Q: What makes young people want to study at your university? Why do they pick it from among others with a similar educational offer?

A: First of all, this university has been present in the Polish market uninterruptedly for the past 17 years. It was the sixth private university to be founded in Poland. Secondly, it keeps developing. It started out as a business college with a management faculty. But very soon demand it launched new faculties such as banking and finances, international relations, law and as of this year administration in response to market. We offer master’s degree courses, which is important, because most private universities only offer studies for a bachelor’s degree. We offer interdisciplinary studies. The point I keep stressing is that for a good lawyer employed by a corporation pure legal science naturally forms the basis. But add to that elements of finances, banking, international relations, European law or administration, and you get a unique profile, which allows our graduate a broader overview of processes taking place in the marketplace.
This university also sets itself additional objectives. We believe that students who enter free market realities must be able to adapt. To do this they must be equipped with certain tools. One is the command of two foreign languages. We also offer practical knowledge, enabling students to meet company bosses to gain experience and find out about the situation in the job market. In one of the recent classes the president of a large IT company explained who he is keen to employ and what qualifications and skills he regards as important. The university boasts more than 6,000 graduates. Right now it has some 3,000 students. I am very happy with the fact that it’s not, say, over a dozen. This prevents them from feeling anonymous and makes them feel part of a family.

Q: The number of public universities in Poland is shrinking. At the time of the educational boom of the 1990s there were more than 400 of them. Now there are some 300 left. What would you say is the future of private universities?

A: The universities that wish to develop have to face market realities. I reckon that within the next few years their number will probably drop to around 150. Some say this is due to unfavourable demographic trends. Large numbers of young people have emigrated from Poland. But I don’t think that’s the whole picture. Students and their parents choose the university much more carefully than before. The schools that take what they have for granted now may be doomed a few years from now.
Private universities will need to increasingly enter into all kinds of alliances. They will need to create inter-university studies. They will need to form groups to come up with a more attractive offer for students. Right now foreign students at our universities only account for 7% per cent. In the EU the figure stands at 25-30%, while in the US it’s over 50%. Poland is likely to follow this route. This university already offers courses taught in English. We play host to students from universities we work in partnership with. They are here for one or two semesters as part of the Erasmus scheme. Our students take advantage of the possibility to study in Belgium, Spain and Italy. I think that even stronger links will be forged in Poland between private universities keen to merge to form entities enjoying the kind of intellectual and teaching potential that will allow them to successfully compete with old universities within 10 to 15 years.

A: What about your plans for the coming years?

A: We want to win the right to offer doctoral studies in law and management. We perceive the status of an academic institution not just in terms of prestige, but also as a challenge to constantly raise the quality of education and to develop own research. WE have decided to build a new campus. We are also thinking of launching new faculties, as well as a new edition of MBA studies in conjunction with a Canadian university.