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UNIVERSITY OF LODZ IN THE UNIC /JUːˈNIːK/ ALLIANCE - WHAT IS UNIC?
In 2022 University o Lodz joined EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY OF POST-INDUSTRIAL CITIES (UNIC) - one of 44 alliances of European Universities. European Universities are transnational alliances that will become the universities of the future, promoting European values and identity, and revolutionising the quality and competitiveness of European higher education. They will do so by joint implementation of innovative solutions in the field of education and science and deep institutional integration.
The collaborative project focuses on the challenges faced by post-industrial cities, the role of universities in their transformation and building the potential of cities in key areas such as: social inclusion, diversity, sustainable development.
The alliance currently consists of 10 partner universities, including:
- Erasmus University Rotterdam (The Netherlands) - coordinator
- University of Deusto (Spain)
- Ruhr University Bochum (Germany)
- University College Cork (Ireland)
- Koç University (Turkey)
- University of Liège (Belgium)
- University of Oulu (Finland)
- University of Zagreb (Croatia)
- University of Lodz (Poland)*
- Malmö University (Sweden)*
*universities that joined the alliance in 2022
UNIC AMBASSADOR at THE UNIVERSITY OF LODZ
The UNIC Ambassador programme at the University of Lodz is an initiative thanks to which we strengthen the University of Lodz students’ ties with the 9 other universities that make up the UNIC community and promote UNIC among the university community and the inhabitants of Lodz.
Recruitment for the first edition of the programme will run until 17 November 2023!
How does it work?
We will team up with two committed imaginative and, above all, action-ready individuals representing different study programmes and different faculties so as to jointly promote the UNIC Alliance at the University of Lodz.
Are you open to new adventures and challenges? Do you like people and make new friends easily? Are you involved in the life of your faculty? Are you everywhere? Or are you looking for your first professional experience and an additional source of income? We have something just right for you!
If you feel you are the person we are looking for, read on!
UNIC – VISION FOR THE FUTURE
Membership in the alliance will increase the international visibility of the partnership and it will strengthen cooperation with other international academic centres. Students, doctoral students, researchers and administrative staff of the UNIC alliance will be able to benefit from education and gain professional experience at partner universities in jointly developed innovative projects that will provide a new dimension to the interuniversity cooperation. By studying, teaching and working throughout Europe, they will become change agents who will play an important role in the transformation of urban regions. In doing so, they will contribute to the resilience and renaissance of Europe’s post-industrial urban centres, ‘bringing science to the city’ through initiatives such as CityLabs (urban laboratories, points of contact between the city and the academy). As a result, a new generation of students and researchers with the knowledge, skills and societal consciousness will emerge, who will act as change-leaders, active citizens and builders of our common European future, shaping the European Education Area.
UNIC also aims at broadening educational opportunities for students, including members of the new migrant communities and those living in socioeconomically disadvantaged areas.
UNIC – KEY DELIVERABLES AND ACTIVITIES
- Co-creating a European collaborative structure for UNIC: engaging students, PhD candidates and staff of UNIC's partner universities in building closer and more effective inter-university cooperation in Europe through joint, innovative educational and scientific projects.
- Enabling seamless mobility: the ambition of UNIC is to enable students, PhD candidates and university staff, as part their educational and scientific-research activities, to move seamlessly within and outside UNIC, despite its undoubted diversity. Virtual mobility and participation in online classes conducted at other universities belonging to the alliance will also play an important role.
- Ensuring social inclusion: It means identifying and understanding differences and using them to everyone’s advantage. Achieving this goal will be based on the pooling of research and education excellence of the partner universities in this area.
- Developing post-industrial cities and addressing the challenges to offset the impact of negative social and economic trends by creating new solutions for regions within the UNIC alliance and confronting the real challenges these regions face.
UNIC – HOW WILL THE ALLIANCE TRANSFORM UNIVERSITIES THAT MAKE IT UP?
- A lasting alliance of European universities, based on cooperation involving students, PhD candidates, scientists and administrative Staff, will be developed.
- UNIC Inter-University Campus will be created. It will allow for virtual, physical and blended mobility for students, PhD candidates and university staff. The Campus will include:
- Mobility Hubs ensuring practical advice,
- digital learning opportunities,
- multi-lingual communication,
- mutual recognition of courses.
- UNIC Superdiversity Academy will be established – our centre of excellence on building inclusive universities in superdiverse cities. The Academy will develop models of practice to address superdiverse populations through research, educational and information programmes, executive training, and the provision of lifelong learning.
- In post-industrial cities UNIC CityLabs will appear. They will be created for specific municipal science and research projects. Their aim will be to bring science to our cities in a challenge-based learning methodology.
UNIC – TASKS FOR THE UNIVERSITY OF LODZ
By joining the group of universities associated within the UNIC alliance, University of Lodz plans to:
- promote activities under the UNIC alliance among the university community, the city and the region as well as institutions cooperating with the University of Lodz.
- actively engage in joint activities of the UNIC partnership through, among others: mobility of students, PhD candidates and staff, participation in joint research projects, creation of joint study programmes and other educational initiatives.
