And what did the rector say in his opening remarks? First of all, he brought up the investments that had been completed, namely, the building now co-shared by the Center for Papermaking and Printing and the Faculty of Organization and Management, the passive building, the building renovated to house a kindergarten and daycare center, and the 'Mikrus' student residential hall. Several investments have been underway. The largest is the second phase of the construction of the Alchemium building. Lodz University of Technology is expecting to receive a further 50 million from the MEiN to furnish the building, which will allow it not to tap into subvention funds for this purpose.
Vehicle traffic at the university is now controlled by a new access system. It is fully operational on Campus B, whereas Campus A will have the same system in place by the end of this year.
Investments mean expenditure, so it is necessary to look for ways to economize. In Rector's view, that includes efforts to install more photovoltaic cells. The installation of 200 cameras on Campus A will help bring security costs down, especially with the monitoring center in operation making it even more effective.
Rector Professor Krzysztof Jóźwik also spoke about the efforts to amend the Statutes of Lodz University of Technology, among which of particular significance is the abolition of the Council for Academic Degrees accompanied by the transformation of the Councils of Disciplines into a university statutory body (as of October 1). Consultations with the community of TUL on the proposed amendments, which are expected to take effect from September 1, will start in mid-June.
The rector focused part of his speech on presenting the advantages of the university's membership of the ECIU, encouraging people to follow the website that has them listed. Among those, Professor Jóźwik mentioned the prestige, an exclusive offer of micro-modules, facilitated mobility, a streamlined process of micro credential recognition, unique support in acquiring European funds, and access to broad-ranging social and economic cooperation. He regarded as particularly important the representation of this network by TUL in a teaching and learning project aimed at the development of a European degree.
Questions were raised by those in attendance concerning, among others, the rules for granting a teaching allowance, the possibility of reducing the mandatory teaching load, as well as artificial intelligence as either a threat or an opportunity. There was a lively discussion about doctoral candidates, including increased interest in enrolling at the Interdisciplinary Doctoral School from Polish students. The conclusion, unfortunately, is not optimistic - the number of second-degree students, i.e. potential doctoral candidates, is declining, as the gap between the salaries offered by industry and universities is growing more and more pronounced.