów. In this way, we paid tribute to our great predecessors. Dar Młodzieży is already heading towards Gdynia and is expected to arrive in our city on November 11, the day of the National Holiday of our Homeland. On board Dar Młodzieży are second-year Navigation students. This is a significant moment for these young people. A few days ago, they underwent their maritime initiation, becoming true sailors. In just a few minutes, you will become students of our University and full members of our academic community.

Ladies and Gentlemen!

Initially, we wanted to set up the honorary tribunal where the statue of the maritime writer Joseph Conrad stands, and you, Dear Students, were to face east, towards the Far East, where it seems the capital of global shipping is moving, as the headquarters of the International Association of Maritime Universities is located in Tokyo. However, we, the lecturers, were to face west, towards London, where the headquarters of the International Maritime Organisation is located, towards Lisbon, where the European Maritime Safety Agency is based, and towards Brussels, where the headquarters of the European Union is situated. At our University, education takes place in accordance with the standards developed by these institutions. At the last moment, following the forecasts that arrived yesterday, we changed our decision and stand here today, facing south. In this way, we are looking towards Warsaw, where the Ministry of Education and Science is located, as well as the Ministry of Infrastructure, which is responsible for maritime affairs. By adhering to the regulations of the aforementioned international institutions, we ensure that upon completing your studies, you will receive not only bachelor's or later master's degrees but also – especially those of you studying maritime-related fields – your first maritime diplomas, which will allow you to work with any ship operator around the world without the need for any further recognition of your qualifications.

At Gdynia Maritime University, you will receive a passport to become a global citizen, to sail on all the seas and oceans.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Today we begin the 104th academic year at our University. Our history is rich and proud. We began in 1920 in Tczew as a Maritime School. Ten years later, the School was moved to Gdynia, where it became the State Maritime School. Then came the years of war, and our University was relocated to England. There, in four different locations, our education continued. After the war, the School was reopened in Gdynia as the State Maritime School. Later, after meeting additional requirements, we gained the status of a maritime higher education school, then a Maritime Academy, and for the past four years, we have been known as Gdynia Maritime University, one of the youngest universities in the country.

Our University is constantly developing. We have tremendous potential. Two years ago, we made a strategic decision to expand beyond traditional maritime fields and the sectors supporting the maritime economy. We opened a new area, known as offshore – the space between the sea and land. In all four faculties, we launched specialisations, programmes, and postgraduate studies related to this area, focusing primarily on offshore wind energy.

For the past four years, the Maritime Institute, with its more than 70-year tradition, has been part of the Maritime University of Gdynia. Of the eleven planned locations for future wind farms, our University – especially the experts at the Maritime Institute – has worked on ten of them, proving that we are a significant player in the Polish market for maritime wind energy.          

Ladies and Gentlemen,

This year President Andrzej Duda signed two nominations for the award of the academic title of Professor. Two of our colleagues were granted titular professorships: Professor Krzysztof Czaplewski and Professor Ireneusz Czarnowski. This is a great success for our University. In recent years, each year, several of our professors have received this honour.

 Ladies and Gentlemen,

Our University has been cooperating with Hochschule Bremerhaven for over 45 years. Yesterday, a remarkable ceremony took place. For the first time, the honorary title of Doctor honoris causa was awarded to an international candidate – Professor Hans Rummel, who has been collaborating with us since the 1970s. A few weeks ago, we began the procedure for awarding this prestigious title to Professor Bradford Parkinson, who is known as the father of the GPS (Global Positioning System). This year marks the 50th anniversary of the development of the concept of satellite navigation. Professor Parkinson accepted our invitation, and I hope that the process of conferring the honorary title will be completed at the beginning of next year.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Gdynia Maritime University is not a large university, but with full awareness, I can say that it is an elite institution. Students of our University want to study here. Many of you could have chosen to study abroad or at other larger universities. At our University students gain an education that will open their doors to all the most important maritime institutions in the world.

The University's position, At the top of the rankings of international maritime universities, is well-established. In the last ranking, we occupied 4th place. In recognition of this position, in February of this year, I was elected Chair of the International Association of Maritime Universities. It is not only my merit; it is the work of many generations who worked to forge the status of the University over more than 100 years.  

Our University collaborates not only with the International Association of Maritime Universities. Many of our staff members are experts with the International Maritime Organisation, which is a UN agency. At our University, lecturers create laws, regulations, and standards that later apply worldwide. Our graduates find employment in the maritime economy sector, as well as in the land-based industries supporting it. They work in the best companies and with the top shipowners, not only in the country, in Europe, but across the globe. To highlight the role our staff play in creating and researching these fields, this year we launched the Technology Transfer Centre.

This year we admitted more than 1500 students to our study programmes. Over 1,000 students are enrolled in full-time studies, and more than 400 in part-time studies at the Faculty of Navigation, Marine Engineering, Electrical Engineering, and the Faculty of Management and Quality Science. In a few weeks, I would like to organise a seminar where, together with our staff, I will discuss whether the time has come to establish a fifth faculty focused on autonomous shipping. There is much talk and writing about autonomous shipping, and research is being conducted, but to address this area, we need to prepare thousands of specialists. I am not sure whether the decision to open another faculty will be positive at this moment, but preparations in this direction must continue. We might initially decide to launch postgraduate studies, first-cycle and second-cycle studies and only in the future create a faculty. However, we must begin the discussion on this topic. In conclusion, I would like to once again sincerely thank everyone who was not deterred by the weather forecasts, which predicted dreadful conditions – a storm, rain, and strong winds.

And we have typical October weather. Thank you for being here with us! For a few years now, it has been a tradition that, instead of student indexes, first-year students receive a songbook with sea shanties and maritime songs on their first day at our University. This year was no different. When you return home, be sure to open the last page.

There you will find the lyrics of the song "You'll Never Walk Alone", which I dedicate to all of you. At the end of the first verse, there are words that say that after every storm, "there's a golden sky", just like we have now – the sun is smiling at us. In the toughest moments at sea, after a few hours, the sun always appears. I wish for that sun to accompany you in your adult life. I wish you many successes, and above all, that you reach the finish line and receive the qualifications you desire – whether it's undergraduate studies, and for some of you, continuing your studies at the master's level. We have the power to award doctoral degrees in four faculties, and you can earn your habilitation here, and even gain the title of professor, as some of our graduates do.

I wish you all all the best and end my speech with the most important words of today's celebration:

I declare the 2023/2024 academic year open!