Gdynia Maritime University GMU

Speech by HM The Rector of Gdynia Maritime University on the Occasion of the 102nd Anniversary of Maritime Education in Poland

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I have been thinking for a long time about what to dedicate today's speech to on the occasion of the 102nd anniversary of the establishment of Maritime Education. We covered most of the history two years ago when we celebrated our centenary. However, these two years have been very intense, and many things have happened. I believe the heroes of these events expect us to mention these smaller, larger, or even very notable successes.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The centenary of Maritime Education in 2020, came at a very particular time - the period of the pandemic. We were unable to give this event its proper significance, and we couldn’t invite many of you inside the walls of our University. I hope you do not hold this against us – these were the times, the circumstances, and the restrictions we had to follow. But other entities recognised our anniversary, and in 2021, our University received the Special Honorary Award of the Century for its contribution to the development of shipping in Poland. This was the second such distinction, as the year before we received the Special Captain Leszek Wiktorowicz Award for the voyage of the Dar Młodzieży around the world.

In the spring of last year we conferred the honorary title of Doctor honoris causa on Professor Daniel Duda, and this year we can be proud that the Senate of our University shall award the same honour to Professor Mirosław Jurdziński – two friends, and both of them previous directors of institutes at the Faculty of Navigation.

Last year, we awarded the Captain Konstanty Matyjewicz-Maciejewicz Award for the first time for the best academic teacher. The recipient of this award was the former long-serving Rector of GMU Pan Profesor Józef Lisowski. This is a student award. It is the students who recognise their best lecturers.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

We cannot fail to mention the notable success of our colleagues from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering who were included in the prestigious list of the top 2% of researchers in the world, compiled by Stanford University. The distinguished professors are Professor Tomasz Tarasiuk, Professor Piotr Gnaciński, Profesor Krzysztof Górecki, Profesor Janusz Zarębski, Dr Agnieszka Lazarowska and Dr Paweł Górecki. We take pride in such achievements. We hope that this year the list of our employees who will be honoured in this way will be much longer.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

In 2021, three of our colleagues were awarded the academic title of Professor: Professor Andrzej Miszczak, Professor Lech Murawski, and Professor Tomasz Tarasiuk. Yesterday, the Senate of our University adopted a resolution obliging the Rector to apply for the Minister's Award for these three individuals in three different categories. Dear Minister, I believe this is something you will really value. Gaining a professorship at our University is not an ordinary achievement; it is an extraordinary accomplishment, especially considering that those who hold these titles are individuals who concurrently engage in both scientific and professional activities.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Also in 2021, the Faculty of Navigation received the "University of Leaders 2021" certificate.Two journals published by our University recorded an increase in the number of points awarded in the list of scientific journals and reviewed materials from international conferences of the Ministry of Education and Science. TransNav, International Journal on Marine Navigation and Safety of Sea Transportation received 70 points, while Scientific Journal of Gdynia Maritime University, our academic journal, earned 40 points, making publishing in our internal journals, so to speak, more "profitable."

This year, the Gdynia Maritime University has, for the fourth time, been awarded the Polish Intelligent Development Award. Despite the pandemic, we organised several large and spectacular conferences, including, for the first time, hosting the Conference of Rectors of Polish Academic Schools (KRASP). The conference took place in October 2021, and in January, our University hosted another edition of the Conference of Vice-Rectors for Education and Student Affairs of Polish Technical Universities. A few weeks ago, we also hosted the chancellors and treasurers of all academic institutions in Poland.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The government’s policy aimed at diversifying energy sources has led us to implement certain structural and organisational changes at our University. In all four faculties, we have launched programmes focused on offshore wind energy. We have also signed an agreement with the rectors of eight universities in the Pomeranian region to establish a consortium focused on these matters.

Moreover, our University has signed agreements and letters of intent with major players in the offshore market, such as the Polish Energy Group (PGE SA), the Offshore Department of the Maritime Agency in Gdynia, the Gdańsk University of Technology, the company MEWO, LOTOS, previously with ORLEN, and recently with the CRIST shipyard. We are working on signing further agreements.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

We have launched new units, departments, and laboratories, including a new Hydroacoustic Laboratory at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering. Two new departments have been established at the Faculty of Management and Quality Science: the Department of Marketing and Quantitative Methods, and the Department of Management and Economics.

