On 9 November, the Local Government of the Wejherowo County signed an agreement on cooperation with the Medical University of Gdańsk, Gdańsk University of Technology and University of Gdańsk, comprising the Fahrenheit Universities (FarU). The Gdańsk universities will support the young people's education in secondary schools run by the Wejherowo County.

The expansion of ports in Gdańsk and Gdynia and the ongoing activities related to the construction of Poland's first nuclear power plant in the coming years will accelerate the development of Wejherowo infrastructure, of educational needs and of the labour market. The main objective of the agreement signed on 9 November 2023 is to jointly provide educated and highly skilled school and university graduates as present and future staff for the local, sub-regional and regional labour market, science, research and innovation.

In view of the challenges of today, in particular the economic development plans of the Wejherowo County and Pomerania Region for the coming years and even decades to come, with the agreement signed today we are raising current cooperation with the leading academic centres of the Tri-City to a higher level. This will be a level commensurate with the ambitions and capabilities of our youth, in line with the needs and requirements set by universities, and, importantly, adequate to the needs of the local and regional economy – says Gabriela Lisius, Head of the Wejherowo County. – Investing in education and science is the best investment of our demographic, intellectual and financial resources, which is promising in terms of successes both in the individual and collective, social and professional areas, economic progress and increased quality of life.

The area of the declared cooperation comprises staff, resources and the environment of public secondary schools, whose graduates will contribute to the development of the region in the long term. The agreement provides for, among other things, the joint creation of a broad educational offer or undertaking educational and scientific initiatives involving young people, teachers and educators at schools in the county.

This is an extremely important initiative and a great task in terms of the civilisation of the region. The development of new industries and technologies, particularly in the area of power engineering, including nuclear power, creates the need to educate high-class specialists, who will be able to find their place on the dynamically changing labour market – says prof. Marcin Gruchała, Rector of the Medical University of Gdańsk, Chairman of the Assembly of the Fahrenheit Universities. – A higher education institution will provide students with expert knowledge, but it is at the secondary school level that curiosity, openness and the willingness to learn are formed. I would like to thank the teaching staff for their efforts. Owing to your work, many outstanding graduates come to our universities.

Among the directions of cooperation mentioned in the agreement, the document emphasises the important aspect of supporting the environment of offshore industries and specialities, renewable energy and nuclear power, which are rapidly developing in the Pomerania region.

Integrating the potentials of the three big higher education institutions within the Fahrenheit Universities will enable us to create an extremely strong academic and scientific centre in Pomerania, which will be able to meet the challenges of the changing world. Undoubtedly, both nuclear power and offshore wind energy are the future of our country's economy – says prof. Krzysztof Wilde, Rector of the Gdańsk University of Technology. – As people of science, we support the development of these industries by, for example, educating suitably qualified engineers, also owing to cooperation with secondary schools. We are very pleased that the institutions in the Wejherowo County are joining the group of friendly schools.

Nowadays, higher education institutions cannot function in isolation from the outside world, not even from local governments or the economic environment. The University of Gdańsk, on the other hand, is very strongly and clearly part of the Pomerania area – practically every faculty offers courses that are related to the maritime and coastal character of the region. Also significant are the activities we undertake in cooperation with entities in the maritime, offshore and nuclear energy sectors, e.g. providing postgraduate education. By starting cooperation with Wejherowo, we also emphasise our common values of caring for the cultural and historical heritage of Pomerania – emphasises prof. Piotr Stepnowski, Rector of the University of Gdańsk.

fot. press materials from the Local Government of the Wejherowo County