2023 sum-up
January is not only the time for making plans and new year’s resolutions but also a good moment to summarise the year that’s now behind us and, as we did before, to list the events and successes which we subjectively assessed as the greatest ones in 2023.
High positions in Polish and international rankings
The Medical University of Lodz was ranked 11 in the national Perspektywy University Ranking 2023. Our university was rated highly in the scientific effectiveness category (ranked 3) and publications (ranked 4), thereby we remained at the top of Polish public universities.
In Shanghai Global Ranking of Academic Subjects (GRAS) 2023 the Medical University was ranked the first of all Polish universities evaluated in the ranking in clinical medicine, which means we moved up when compared to the previous year 2022. Moreover, we have risen from the ranking top 400 to top 300 in Public Health.
MUL was ranked in the top 5% of the best universities on the Global 2000 list published by the Centre for World University Rankings (2023 Edition). 20,531 institutions worldwide (including 40 entities from Poland) were ranked, and those that placed at the top made the Global 2000 list. Ranked 12 in Poland, MUL is one of the top three medical universities in Poland, second only to Warsaw and Wroclaw.
CKD new façade and an overhaul and thermal modernisation of Sports Centre
In October 2023 new façade of Clinical and Didactic Centre was unveiled . Building A1 has undergone a metamorphosis thanks to the project: “Deep thermal modernization of the strategic building of the Clinical and Didactic Centre campus of the Medical University of Lodz” financed by European Funds, from the Cohesion Fund, for the amount of over PLN 76 million
The building not only got a new face but the windows and lighting system were also replaced.
The beginning of 2023/2024 academic year also saw the re-opening of the Sports Centre after an over a year’s overhaul. The total cost of the renovation and thermal modernization that included the sports hall and the swimming pool amounted to PLN 12 million. The windows, doors, floors, roofing and the swimming pool basin were replaced, external walls and ceiling were insulated. As part of the investment, a photovoltaic installation was also installed. Thermal modernisation of the Sports Centre falls within the MUL strategic directions of sustainable development and environment protection.
Doctor honoris causa was conferred on Maria Długołęcka-Graham MD PhD
On June 13, during the ceremonial session of the Senate of the Medical University of Lodz, the highest honorary degree i.e. the title of doctor honoris causa, was conferred on Maria Długołęcka-Graham MD PhD, who dedicated her entire professional life to the development and strengthening of the academic cooperation between Polish medical universities and the University of Edinburgh.
Prof. Lucyna Woźniak, Vice-Rector for Research Strategy and International Relations MUL, was the supervisor of the doctoral dissertation for the award of doctor honoris causa degree.
Sadly, in December we received the information about Maria Długołęcka-Graham’ death.
Honour to Her memory.
Record-breaking Open Doors held on-site again
On March 15 2023, after a long break cause by the pandemic, we organised Open Doors, an event intended for the secondary school students who are interested in medical professions. MUL was visited by over 2000 people from our town, region as well as from more distant areas of Poland. Last year’s Open Doors programme was designed by over 400 students and our academic body. Our guest students had an opportunity to participate in over 30 workshops, they visited the laboratories and teaching rooms, including MUL Medical Simulation Centre.
sUMmer School First Edition
In June 2023 the first edition of summer school of the Medical University of Lodz was held. The scientific summer camp was intended for outstanding secondary school undergraduates, winners and finalists of subject olympiads. It was yet another initiative by MUL Promotion Office designed to strengthen the relationship with secondary school graduates and attract the most gifted students.
The camp programme abounded in scientific attractions: surgical suturing workshops or classes with dental phantoms. The project proved to be highly successful and will be continued in future.
Public universities first joint inauguration of new academic year
Lodz Universities: Technical University, Lodz University, Medical University, Film School, Academy of Fine Arts and Academy of Music jointly inaugurated the academic year on October 2, 2023, in Arthur Rubinstein Philharmonic in Lodz.
The first joint inauguration of Lodz Academic Partnership (LAP) was opened with a speech given by Prof. Elżbieta Żądzińska, the Rector of the University of Lodz, who recalled the beginnings of academic Lodz, its history and common successes of Lodz universities. Referring to Jan Karski, the patron of LAP, prof. Żądzińska emphasized that the primary goal of the Partnership is to fight and remind people of the need to investigate, understand and convey the truth, not only historical truth, but also the truth about the world around us created as a result of scientific research.
Matriculation of freshmen students and PhD students was the key moment of the ceremony. Rectors of Lodz universities took oaths from their representatives, symbolically accepting new members into the academic community.
Individual and team successes
The year 2023 abounded in both individual and team successes of our university staff and students. The Minster of Education and Science scholarship for young researchers was granted to Agata Gabryelska MD PhD and Marcin Braun MD PhD. Marcin Braun also won LEADER competition in the 13th call by the National Centre for Research and Development. His project: “The design of multifaceted prognostic panel to predict the effectiveness of target anti-FGFR therapy in hormone-dependent cancers” received over PLN1,5 million in funding.
Six MUL students were in a group of the Ministry of Health scholarship holders and the Ministry of Health awards for academic teachers went to Prof. Paweł Liberski (lifetime achievement award), Marcin Braun MD PhD (individual award), Małgorzata Berezińska PhD, Michał Seweryn Karbownik PhD, Wojciech Łężak PhD, Paulina Sokołowska PhD, Anna Wiktorowska-Owczarek PhD (team award for teaching). Ecological phantom (ECO CPR), invented by Filip Jaśkiewicz MD, Marcin Cierniak MD, Rafał Dobruchowski MD, Przemysław Sękalski MD received 2. IPITEX Award at International Intellectual Property, Invention, Innovation and Technology Exposition IPITEX 2023 in Bangkok.
University Club of MUL Academic Sports Association once again improved its result in the general classification and took the 6th place, the highest in history, and for the thirteenth time took first place in the classification of medical universities, thereby outclassing all its rivals. The Medical University Choir can boast another international success winning the Golden Band at Bratislava Choir Festival. The new chairman, Paweł Bollin, became the head of the University Student Government Council.
It is impossible to enumerate all the successes, describe all the projects and report all the events of the past year. We have listed merely a fraction of our last-year daily activities, and the summary enables us to pause and look back at how much we have achieved and recall it all with pleasurable feelings. May this year be calm yet bring us interesting incentives and reasons for joy and satisfaction.
