By 2020, the number of international students at Polish universities is expected to increase from 30 to 100 thousand, assume the organizers of the promotion of Polish universities abroad: "Study in Poland".
The internationalisation of Polish higher education, attracting foreign students and the promotion of Polish universities abroad, were the topics discussed in Poznań by representatives of universities from across Poland at the conference "International Students in Poland". The two-day meeting organized in the framework of the program "Study in Poland" and conducted by the Conference of Rectors of Academic Schools in Poland (CRASP) and Educational Foundation "Perspektywy", was attended by representatives of several universities.
"Currently, there are about 30 thousand studies international students in Poland. We assume that by 2020 there will be about 100 thousand" - said Waldemar Siwiński, president of the Educational Foundation "Perspektywy", operator of the program "Study in Poland".
Polish universities want to increase the number of foreign students for demographic reasons, since there are fewer Polish students, and to strengthen their international education market presence.
"If we do not join the process of internationalisation of studies, we can lose in this market and lose the chance to carry out international projects. Our schools are well prepared to accept foreign students, we now have better education facilities and well trained scientific staff, able to report the research and teach in foreign languages" - said the host of the meeting, Vice-Rector of Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, prof. Jacek Witkoś.
According to the Foundation "Perspektywy", in the world there are about 4.1 million international students, 30 thousand of whom currently study in Poland.
"30 thousand may seem a large number, but it is only 1.74 percent of the total number of students, while at European universities there are about 6-7 percent international students" - said president Siwiński.
In Poland, most foreign students study in medical schools (about 7-8 percent), and least at technical universities (0.8 percent).
"Technical universities have their own specifics, Polish industry is an international industry, and we must look for the kind of education that will meet the needs of the industry. (...) Now we are talking about developing a brand of Polish technical universities in Europe and the world. We launched the program +Study Engineering in Poland+ and we want to use it to double the number of international students of Polish technical universities from the current 0.8 percent of all students to 1.6 percent " - told PAP rector of Wrocław University of Technology, Prof. Tadeusz Więckowski.
40 universities participate in the program "Study in Poland", launched by the Conference of Rectors of Academic Schools in Poland.
PAP - Science and Scholarship in Poland
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