What Lies Beneath the Baltic? – GMU Inaugurates Lecture Series Marking Gdynia's Centenary

The inaugural lecture was attended by numerous residents of the city as well as representatives of the academic community. The audience and the speaker were welcomed by Dr Dariusz Barbucha, Deputy Rector for Science at Gdynia Maritime University, who underlined that the lecture series is the result of cooperation between Gdynia’s four higher education institutions and the city authorities, and forms an important part of the jubilee celebrations. He also noted that the initiative is intended to give Gdynia residents a closer look at individual researchers and the everyday research work conducted at the city’s universities.

Entitled ‘The Baltic – Our Sea. What Really Lies Beneath the Waters off Gdynia?’, the inaugural lecture was delivered by Professor Magdalena Bogalecka of Gdynia Maritime University. Professor Bogalecka introduced the audience to the specific nature of the Baltic Sea as a body of water that is particularly vulnerable to environmental pressures. She briefly presented its flora and fauna before going on to discuss the main factors adversely affecting the condition of the Baltic Sea and the lives of the organisms inhabiting it. Among the threats she identified were maritime transport, offshore activity, wrecks lying on the seabed and dumped weapons. She also addressed the impact of everyday human activity on the Baltic, while encouraging participants throughout the lecture to engage actively by taking part in a themed quiz accompanying the presentation.

The issues raised by the speaker generated considerable interest among the audience, which was reflected in the discussion that concluded the first lecture hosted by Gdynia Maritime University as part of the series ‘Gdynia! A Choice for Today. A City for Tomorrow’, organised to mark the city’s centenary.

The popular science lecture series is being organised jointly by Gdynia’s four higher education institutions: Gdynia Maritime University, the Polish Naval Academy, WSB Merito University Gdynia, and the Eugeniusz Kwiatkowski University of Administration and Business in Gdynia, in cooperation with the City of Gdynia.

Gdynia Maritime University has prepared nine lectures as part of the series. They will be held on selected Thursdays at 6:00 pm (18:00). Admission to all events is free. After each lecture, participants will have an opportunity to speak directly with the speaker.

We are pleased to invite everyone to the next lecture, which will take place on 21 May 2026 and will be given by Katarzyna Gaul, MSc(Eng), a research and teaching staff member at the Faculty of Navigation at Gdynia Maritime University. In her presentation, she will explain what powers ships, taking the audience on a journey through a century of maritime innovation.