20 YEARS OF POLAND'S MEMBERSHIP IN THE EUROPEAN UNION

May 1, 2024 marks the 20th anniversary of Poland's accession to the European Union. The community of Jan Dlugosz University in Czestochowa has used this time to carry out a variety of activities united by one common goal – the development of infrastructure and comprehensive enrichment of knowledge and skills of: staff, students, doctoral students and graduates!

For two decades, it has been possible to obtain about 110 million PLN from the European Union. The money was used to improve the university's infrastructure. The largest investment was the construction, equipping and commissioning of a research and teaching building, which is located on the university campus at  Zbierskiego 2/4. Similarly, EU funds were used to finance the construction of the Academic Sports Centre. Limiting ourselves to the information about these two undertakings, it is necessary to remember about many other initiatives, certainly smaller in terms of value and involvement of EU funds, but having a huge impact on improving the conditions of research, teaching and the general perception of the University in the eyes of its closest friends, as well as the entire environment: the inhabitants of Częstochowa, the region, partners, guests who come from Poland and abroad. This list includes: laboratories, auditoriums, classrooms, laboratory equipment, as well as infrastructure dedicated to people with disabilities such as elevators or teaching aids.

Following the thought that people and their competences are the most important, it is impossible to forget about the incalculable benefits that Poland's accession to the EU has brought to the lives of staff, students and doctoral students. On the basis of EU funds, dozens (if not more) of foreign trips, staff and student exchanges, trainings, seminars and various projects were carried out, in which European values dominated, as well as ideas related to the acquisition of new skills, such as: improving language competences, learning about higher education systems functioning in other European countries, or, most importantly,  acquainting the participants with the culture and past of the EU countries.

At this point, it is worth emphasizing one more aspect: it is impossible to count the scale of the commitment to the assistance that we have provided to countries intending to join the European community in the near future. Particularly noteworthy here is the support provided to our partners from Ukrainian universities. Thanks to the lessons learned, the university community has become a bridge between cultures, political systems, nations... Two decades ago, this would have hardly been possible. Nowadays, it has become a fact!

Although there is still a lot to be done, although we are ambitiously planning a number of new projects aimed at modernising our lives and the world around us, after 20 years we agree that we have succeeded and we have a lot to be thankful for! We are convinced that we will try to make even better use of the opportunities in the next decade of membership in the European Union, full of challenges and new plans! 

Letter from the Minister of Science, Dariusz Wieczorek: 20th anniversary of Poland's accession to the EU (PL)