At TUL, the cooperation will be coordinated by the International Cooperation Centre. The memorandum covers, among other areas, student and staff exchanges, joint research projects, and the development of educational programmes delivered collaboratively by both universities.
Rector Professor Krzysztof Jóźwik emphasised:
We have signed today a Memorandum of Understanding, which marks the first step in building relations with our Chinese partner. Beijing University of Chemical Technology ranks within one per mille of the world’s best universities. Our disciplines—materials engineering, chemical sciences, and computer science—are highly compatible, creating excellent conditions for both scientific and educational collaboration.
As the Rector noted, BUCT already cooperates with universities from the United Kingdom, Scotland, and the United States, running double-degree programmes. It is a top-tier partner, recommended by the Chinese government as one of the country’s most promising universities. We are pleased that Lodz University of Technology has been selected, alongside Warsaw University of Technology, as one of only two Polish institutions to establish cooperation with BUCT, added Professor Jóźwik.
The joint activities will cover both research and education within a flexible micro-module framework. Assoc. Prof. Dorota Piotrowska, Head of the International Cooperation Centre, stated:
We believe that the consistency of our disciplines will bring tangible benefits. We want the exchange of students and staff to be fully reciprocal. We are also considering a model where lecturers teach alternately for several weeks in China and in Poland, similar to how BUCT collaborates with international partners in Europe and around the world.
The partnership with the Chinese university holds immense scientific potential. BUCT frequently hosts Nobel Prize laureates who lecture for students and staff, demonstrating the institution’s high academic standing and broad research ambitions, highlighted Professor Piotrowska. According to the Rector, this cooperation represents a major opportunity for developing new research directions and further advancing the internationalisation of Lodz University of Technology.
Both universities plan to submit their first joint project proposals soon, and as early as next year, the first student exchanges—initially up to ten participants—will be launched.
The signing of the MoU today is only the beginning. We already have an action plan in place and have scheduled further online meetings. We want the cooperation to start taking concrete shape as soon as possible, concluded Prof. Piotrowska after the working meeting.