University of Wrocław with positive evaluation of IDUB programme

A recent mid-term evaluation of the implementation of plans to raise the quality of scientific activity and education by universities participating in the first edition of the “Initiative of Excellence – Research University” (IDUB) programme concluded positively for the University of Wrocław.

The mid-term evaluation was conducted on 10 universities that were winners of the first IDUB competition, decided in 2019, including the University of Wrocław.

The mid-term evaluation consisted of:

the preparation by universities of a self-evaluation report in the OSF system;
the evaluation of the reports by the International Team of Experts for the mid-term evaluation in the IDUB programme, established by the Ordinance of the Minister of Education and Science of 1 March 2023 (Official Journal of the Ministry of Education and Science, item 20);
the identification of priorities for consideration during the experts’ site visits to the universities, which took place in September and October 2023
the evaluations by the Team of Experts after the visit;
the preparations of proposals for final evaluations on the basis of pre- and post-visit assessments;
the preparation of the final evaluations, which were forwarded to the universities after their adoption by Minister Dariusz Wieczorek, Minister of Science and Higher Education.

During the visits to the 10 IDUB universities, meetings took place with representatives of various groups – university authorities, researchers, administration, doctoral students, students. In total, during the ten visits to the 10 universities, experts met with nearly a thousand people.

In our University, 117 people attended the numerous meetings that often lasted until late into the evening in September and 85 in October.

On 13 October, 50 people participated in evaluation meetings with foreign evaluation experts (within four panels). The participants were: representatives of the University authorities, leaders of the Academic Excellence Incubators, faculty representatives, academic staff (research and teaching staff), students, doctoral students, administrative staff.

At the end of 2023, a team of experts met at the ministry to summarise the work of the mid-term evaluation of the IDUB programme.

According to the regulations, the evaluation ends with a positive or negative evaluation.

As part of the mid-term evaluation, there is no ranking list of evaluated universities. The expert team evaluated all universities positively including, of course, the University of Wrocław.

– It gives us literally wind in our sails and motivates us to continue working hard – says Anna Juras, IDUB office manager at the UWr.

The funding creates space for new initiatives and for the realisation of ambitious projects by our researchers and students.

New opportunities within IDUB are created on an individual scale – for academics, students and doctoral students, but also on a team scale – the Incubators of Scientific Excellence. – This creates a climate for research, believes UWr Vice-Rector, prof. Patrycja Matusz. – The culture of submitting applications and competing for grants is raised, those who achieve good results are rewarded. And that is the point.

The purchase of equipment is also greeted with much enthusiasm. More new equipment has been purchased in the last 2 years than in the previous 20 years!

Key benefits of participating in the IDUB project include:

distributing, in the years 2020-2023 through competitions, approximately PLN 56 million for the purchasing and retrofitting of research equipment
launching the Young Researcher programme (scholarships for the best students admitted in the first year of studies and grants to support scientific and research competences and trips abroad to develop international contacts and exchange experiences) – the annual budget for both competitions is PLN 2 million;
grants to staff for preliminary research (‘grants for grants’) – from 2020 to 2023 – 186 grants amounting to PLN 6.5 million have been awarded;
funding for dynamic and thriving Incubators of Scientific Excellence – there are currently seven of them, each with a budget of between PLN 3.3 – 4 million;
supporting international exchange: funding of visits by eminent foreign professors and UWr staff to world-leading centres – PLN 4 million has so far been allocated to this purpose in the competition procedures;
pro-quality evaluation and remuneration of academic staff – 900 allowances of 23.4 million have been granted between 2020 and 2023;
supporting publication in top-scoring journals – approximately PLN 2.8 million has been allocated for this purpose between 2020 and 2023;
a pro-quality system for rewarding the best academic staff – so far PLN 600,000 has been provided for awards and funding for tutoring, but we are at the beginning of the road;
extensive promotion of English-language courses – between 2020 and 2023, approx. PLN 3 million;
introducing a lower salary as a pro-quality instrument – almost 400 university teachers took advantage of the possibility to reduce their salaries between 2020 and 2023 – their salaries were reduced by a total of around 15,100 hours!
launching ambitious single-degree programmes – the first at the Faculty of Biological Sciences (WB) launched, the second at the Faculty of Letters (WF) soon

The management of the IDUB office at UWr would like to thank all those who took part in the evaluation, especially those who willingly devoted their valuable time to painstaking preparations and numerous meetings, and the students and doctoral students for their enthusiastic and creative approach. Special thanks go to the Vice-Rector, prof. Patrycja Matusz, for her invaluable support and to the IDUB Project Officer, prof. Dariusz Rakus, for his enormous commitment.

Compiled by Katarzyna Górowicz-Maćkiewicz