Wrocław University of Science and Technology will receive almost PLN 2.4 million under the SPINAKER programme. The two grants will fund new international study programmes at the university. One of them will be delivered jointly by staff from our Faculty and the Faculty of Electrical Engineering.

Our university is one of only three universities in Poland to receive funding for more than one project under “SPINAKER – Intensive International Education Programmes”.

Operated by the Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange, the programme helps internationalize Polish universities by supporting short courses, from 20 to 150 hours, taught in foreign languages and aimed mainly at international students, doctoral students and academic staff.

This year’s edition attracted 42 applications from across Poland. Funding went to 21 projects, with a total budget of more than PLN 16.6 million.

Two of the successful projects will be carried out at our university, by the Faculty of Management, the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and the Faculty of Information and Communication Technology.

The funding will support new specialist courses, summer and winter schools, and study visits that will attract international students and academic staff to our university.

Digital technologies for the energy sector of the future

The first project, “International data-driven education for clean energy-based power systems”, will be carried out jointly by the Faculties of Electrical Engineering and Information and Communication Technology. The project received almost PLN 1.2 million, all of which will go to our university. Staff from the Department of Electrical Engineering Fundamentals and the Department of Applied Computer Science will be involved in its implementation.

“We will teach participants about power systems based on renewable energy,” says Dr. Michał Jasiński from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, who leads the project. “This is now a key area of business development, and the international labour market needs technically trained specialists who can work with clean energy systems.”

His team will develop study programmes in seven subject areas. The classes are aimed at students, doctoral students, and foreign academic staff. The programmes will focus on the practical use of modern digital tools in renewable-energy systems.

Sustainable innovations

At the Faculty of Management, the SPINAKER grant will support the international project “GLOBAL – Green Learning Opportunities and Broad Academic Leadership”. The project aims to advance the green transition by launching the International Laboratory for Sustainable Innovation and introducing innovative micro-credentials. The project received almost PLN 1.2 million, nearly 30 per cent of which will go to Wroclaw Tech.

“We want to develop future skills among students and academic staff, and show that education can be practical, international and genuinely supportive of sustainable development,” says Dr. Anna Maria Kamińska from the Faculty of Management, who leads the project. “Micro-credentials will also help us respond more quickly and flexibly to the needs of students and the labour market,” she adds.

Her team will carry out the project with universities in Japan, the United States, Ukraine and Georgia, as well as with Unite! partners from Finland and Austria. The project builds on several years of international cooperation in this field.

“We will provide training for academic staff from Wroclaw Tech and our partner universities on how to prepare micro-credentials and how to use modern teaching methods,” says Dr. Kamińska. “We will also launch the International Laboratory for Sustainable Innovation as a space for developing solutions for higher education.”

The project will also include a course entitled “Sustainable Development in Education” and a winter school for students from several countries.

More information about the results of the SPINAKER programme, including the list of winners, is available on the NAWA website.