Results of the first Initiative of Excellence competition announced!

- Discussions within the academic community show that all 20 universities have gained prestige thanks to being able to participate in the Excellence Initiative-Research University program. At many universities, the prospect of participating in the competition was a stimulus to analyse their own prospects – emphasized Minister of Science and Higher Education Jarosław Gowin.

Competition applications presented by universities were evaluated in terms of: their substantive level, significance of the objectives set for raising the international significance of the university's activity and relevance of the described activities to the objectives and potential of the university. In addition to the assessment based on the content of the application, an international team of experts interviewed representatives of all the universities. Minister Gowin emphasized that the universities participating in the competition received valuable recommendations from eminent experts.

The aim of the Initiative of Excellence – Research University competition was to select and support universities that are to compete in the future with the best academic centres in the world. 20 universities passed to the first stage. Each of them was evaluated by 15 experts led by prof. Lauritz Holm-Nielsen, one of the authors of the report on the condition of Polish higher education, which was created in 2017 as a part of the European Commission Horizon 2020 program. The team included representatives of every scientific field, rectors and scientists of international reputation from the universities in Göttingen, Amsterdam , Aarhus, Manchester or Southampton.

Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences found itself in the prestigious group of 20 universities that passed to the second stage of the competition. By 2026, the universities in the top ten will have got a 10% increase in subsidies, while the others, including UPWr, will have got an increase of 2%.

The final ten is: the University of Warsaw, which scored the highest number of points, Gdańsk University of Technology, the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, the AGH University of Science and Technology, the Jagiellonian University, Warsaw University of Technology, the Medical University of Gdańsk, the Silesian University of Technology, the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń and the University of Wroclaw. Congratulations!

- Since the beginning of the term of its present authorities, the University of Life Sciences in Wrocław has been implementing a strategy that will allow us to transform from a traditional university into a third generation university, focused on strong links with the economy and the transfer of our research results into it. When the ministerial competition enabled us to gain the status of a research university, it has become a part of our previously planned and implemented actions and – which is worth emphasizing - it has accelerated them a little - says Rector Tadeusz Trziszka after the announcement of the results of the competition. - UPWr is a comparatively small specialized university. The fact that we have been qualified to the group of 20 universities that were able participate in the competition is already a huge success. We were the only agricultural and natural science university among large technical and general universities. To the surprise of many people we were just behind the final ten, which we were warmly congratulated on.

- We know from conversations with experts that our main disadvantage was that we are a small university. Perhaps in the future we will have to consider some form of federation with other schools. Now we are happy that we have gained an additional 2 percent subsidy for our operations – in our case over 3 million PLN over the next 6 years. We consistently implement the development strategy adopted 4 years ago. And of course, congratulations to our friends from the University of Wroclaw – adds the rector of UPWr.

The selected research universities will undergo the first assessment in 2023 – business plans presented by them in their competition applications will be subject to evaluation. At least two universities that will receive a negative grade or will rank the lowest will not receive further funding. This means that the universities or their federations that will win the second Initiative of Excellence competition will have a chance to take their place.

The Initiative of Excellence – Research Universities program is one of the most important initiatives included in the Higher Education and Science Act, and the Deputy Prime Minister Jarosław Gowin emphasized during the announcement of the competition results that the will to change and stand out is important for the entire academic community, and this competition is the beginning of a long journey – What the twenty universities presented in their competition applications are promises – he said – now they are facing the great test.