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Between Anxiety and Hope: Polish Universities and the 2018 ‘Constitution for Science’

14 March 2019, 6:00 pm–8:00 pm

Warsaw University

M. B. Grabowski Memorial Lecture 2019

This event is free.

Event Information

Open to

All

Availability

Yes

Cost

Free

Organiser

SSEES

Location

347
SSEES
16 Taviton Street
London
WC1H 0BW
United Kingdom

We are delighted to announce the 2019 M. B. Grabowski Memorial Lecture which this year will be delivered by Jolanta Choińska-Mika.

After months of debate, on the 20th of July 2018, the new Educational Reform, marketed by the government as ‘The Constitution for Polish Science’ was ratified. The ‘Constitution’, and the Educational Reform (2018) at its core, were widely, and pompously, presented by the government as the ultimate remedy for all ills troubling the Polish Higher Education system. The ratification of the Constitution, which was ambitious in its scope and declarative aims, was by no means an uncontroversial move, causing a great stir in all academic circles across Poland. Attending to the complexities of the Reform, in this lecture, Professor Choińska-Mika will discuss its most challenging aspects, namely: university governance; research evaluation and quality assurance policies; and regional inequalities between universities. To this end, she will interweave a comprehensive discussion of the Reform with an analytical take on the current political context in Poland, raising bigger questions on the role of universities and university education in today’s Europe.

About the Speaker

Jolanta Choińska-Mika

at the University of Warsaw

Jolanta Choińska-Mika is University of Warsaw Vice-Rector for Student Affairs and Teaching Quality (2016 - 2020) and a Professor at the Institute of History, University of Warsaw. From 2005 - 2012 she was Deputy Director of the Institute of History, and between 2008 and 2016 a member of the University of Warsaw Senate Commission for Student and PhD Student Affairs and Teaching Quality. In 2015 – 2016, she was the first Director of the School of Education, a joint enterprise between the Polish-American Freedom Foundation and the University of Warsaw.

In addition to these activities, Prof Choińska-Mika is a researcher of Early Modern European history, parliamentary history and political culture.  Her recent academic publications focus on early modern republicanism, parliament and parliamentary institutions, and early modern social communication as well as the relationship between localities and centres of power. Prof Choińska-Mika teaches a wide range of courses, including history of Poland, history of Tudor and Stuart England and courses on teaching methods for prospective teachers of history. Prof Choińska-Mika’s research interests and teaching expertise are complemented by her public engagement and outreach activities. For her public engagement and achievements in the field of education, she was awarded the Order of Polonia Restituta (2010) and Medal of Commission of National Education (2011).