Just six years ago Poland’s prospects as an international study destination looked poor. The country had 10,000 international students (the lowest in the OECD), lacked a national policy on international education and did not even offer a student visa, seriously limiting non-EU students’ ability to work even temporarily.
At the same time, after years of soaring domestic demand, institutions faced a growing exodus of Polish students to the EU and increased competition with foreign universities. The need to engage internationally had become paramount.
Jump to 2012 and a different picture is emerging. Poland is seeing growing interest in its education abroad, with foreign enrolments at its universities climbing to more than 17,000 in 2009/2010. There are other positive signs: Poland is now the sixth largest economy in the EU and one of the fastest growing economies in Central Europe, its GDP climbing 4.8% in 2008 (this has since slipped but still trumps the Eurozone average).
There is no big difference between the biggest universities in Poland and those overseas”
It also has a selection of attractive universities with clout outside the country, examples being Warsaw School of Economics (ranked 67th best business school in Europe by the Financial Times in 2011), Jagiellonian University (ranked 301-350th in the world in the THE rankings 2012), and the University of Warsaw (between 300th and 400th by Shanghai Jiao Tong).
“For students from England, France and Germany, we are not as attractive as say the USA – but I would say not as attractive yet,” says Bartosz Dembiński, spokesman for leading science institution AGH University of Science and Technology, which has seen its cohort of international students grow from 200 to 500 since 2005.
Haitian students at the University of Warsaw, which saw its overseas cohort rise to 2,243 this year
“There is no big difference between the biggest universities in Poland and those overseas; maybe in world rankings, but in subjects such as science there isn’t such a big disproportion.”
Tuition fees are also lower than most European countries, ranging from €2,500 to €9,000 per year, while degrees are recognised in more than 50 countries including all EU member states. Living costs are also low: Think Poland, a promotional body-cum-recruitment agency which promotes and sells Polish education abroad, says that just €300-€400 per month “covers the cost of accommodation, food, transport and cultural life”.
Challenges remain, however. Diversity is narrow, with most students in 2009/2010 coming from Ukraine and Belarus, followed by Norway and Sweden, although numbers from Asia and elsewhere are growing.
Most students in 2009/2010 came from Ukraine and Belarus
Poland’s universities are also collectively yet to achieve the global recognition enjoyed by other destinations. Similarly, the country is still not widely known for English language education, despite an increasing number of degrees offered in English. “We have more than ten full programmes in English, but this is not the norm in Polish universities,” says Dembiński. [More>>]
Marcin Poznań, spokesperson for the Warsaw School of Economics, which has seen its international cohort increase from 350 to 574, extends this, calling for Polish public universities to become more language-friendly. “For example signs in English through the campus or command of English language at a certain level by all administration workers, not only by those who deal with foreign students on a daily basis,” he says.
While a visa now exists for non-EU students, work rights could still be better. According to Study in Poland, a website promoting 400 Polish universities overseas, Non-EU/EEA citizens may work in July, August and September, but for the rest of the year must obtain a work permit which is only granted if no EU citizen can fill the vacancy.
Non-EU/EEA citizens may work in July, August and September, but for the rest of the year must obtain a work permit
Regardless, education institutions are pushing ahead and seeing fruitful results. They report that they are launching more programmes in English – the University of Warsaw, for example, sees this as key to maintaining its rising overseas enrolments which hit 2,243 in 2011/2012 (up from 1,016 in 2005/6).
They are also investing more in their faculties, attending more education fairs in a wider range of locations, participating in regional and national marketing campaigns, and using agents more. “We have agreements with three agencies signed last year – one in Vietnam, one in China, as well as with ThinkPoland,” Poznań says. “Plus we have recently hired a recruitment person to take care of the recruitment job in our Eastern neighbour countries such as Lithuania, Belarus and Ukraine.”
A sign of the shifting mood was the establishment of Think Poland itself in 2009. With partnerships with 16 universities it claims to be the biggest programme of its kind in Poland, helping international students to find degree and language courses (Polish and English) – an increasingly common offer in the country. It also helps international students with the application process, arrivals, accommodation and finding work, as well as offering information about Polish life and culture.
Think Poland set up offices in Poland, Ukraine and Australia and works with a global network of agents
Reflecting its global ambitions, the company set up offices in Poland, Ukraine and Australia, and works with a global network of agents in countries such as Turkey, India, Saudi Arabia and Vietnam. It also attends education exhibitions around the world (most recently India and Oman), highlighting Poland as a study destination.
Think Poland attended Oman’s largest education fair, the Ghedex Global Higher Education Exhibition, in May
Marcin Umiński, marketing manager, says the feedback he saw at the Oman fair indicated the mood towards Poland overseas.
“There were not so many people thinking of studying in Poland before, but after we showed them the programmes and the prices, which were more competitive than the prices in Oman, then they were really interested in the offer. When they realise there is this opportunity to study in English in Poland then many of them are really interested.”
All agree that Poland has potential, it seems, but can this be converted into stronger overseas enrolments in years to come? Perhaps the key ingredient missing is concerted government commitment. There is still no national strategy on international education, although a new government programme, Ready ,Study, Go! Poland has just been launched, offering promotional support (although only one university that talked to The PIE News for this article mentioned it).
“A consistent clear PR campaign would be of great help”
The hope now is that this and other programmes will gather steam. “The advantages of Poland are high quality education at a lower cost than in Western Europe, definitely lower cost of living, as well as open-minded friendly Polish students,” Poznań surmises. “However, a consistent clear PR campaign abroad supported by the Polish Ministry of Higher Education and Science – that underscored the advantages of studying in Poland – would also be of great help to turn Poland into an international student destination.”
