The University

THE REGION, EUROPE, THE WORLD
education, especially in disciplines connected with
design, allowing students to implement many of
their creative ideas.
The Polish community in Murmansk
The Murmansk Polish community numbers
about two thousand people whose activity is focused
around the Catholic Church parish, officially
established here in 2007. The local university is
also an animator of Polish culture in the Murmansk
region, for instance Katarzyna Karbanowska from
the Chair of Russian Language provides tutelage
to a student troupe engaged in staging plays in
Polish for the local academic community.
lak, Prof. Ewa Szuszkiewicz, Prof. Piotr Niedzielski,
the Chancellor – Eugeniusz Kisiel, Barbara Rodziewicz,
PhD and the author of this article.
The essential part of the visit involved talks
with rectors and deans of particular faculties, giving
Szczecin’s researchers valuable insight concerning
MSPU’s direction of development. At the same
time, this let them experience the warmth, openness
and hospitality of their hosts, who made an
effort to show them the city’s beautiful surroundings.
The hosts also organized a visit to the local
cemetery, where Prof. Witkowski paid homage to
Polish soldiers by laying flowers on their graves.
Thanks to the courtesy of the MSPU History
Museum and efforts undertaken by Szczecin University
professors, Murmansk received a place
in the rocks and sands collection from different
regions of the world in Szczecin University’s Geological
Museum of the Faculty of Geosciences. Additionally,
our university extended its collection of
souvenirs from behind the Arctic Circle to include,
e.g. pictures painted with natural rocks. The visit
was also an opportunity to gather research samples
from the shores of the Barents Sea for Prof.
Stanisław Musielak’s geological laboratory.
Undoubtedly, collaboration between Szczecin
University and MSPU constitutes a chance for those
students and staff that wish to perfect their skills
in the field of social studies and the Russian language.
Murmansk is also a paradise for geologists,
View of the city and port
of Murmansk
Photo: Andrzej Witkowski
The first Szczecin University delegation
In September 2009, following an invitation from
the Rector of MSPU Prof. Andrey Sergeev, a Szczecin
University delegation led by Prof. Andrzej
Witkowski, Vice-Rector for Science and International
Cooperation, came to Murmansk. The group
of representatives included: Prof. Stanisław Musie-
archeologists and all those interested in exploring
the tundra ecosystems. Will this collaboration live
up to the expectations? This actually depends on
whether funds will be earmarked for the realization
of joint projects and whether people will be
eager to seize the opportunities. For our university
this opens up new possibilities, let us not waste
them.
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