We have also created the Centre for Offshore Wind Energy and the Centre for Maritime Cybersecurity. Additionally, the Centre for Sports and Recreation was established, which includes several units, such as the Sailing and Water Sports Centre, reactivated in January last year, the Physical Education and Sports Study, and the newly constructed Sports Hall. At this point, Minister, we kindly ask for your support to ensure the success of this project, as the University has not had a sports hall for six years. In an institution like ours, where physical fitness is important, a sports hall is a much-needed investment.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

We have launched new programmes, including the Executive Offshore Wind MBA programme, which is conducted in English. We are currently training the first 20 students, and in September this year, we will launch the second edition of these studies. The programme is attracting great interest not only from those wishing to enter the offshore market but also from individuals already established in the industry who hold significant roles.

At the Faculty of Navigation, we have introduced postgraduate studies in Risk Management in the Maritime Extractive Industry and Offshore Wind Energy.

We are active on the international stage. A member of our staff, Professor Krzysztof Czaplewski, was elected the Chair of the International Association of Institutes of Navigation (IAIN). Despite the pandemic, for the first time in 26 years, the TransNav conference, organised jointly with The Nautical Institute, was held remotely, with over 200 representatives from several dozen countries worldwide participating. We are also active in the forum of the International Association of Maritime Universities (IAMU). Recognising our activity, members of the International Executive Council decided that our University will represent all maritime universities in this body from 2023 to 2025, a role we have held previously, but as a representative of universities from Europe, Central Asia, and North Africa. We are currently part of this body in recognition of our activity. And here I would like to thank Professor Adam Przybyłowski, who is the University’s IAMU contact person, that is the person who maintains contact with the Association in relation to all matters. The Professor and I have organised several webinars together, which were popular with the Association’s international member universities.

Our experts participate in the sessions of the NCSR - Sub-Committee on Navigation, Communication and Search and Rescue. We have also actively participated in the work of the HTW Sub-Committee and the Maritime Safety Committee, contributing to the drafting of session documents.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

We very actively cooperate with the Bremerhaven University of Applied Sciences Hochschule Bremerhaven. Evidence of this is the presence today for the first time during these proceedings the Rector of the University, Professor Alexis Papathanassis, and Professor Hans Rummel, who has visited every year for the past 40 years, and the involvement of Hochschule Bremerhaven in our MBA programme.

We have welcomed on board our training ships, Horyzont II and Dar Młodzieży, students from Antwerp Maritime Academy, who will undergo training at sea, following the signing of a two-year contract.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

We are resuming cooperation with Angola, where, together with Navimor, we built a maritime university in Namibe several years ago. Angola is interested in continuing this collaboration, which will involve the exchange of our professors and students. They are also interested in our activities in the offshore sector and offshore wind energy.

We have established cooperation with the Republic of South Africa. Last autumn, the Ambassador of the Republic visited us, expressing interest in reactivating the construction of a maritime school in Durban. The most advanced plans, however, are those for cooperation with Senegal. Two of our professors, Professor Tomasz Tarasiuk and Professor Henryk Śniegocki, took part in government delegations to these countries, and a presidential visit was planned in February. President Andrzej Duda was scheduled to sign a contract with the Senegalese government concerning the construction of the school – however, this was put on hold due to the attack on Ukraine, due to which the matter was postponed to a later time.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

We have celebrated several significant anniversaries: last year, the centenary of the ship Lwów, and this year, the 40th anniversary of Dar Młodzieży. Our choir celebrated its 20th anniversary. Several of our staff members also celebrated milestones in their academic careers.

As for the life of the University, we are slowly returning to normal, and evidence of this is the recently organised Sports Day, which was very well received. Six teams participated: all four faculties, and for the first time the representation of the Maritime Institute and the University Administration. In the point-based competition, the Administration won. We are already looking forward to next year.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

What I have mentioned is a brief summary of what has happened over the past 12 months. I realise that I have not covered all the matters.

Yesterday, I had the pleasure and honour of thanking those who were most active during the recent evaluation period of our University. The Rector’s Awards were presented to academic staff and non-academic employees, and I must say the level of achievements has greatly improved. The achievements that would have earned a First Degree Award until recently were, this year, not enough to secure a Third Degree Award. I apologise to those who did not receive an award, but the competition was truly fierce.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

For the first time, we decided to introduce several new categories of awards, which were not previously in the regulations. We honoured those who have the highest Hirsch index at the University, the highest Hirsch index in individual faculties, those with the highest number of citations at the University or Faculty level, and those with the most citations in the past year. Perhaps more categories can be added in the future. Today, we will also be awarding individual people. But why am I mentioning this?

To say thank you! Regardless of how we are classified in the ongoing evaluation, whether we receive a B, B+, A, C, or D category, that is no longer up to us. I would, however, like to say that all the Faculties have done a tremendous job in showing and demonstrating that our University is capable of competing with the best. And for that, I sincerely thank you!