Project “Free Belarusian University” at the University of Wrocław
The University of Wrocław is cooperating with the Belarus Free University Foundation to implement the Belarus Free University (WUB) project in 2024-2025. The project is supported by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education, and aims to develop a platform offering a European level of online postgraduate education for Belarusian youth, both those who live in the country and those in exile. The Institute of International and Security Studies at the University of Wrocław has a leading role in implementing the project.
Belarusian participants are currently being recruited for online courses titled Europejski system ochrony praw człowieka, Kurs historii Białorusi XX wieku, Kurs z historii Białorusi: grudzień 1991 – listopad 1996, Polityka zagraniczna Białorusi, Droga do Unii Europejskiej, Zarządzanie projektami. Recruitment for courses and detailed information about the project are available on the Belarus Free University website, Telegram channel, YouTube, Instagram.
– Our goal is not only to transfer knowledge, but also to build intercultural bridges and support future leaders who will have the courage to shape the democratic future of Belarus and Europe. The Free Belarusian University is a space where science becomes a tool for change and cooperation becomes a foundation for common development – emphasizes dr Tatiana Ivanov of the Institute of International and Security Studies at the Faculty of Social Sciences.
The Free Belarusian University project has gained the support of a wide range of well-known representatives of Belarusian civil society, politicians and cultural figures. Among them are the first leader of independent Belarus, prof. Stanisław Szuszkiewicz, 2015 Nobel Laureate Svetlana Aleksiyevich, as well as 2022 Nobel Peace Prize winner and political prisoner Aleś Bielacki, the president of the Union of Poles in Belarus and former political prisoner Angelika Borys, and others. The Chancellor of the University is dr Alexander Milinkiewicz, advisor to Sviatlana Tsikhanouskayaa on the implementation of Belarus’ European choice, winner of the 2006 European Parliament Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought.
The goal of the Free Belarusian University is to prepare reformist cadres for the Belarusian state, based on the transition experience of the new members of the European Union and the potential of universities in Poland, the United States of America, France and Estonia, while using modern educational technologies.
Student education is provided through synchronous, asynchronous and hybrid e-learning courses, combining lectures and offline meetings. The platform’s main language is Belarusian, but Polish, English, French and Russian are also used.
Participation in the Free Belarusian University courses is free of charge thanks to funding from the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Poland and the European Commission.
