Education for business, business for education – this is how it’s done in Bydgoszcz

One of the most important values for investors is access to competent employees. In this respect, the presence of a population of over one million within a 50 km radius puts Bydgoszcz in a privileged position. More than half of the total number of students in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship is educated at the universities located at Brda river, and the profile of education is largely adapted to the needs of the local economy.

Student teams under the supervision of professionals

In January 2024, the results of the nationwide Ranking of High Schools and Technicians “Perspektywy 2024” were announced for the 26th time. Of the Bydgoszcz schools, the highest among the technical schools was the Electronic Technical School No. 7 (position 16), and among the Bydgoszcz high schools – the VI High School of Jan and Jędrzej Śniadecki (2nd place in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship and 79th place in the country). Although both institutions have experienced a decline this year, they are still at the forefront and the Bydgoszcz Electronic Technical School is the best in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship and received the title of a “golden school”.

Since 2019, the potential of students and the involvement of the teaching staff of the Electronic School Complex in Bydgoszcz have been successfully used by the IT leader in Bydgoszcz and the Kuyavian-Pomeranian region – Atos. It was then that Atos launched its first patronage class, which is graduating its education this year. Currently, the company takes care of 160 students in five partner classes with a profile of IT technician. As part of the partnership, students take part in meetings organized by Atos at school and are invited to visit the company’s headquarters, and under the supervision of specialists, they do internships there. In Bydgoszcz electronic schools, Ivy Technology company also has its own class. Thanks to this cooperation, students gain guaranteed employment, higher start-up earnings, or access to the Ivy Team internship and apprenticeship program.

In Bydgoszcz, there are 24 technical schools with over 8,800 students. There are 9 universities with 35,830 students, including 3,567 at IT faculties.

Universities and business... business and universities

The well-developed structure of state and private universities in Bydgoszcz allows for close cooperation between academic centres and business, as well as provides the market with competent and ambitious candidates for work.

At all universities, the fields of study are subject to assessment of the quality of education, and one of its parameters is cooperation with the socio-economic environment. This is also the case in Bydgoszcz, including the Kazimierz Wielki University with its Faculty Councils.

– Its members, apart from teachers and students, are representatives of the socio-economic environment. These may be people associated with specific companies or public institutions. They have an impact on the curriculum followed later by students. To sum up – each field of study, and we have over 60 of them, implements such cooperation – emphasizes Sebastian Nowak, Spokesperson of the Kazimierz Wielki University in Bydgoszcz.

WSB Merito University Bydgoszcz focuses on practical activities and close contact with business. Here, representatives of companies and entrepreneurs conduct classes in specialty subjects, sharing many years of experience from various industries. The university, together with companies, also creates specific fields of study. One example is IT studies, created in partnership with Nokia. Cooperation with business partners also focuses on the annual analysis of study programmes and ongoing modifications. This is where ideas for introducing new, practical subjects, modules or specialties most often come from. Thus, after consultations with GLS Poland,

WSB Merito University supplemented the logistics specialty with an additional courier module, for which the company’s representatives indicated the necessary elements. On top of that, international accounting specialty was created at finance and accounting studies, the originator and partner of which is Norian Accounting, a company providing outsourcing services in financial and accounting as well as HR and payroll processes.

The benefits of cooperation and implementation of joint projects between science and business are recognized by Atos, which treats cooperation with universities as a result of the current internal needs of the organization and the capabilities of a given university.

 – We implement targeted solutions developed together with the academic community that bring mutual benefits – on the one hand, they develop the future potential of universities, on the other hand, they allow us to achieve the strategic goals of the organization – emphasizes Robert Wichłacz, Member of the Management Board and Managing Director of Atos Poland Global Services Ltd.

The cooperation is based, among others, on conducting lectures open to students of a given university, the implementation of apprenticeships or internship programs. Last year, Atos cooperated, among others, with the WSB Merito University, Kazimierz Wielki University in Bydgoszcz, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, or the Bydgoszcz University of Science and Technology.

Nokia Technology Centre, universities are natural partners in implementing technological solutions that are innovative and creative. With unique “know-how” and a team of experts, Nokia wants to share knowledge with the academic community and exchange research experiences. Therefore, the employees of the Bydgoszcz Centre cooperate in such areas as internships for students, programming competitions, workshops, trainings and events, taking patronage over high school classes and fields of study, conducting classes and supporting the activities of scientific circles at universities. As part of its previous activities, Nokia also had the opportunity to cooperate with the Kazimierz Wielki University in Bydgoszcz and the Bydgoszcz University of Science and Technology, as part of which it supported the definition of the curriculum for the inter-university field of study “Programming business applications”.

From kindergarten to…

The subject of cooperation with the educational sector is comprehensively approached by the largest Bydgoszcz cluster, one of the National Key Clusters, i.e. Bydgoszcz Industrial Cluster Tool Valley.

 – Our cooperation in the field of education is carried out at every stage of teaching – from kindergartens to implementation doctorates – says Piotr Wojciechowski, Managing Director of the Cluster.

Visits to kindergartens, visits of pupils and students in cluster companies, cooperation with industry schools in the field of practical vocational training, a day for schools organized during the annual INNOFORM International Fair, cooperation with universities in creating fields of study and postgraduate studies, organization of meetings in companies for students of human resource management, R&D works, organization of trainings and conferences, or, finally, joint research projects co-financed by the EU with universities, are only part of the activities for the promotion of the sector and professions operating in it.

Together with the Technical School of Mechanical Engineering No. 2 in Bydgoszcz, the Cluster will create the country’s only Industry Skills Centre in the field of plastics processing, where numerous trainings will be conducted, and students will be able to educate themselves on the latest machines and specialized devices.

– One of the strategic goals of the Cluster’s activity is to support the development of industry education and to promote the fields whose graduates are sought after in our companies. Without qualified staff at every level of education, the industry will not have the opportunity to operate and develop – emphasizes Piotr Wojciechowski, the Managing Director of the Bydgoszcz Industrial Cluster Tool Valley.

Cooperation at the intersection of education and business, although developing better and better, still faces many barriers. Time adjustment to jointly implement projects, or insufficient legal and economic instruments, are among the most significant difficulties. Despite the progressing automation and robotization, the labor market still needs new, high competences. The most desirable skills are currently analytical, programming, but also interpersonal competences. Therefore, the task of schools and universities seems to be to support the development of these skills among pupils and students.

As emphasized by the representatives of one of the largest employers in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian region – Atos, the undoubted value among new employees is also the ability to cooperate in a team, especially one that is culturally or generationally diverse, and to build mental resilience that allows for better management of self in times of change. The acquisition of these skills by young people will certainly be more effective thanks to the close cooperation of schools and universities with business and will confirm that this cooperation makes deep sense.

This article comes from magazine:
FOCUS ON Business #16 May-June (3/2024)