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Building educational bridges in the City of Bridges: Startup Academy develops a personalised education model

The Startup Academy team organised a series of working meetings and consultations in Wrocław as part of the nationwide “Universities of the Future” project, funded by the National Centre for Research and Development. The several-day visit was another stage in the implementation of the Personalised Education Model (MES).

The “Universities of the Future” project responds to the need to transform higher education institutions towards practice-based learning, interdisciplinarity and close cooperation with business. Startup Academy, as the operator of the mentoring programme, is responsible for building bridges between the academic community and the labour market, as well as for developing future-oriented competences among students.

The “Universities of the Future” project is one of the largest initiatives of its kind in Poland, involving cooperation with numerous universities and the delivery of tens of thousands of hours of mentoring, representing a genuine attempt to bring about a systemic change in the approach to academic education.

The events in Wrocław included both sessions with students participating in the programme and meetings with coordinators from partner universities responsible for the implementation of the Personalised Education Model (MES). A key focus of the discussions was the further development of the model and the establishment of methods for measuring students’ competence growth—one of the most challenging but also groundbreaking elements of the project.

Intensive workshops and preparations for project launch

During the workshop week, students participating in the second edition of the programme worked on preparing to implement their own projects, which form the foundation of the Personalised Education Model (MES). At the same time, meetings were held on the mentoring process, including structure, expectations and ways of making the most of expert support.

The strong interest in the programme is reflected in the numbers – as many as 135 student teams have already qualified for the second edition, confirming the growing scale and importance of the initiative.

“As part of the ‘Universities of the Future’ project, a workshop week took place during which participants in the new edition prepared to launch their projects. Coordinating multiple university systems and aligning them with students’ individual goals within the Personalised Education Model (MES) requires a high level of precision, but it is precisely this element that determines the programme’s overall value,” says Michał Misztal, CEO of Startup Academy.

As Michał Misztal emphasises, a key aspect of the project is moving beyond the traditional model of education and creating a system that enables students to develop competences through practical experience.

Cooperation with universities and the development of the Personalised Education Model (MES)

Meetings with coordinators from partner universities focused on implementing the Personalised Education Model (MES) and its integration into existing academic systems. This is a process that requires both flexibility and an innovative approach to education and, in the long term, may become a foundation for systemic change in Polish higher education.

The Personalised Education Model (MES) moves away from the traditional approaches to teaching towards project-based learning, mentoring and individual development pathways. In practice, this includes team projects, cooperation with business and academic mentors, and the development of competences such as entrepreneurship, communication and project management.

Next steps: mentor meeting and project scaling

The meetings in Wrocław also served as preparation for further activities by Startup Academy in this area – including the organisation of a nationwide meeting of mentors, which will allow for a summary of activities carried out so far and further improvement of the programme ahead of the launch of the second edition.

Startup Academy also plans to expand its cooperation with additional higher education institutions, presenting the developed model as an innovative educational solution to be scaled across the country.

About Startup Academy

Startup Academy is an organisation specialising in entrepreneurship education and the implementation of development programmes for startups, students and public institutions. For many years, it has been involved in projects in education and business, supporting the development of future-oriented competences and an innovative economy.

Translated by Oleksandra Humeniuk (student of English Studies at the University of Wrocław) as part of the translation practice.

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