Poland’s universities began a new academic year on Friday, with some students set to attend in-person classes for the first time following the lifting of pandemic-related restrictions.
According to Poland’s Central Statistical Office (GUS), the total number of students, which had been falling since 2010, grew to 1.17 million in the 2020/2021 academic year, an increase of roughly 1 percent.
Despite the pandemic, the Polish Ministry of Education also reported an additional 4,000 international students during the 2020/2021 academic year, a number anticipated to increase again this year. According to the GUS, there were 84,700 international students in Poland last academic year, mainly from Ukraine (45.4 percent), Belarus (11.5 percent), and India (3 percent).
In an address to students at the official opening ceremony at the Warsaw University of Life Sciences (SGGW), Polish president Andrzej Duda wished the whole academic community “much success and health.” He went on to urge those not yet vaccinated to get the COVID-19 jab “in the interests of societal health” while also voicing hope that the pandemic’s end was now around the corner.
Source: Radio Poland
A Polish mountaineer made history in the Himalayas last week after scaling and then skiing down Mount Manaslu without supplementary oxygen.
Anna Tybor became the first woman in history to accomplish such a feat, summiting the 8,163m peak last Wednesday at 15:00 local time.
Tybor was accompanied by Italian climbers Federico Secchi and Marco Majori. After taking a celebratory photograph, the three climbers repacked their equipment and proceeded to ski down the mountain.
Manaslu, or “the Mountain of the Spirit” in Nepalese, is the eighth-highest mountain in the world. It is reportedly referred to as “Killer Mountain” by locals, as some 60 climbers have perished on its slopes since a Japanese team first summited it in 1956.
Source: Radio Poland, traveller.com.au
The 18th International Chopin Piano Competition opened last night with a gala inaugural concert at the National Philharmonic Hall in Warsaw.
The program included works by Bach, Schumann, and Beethoven performed by past competition winners, including Dang Thai Son of Vietnam (1980), Kevin Kenner of the United States (1990), Philippe Giusiano of France (1995), Yulianna Avdeeva of Russia (2010), and Seong-Jin Cho of South Korea (2015).
First stage auditions in the world-renowned competition begin today at 10 a.m. with a performance by Chinese pianist Xuanyi Mao.
Mao is one of 22 Chinese entrants who constitute the largest national contingent of the 87 pianists in the competition. The second-largest contingent is Poland with 16 pianists, followed by Japan with 14, South Korea with 7, and Italy with 6. Armenia, Taiwan, Canada, Cuba, Latvia, Russia, Spain, Thailand, the United States, the UK, and Vietnam are also represented in the competition.
All auditions will be streamed in 4K via the Chopin Competition mobile app, online via the Chopin2020.pl website, and on the Chopin Institute’s YouTube channel.
Source: chopin2020.pl, Radio Poland
Starting Monday, Gdańsk residents will have a chance to vote on which city projects they would like to fund as part of the 2022 Budżet Obywatelski, or Civic Budget.
With 387 projects in Gdańsk to choose from, residents have a plethora of options, ranging from health, sport, and recreation projects to education, safety, and road improvements. Nearly 21 million złoty (PLN 20,830,669) is available for financing projects in 2022, with almost a quarter of that budget earmarked for winners of the Green Civic Budget.
Residents of any age are eligible to vote, including foreign nationals residing in Gdańsk, as long as they have proof of residency (zameldowanie). This year will feature Mobile Voting Points in individual districts where residents can find out more information on projects in their district, as well as competition for the neighborhood with the highest turnout and individual prize packages for every 100th voter.
Residents can vote online at https://gdansk.pl or via the “Jestem z Gdańska” app for those with a valid resident card (Karta Mieszkańca). Voting will be open from October 4 through October 18.
Source: Radio Gdańsk, gdansk.pl
Weather
Today will be partly cloudy and warmer than yesterday, with almost no chance of rain and a strong breeze coming in from the southeast. Temperatures will peak around a high of 19°C, or 67°F, cooling off overnight to a low of 11°C or 51°F. Similar, but less windy, weather is set for tomorrow, with a chance for rain returning midweek.
Elizabeth Peck
