The rectors of five public higher education institutions in Pomerania and the chairs of their University Councils have signed a joint statement supporting the proposed legislation establishing a metropolitan association in the Pomerania Region. The draft act of Parliament provides for the allocation of additional funding to scientific research, development activities and cooperation with higher education institutions. This represents a clear, systemic step towards building a metropolis founded on knowledge, innovation and cross-sector collaboration.

The document was signed by the authorities of the Medical University of Gdańsk, Gdańsk University of Technology, the University of Gdańsk, Stanisław Moniuszko Academy of Music in Gdańsk and the Academy of Fine Arts in Gdańsk. This marks the first broad and unequivocal endorsement from Pomerania’s academic community regarding the future development of the Pomeranian metropolitan area.

The statement emphasises that Pomerania’s higher education institutions have long supported the region’s metropolitan development and the creation of a modern metropolis built on knowledge, innovation and cooperation between local governments, academia, culture and economy. According to the signatories, the establishment of a metropolitan association could become one of the most significant drivers of regional development in the coming years.

Particular attention was drawn to the legislation’s unique character on a national scale. For the first time in Polish metropolitan law, the role of science and higher education as a key partner in regional development has been so explicitly emphasised. The draft legislation provides for the allocation of additional funding to scientific research, development activities and cooperation with higher education institutions. 

The signatories of the statement emphasize that this solution creates a lasting framework for harnessing the research potential of Pomerania’s higher education institutions to address the region’s most pressing challenges – from healthcare and mobility to the energy and digital transitions, as well as economic development and public policymaking based on knowledge and scientific evidence.

“Pomerania has exceptional potential to build a modern knowledge-based metropolis. Cooperation among local governments, higher education and cultural institutions as well as businesses can become a model for other regions in Poland and across Europe,” the joint statement reads.

The document also includes an appeal to the President of the Republic of Poland to sign the legislation. Representatives of the academic community stress that the new regulations respond to the strategic interests of both Pomerania and Poland as a whole, strengthen the region’s development potential, and establish an innovative model of cooperation between local government and the academic and higher education sectors.

Rectors and chairs of University Councils have also declared their readiness to actively participate in the creation and development of the Pomeranian metropolitan area through research activities, expert analyses, innovation development, artistic work, and the education of professionals needed for the region.

The statement signed today represents an important signal of unity within Pomerania’s academic community and its commitment to building a future-oriented metropolis that is modern, competitive, and grounded in knowledge.