- analyse, improve and modify processes and procedures aimed at their integration within the UNIC alliance.
- develop joint study programmes and implement projects in cooperation with partners from UNIC.
- implement solutions functioning in the UNIC alliance, such as: UNIC Student Charter, UNIC Inter-University Virtual Campus, UNIC Mobility Hubs, as well as joint study programmes and training programmes.
UNIC. GET TO KNOW THE 10 PARTNER UNIVERSITIES
As many as ten universities, located in major European cities, belong to the European University of Post-Industrial Cities alliance. Each offers unique opportunities – both linguistic and academic – that can benefit all staff and students of the University of Lodz. What is good to know about them?
prof. dr hab. Elżbieta Żądzińska
Rector of the University of Lodz since 2020. She has been associated with the University of Lodz for more than 30 years, having previously served as the Vice-Rector of the university and Dean of the Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection. Her research interests include biology and human biology. Winner of many prestigious awards, member of associations, committees and commissions, including the Conference of Rectors of Academic Schools in Poland (CRASP). Honorary Visiting Research Fellow at School of Medical Sciences University of Adelaide in Australia since 2014. UNIC Sponsor/President at the University of Lodz
E: rektor@uni.lodz.pl
Łukasz Bogucki
Łukasz Bogucki is a professor of English Linguistics and Translation Studies. He holds the position of Vice-Rector for International Relations at the University of Lodz and Head of the Department of Translation Studies and Language Pedagogy. Previously, he was Head of the Institute of English Studies. Łukasz Bogucki is also a researcher in the field of audiovisual translation and translation/interpreting studies. UNIC Coordinator at the University of Lodz.
E: intlrector@uni.lodz.pl
Kamilla Szcześniak
Kamilla Szcześniak is the Chancellor of the University of Lodz. She is responsible for supervising administrative activities undertaken at the University of Lodz including human resources and social-living issues, management, administration and supervision of the university's assets, organising the internal work of the university administration and management system, securing its property, planning investments and renovations, controlling the correct operation of buildings, energy and transport issues. UNIC Management Board Member at the University of Lodz
Katarzyna Pardyka
Katarzyna Pardyka is the Deputy Director at the University of Lodz. iHub is a contact point for international researchers, which provides them with support throughout their stay at the university. On an everyday basis, she focuses on supporting the processes towards greater internationalisation of the University of Lodz. UNIC Project Manager at the University of Lodz. Katarzyna Pardyka plays a leading role in the smooth management, monitoring and implementation of UNIC projects and joint activities at the local level.
Andrzej Kruk
Andrzej Kruk is a professor of Biological Sciences. He is the Dean of the Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, University of Lodz and the Head of the Department of Ecology and Vertebrate Zoology. Andrzej Kruk’s research interests include river ecology: assessing the status, direction and the pace of change in fish and aquatic macroinvertebrate communities, the importance of oxbow lakes in the functioning of river ecosystems, the influence of river damming and regulation as well as water pollution on the aquatic environment. At UNIC, he is responsible for WP1: Project Management and Evaluation.
E: andrzej.kruk@uni.lodz.pl
Aleksandra Orpel
Aleksandra Orpel is an associate professor at the University of Lodz and the Vice Dean for Research and International Affairs at the Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science. She is a mathematician-researcher and lecturer. At UNIC, Aleksandra Orpel is responsible for WP3: Achieving UNIC Inter-University Mobility.
Katarzyna Liberska-Kinderman
Katarzyna Liberska-Kinderman holds a PhD in Humanities and is a Deputy Director of the Promotion Centre, University of Lodz. She was an Assistant Professor and lecturer in the Department of Journalism and Social Communication, University of Lodz for 10 years. For many years she was the Head of PR and Communications in a bank and a pharmaceutical company. She specialises in liaising with the media and public trust professions. At UNIC, she is responsible for WP4: Developing UNIC Superdiversity Academy.
Mariusz Sokołowicz
Associate professor at the University of Lodz. Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Sociology and the Head of the Department of Regional Economics and Environment, urban-economist studying urban and regional economies and member of the Regional Studies Association, European Regional Science Association, Society of Polish Town Planners, Ukrainian Academy of Economic Sciences. He says that one of the best things that have happened to Europe is the decentralisation of power and getting it closer to citizens. At UNIC, he is responsible for WP5: Rolling out UNIC CityLabs for Societal Impact.
Michał Kobierecki
Michał Kobierecki is the University of Lodz professor in Political Science, specialising in sports diplomacy, public diplomacy and sports policy. He directs the Political and International Studies programme at the University of Lodz and is a member of the Polish Olympic Committee. Michał Kobierecki is the winner of the Scholarship of the Minister of Science and Higher Education for outstanding young scientists. At UNIC, he is responsible for WP6: Fostering UNIC Sustainability and Dissemination.
WRITE TO US
Have you attended an interesting workshop within UNIC? Would you like to share your impressions? Or perhaps you would like to become the University of Lodz student ambassador for UNIC? Write to us: UNIC@uni.lodz.pl