Interview with Joanna Skiba, Head of International Office of the Cuiavian University in Wloclawek (Poland).
1. Cuiavian University in Włocławek provides foreign students with Bachelor, Master and Doctoral programmes in English. Please, tell us more about the academic programmes, which specialists do you train?
Our programs are:
Bachelor: Economics, National Defence, Vocational Security, Public Administration, Dietetics, Logistics, Pedagogics, Nursing, Transport, Mechanical Engineering.
Master: Pedagogics, Nursing, National Defence.
All academic programs are listed at: http://ksw.wloclawek.pl/ua/
2. What is the structure of the university today? What academic and research institutes, faculties, departments do compose the university?
Cuiavian University in Włocławek is composed of research institutes which supervise the academic work of faculties.
Within the structure you can find the following institutes:
• Institute of Logistics and Technical Studies;
• Institute of Public Security Studies;
• Institute of Health;
• Institute of Pedagogics;
• Institute of Tribology and Exploitation.
The Faculties reflect the work of the above institutes. The Faculties are:
• Faculty of Health Sciences;
• Faculty of Social and Technical Studies;
• Extramural Faculty in Grudziądz (technical studies);
• Extramural Faculty in Nowy Targ (public security).
As you can see our university has two affiliate centres which are outside the city of Włocławek.
For the structure and faculties please find reference at: http://ksw.wloclawek.pl/ua/
3. Do you consider lecturers’ salaries of your university respectable? Could you indicate the minimum and maximum earnings of a lecturer of Cuiavian University in Włocławek?
The earnings range between 3000-6000 PLN gross, depending on title, experience and field. As a rule, salaries are not published openly, so this is a tough question to answer. The higher the rank of the academic teacher the higher the salary. Some eminent professor can make around 8000 PLN gross if they are specialists in the rare disciplines. We usually consider salaries to be respectable in the university. However, the salaries at state universities are even higher right now, but our university does not obtain any state subsidies.
4. Are lecturers of the university obliged to submit scientific reports annually? If it is required, please describe the content and structures of reports. Are there minimum requirements for the number of articles for publishing, reports at conferences, symposiums, lecturers’ roundtables?
There is no requirement for reports, however all academic teachers are obliged to submit special syllabus with the description of the teaching content. In general, scientists are obliged to publish and attend conferences, however there is no minimum requirement. As we are non-public, we have more freedom attached to those areas of academic life.
5. Are lecturers obliged to participate in international conferences, scientific and pedagogical conferences organised by the universities of other European countries? Does the university or state cover all expenses related to the engagement in the scientific events?
Our lecturers are not obliged or forced, they are encouraged. There are resources within ERASMUS+ which covers all costs related to international events. We have options to attend training courses abroad and conferences (for example: http://staffmobility.eu/staff-week-search), or use available resources from other EU supported programs. There are many opportunities to travel and learn.
6. Are lecturers of Cuiavian University in Włocławek interested in participating in scientific events organised by ex-USSR countries?
Definitely there are alsways some lecturers interested in such events, some of our lecturers speak Russian so there is no language barrier.
7. Web of Science Core Collection and Scopus are prestigious scientometric databases in Ukraine. The Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine recommends researchers to publish their articles in the journals included in the mentioned databases. Do your scientists publish articles in the journals included in Web of Science and Scopus? What difficulties can occur in the process? Scientific periodicals of what countries are top-priority for you?
Our lecturers also publish in these databases, however we have not faced any difficulties. There is no list of priorities as far as countries are concerned.
8. Tell us more detailed about the academic workload of lecturers at your university: how many academic classes and working days per week?
Academic classes are distributed per year, 240 hours for lecturers at MA levels, 120 hours for doctors, 80 for professors.
9. Do you have work time control for academic staff at your education institution? How do you fix the attendance of a lecturer at a scheduled class or late arrival for example?
The lecturers are independent and there is no formal system of control, they sign the contract which clearly states there will be no formal supervision over their academic work. You have to be independent and trustworthy for this job. There are cases when people fail and do not understand this system, but most of us are used to be self-disciplined.
10. Do lecturers have difficulties in teaching disciplines for foreign students taking into account the multicultural community of the university? Which language do lecturers prefer when interacting with students?
We do not teach many foreign students, if we do the lecturers choose English as a method of communication. Usually there are no problems with interaction and getting on with good terms with foreign colleagues or students.
11. In the Ukrainian scientific community, a dean is head of the faculty who not only controls academic, educational and scientific affairs but also has a great influence on all spheres of faculty’s activities. Frequently the dean often has additional privileges (for example, commodious individual office). What powers does a dean have at your university? What is his/her role in the educational process and life of the faculty in general?
The dean is the head of the faculty and is supervised by the Rector. He/she has similar powers to those described above – control of academic process, employment of academic teachers and supervision/management of work at the faculty.
