STUST held the Taiwan-Poland Higher Education Cooperation Forum on March 21. The university invited Director Cyryl Jacek Kozaczewski of the Polish Office in Taipei to give a speech on The New Role of Poland in Europe. Through Director Kozaczewski’s sharing, STUST’s teachers and students learned about Poland's profound history and culture, together with its vigorous development in recent years and its efforts to defend peace during the Russo-Ukrainian war.

【A group photo of the Taiwan-Poland Higher Education Cooperation Forum】

When introducing the guest speakers, Cheng-wen Wu, President of STUST, said that Director Kozaczewski is a senior Polish diplomat who joined the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1995 and served in the Polish Embassy in Seoul, South Korea, and the Polish Permanent Representative Office in Brussels at NATO. The most important international organization for defense cooperation. From 2012 to 2016, Kozaczewski served as the Ambassador of the Republic of Poland to Japan and concurrently served as Poland’s General Representative to NATO. While serving in Warsaw, he served as Deputy Director of the European Union Department and Director of the Common Foreign and Security Policy Department (CFSP). At the same time, in the EU's foreign policy, he coordinated all Polish liaison and external affairs in the EU and served two consecutive terms as Director-General of the Political Department. These are very important positions in the Polish government. In his diplomatic career of more than 25 years, he participated in a unit responsible for Poland's promotion of various processes in NATO and the EU. Until recently, he served as Director-General of the Political Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and concurrently as Poland’s representative on the Council of the European Institute for Peace in Brussels.

【President Cheng-wen Wu of STUST (right) and Director Kozaczewski of the Polish Office in Taipei (left) were having a conversation before the speech.】

President Cheng-wen Wu of STUST pointed out that Director Kozaczewski graduated from the School of International Relations of the University of Warsaw, the first university in Poland. In 1999, he completed the graduate course at the Center for Security Policy in Geneva, Switzerland, specializing in international security policy, and was awarded the Silver Cross by the President of Poland. He was award the Silver Cross Medal from the Polish Minister of Defense and the Order of the Rising Sun from the Japanese Government for his extraordinary achievements.

【President Cheng-wen Wu of STUST was delivering a speech at the event.】

Director Kozaczewski said in his speech that Poland has a population of 37.9 million and a booming economy. The GDP growth rate from 1990 to 2020 is as high as 857%. It not only has strong economic strength, but also prioritizes security. It is rated as one of the 25 safest countries in the world. Poland's GDP growth of 5.1% in 2022, with an A2 rating from Moody's, an A- from S&P Global Ratings, and an impressive credit rating from Fitch Ratings, which further highlights this continued growth and consolidates its international recognition. As Europe's leading producer of electric vehicle (EV) batteries and components, Poland contributes $29.4 billion to the region's exports, while accounting for an impressive 35% of European white goods production.

【Director Kozaczewski of the Polish Office in Taipei was having a speech.】

The automobile industry is Poland's second largest manufacturing industry and the main force supporting Poland's economic development. In order to continue to promote Poland's economic growth and reduce serious air pollution problems in Poland, the development of electric vehicles has become one of the goals of the Polish government. As early as February 2018, the "Act on Electromobility and Alternative Fuels" came into effect, declaring Poland's determination to develop the electric vehicle industry.

【STUST organized the Taiwan-Poland Higher Education Cooperation Forum and will launch industry-university-research cooperation with Poland.】

At the same time, Poland is the third largest bus manufacturer in the EU and has many OEM manufacturers in its territory. The top three manufacturers are the German company MAN, Poland (sold to a Spanish company in 2018) and the Swedish company Volvo. Poland's two local bus manufacturers, Solaris Bus & Coach and Ursus, were among the first to invest in the development of electric buses, giving Poland a good entry point and market segmentation in the development of electric buses.

【President Cheng-wen Wu of STUST (right) and Director Kozaczewski of the Polish Office in Taipei (left) were exchanging commemorative gifts.】

In terms of energy, the Polish government plans to launch 6 energy zones in early 2024 to attract investment in energy-consuming industries. These zones will provide lower energy prices to attract users and planned construction with annual electricity consumption exceeding 100 GWH. For users of energy storage facilities, the special zone is located in the area between Warsaw, Poland and the Baltic Sea, and will be open to internationally competitive companies to join in the construction. In addition, Poland is also the center of a booming IT and electronics industry, with a large talent pool of 586,000 IT experts, ranking third in the global skill level rankings. In terms of semiconductors, the Polish government is working hard to shape the country into a major semiconductor manufacturing country in Europe. In 2023, it successfully invited Intel to invest 4.6 billion euros in setting up a packaging and testing factory. All of these have created optimal conditions for the development of the semiconductor industry.

【Officials of STUST were leading Director Kozaczewski of the Polish Office in Taipei, to learn about the campus.】

STUST has established school-level Smart Health and Medical Technology Center, Smart Green Energy Technology Center, Sports Technology Center, Smart Electric Vehicle Technology Center, and Smart Manufacturing Technology Center to cultivate professional and technical talents in response to the needs of the next generation of industries. Poland has outstanding performance in these fields. In addition, in the face of the trend of internationalization, STUST is actively cultivating practical talents with international thinking and communication skills to meet industry needs. It is hoped that through this higher education forum, we can learn about the future cooperation opportunities between STUST and Poland’s industry, academia and research circles. STUST will also carry out more extensive cooperation with famous Polish research institutions and universities in green energy, electric vehicles, and sports science.

【Officials of STUST were leading Director Kozaczewski of the Polish Office in Taipei to learn about the campus.】