The Green University of Gdansk competition has come to an end. As a result of the vote, five projects were selected for implementation. The results of the vote were announced on Monday, 3 June during a ceremony at the Faculty of Philology. The competition is being held as part of the SEA-EU 2.0 project funded by the Erasmus+ programme.
Photo: Mateusz Byczkowski
The aim of the Green UG competition is to encourage students, doctoral students and employees of the University of Gdansk to participate in the ecological and social transformation of our campus. Participants in the competition were invited to form mixed teams (students, academics and administrative staff) and propose projects that would contribute to the green transformation of the UG campus. An important rule was that each team should involve at least one person from two different groups of our community.
Guests at the ceremony were welcomed by dr hab. Anna Maria Jurkowska-Zeidler, prof. UG, Vice-Rector for International Cooperation at UG and Chair of the Green UG Competition Committee, who attended the event remotely.
“The competition jury was very impressed by the submitted projects. Their diversity, ingenuity and number show the great commitment of the UG academic community to sustainable development, for which we are very grateful,” said dr hab. Anna Maria Jurkowska-Zeidler, Professor of UG.
The next speaker was dr hab. Sylwia Mrozowska, prof. UG, Vice-Rector for Cooperation and Development of the University of Gdansk, Coordinator of Task 4.4 SEA-EU Goes Greener.
“We are very pleased to see so much interest in the competition and the willingness of students, administration staff and researchers to participate in the creation of our Green University. We will be accompanying the winning teams throughout the project process. We invite you to follow the website of the Centre for Sustainable Development, where we will inform you about the progress of the ideas of all five teams,” remarked dr hab. Sylwia Mrozowska, prof. UG.
The origins of the competition, the course and statistical data were presented by dr Krzysztof Szczepaniak, Director of the UG Centre for Sustainable Development.
“30 projects were submitted to the competition. 15 of them were approved for voting by the Competition Committee. The themes of the submitted projects were very broad. The participants positively surprised us with their ingenuity and originality, proposing projects concerning education, the development of field and internal infrastructure, sport and the development of green areas,” dr Krzysztof Szczepaniak mentioned. “The results of the competition proved that there is great potential and willingness within the academic community of our university to carry out joint activities to create a friendly working and educational environment for young people, in line with the goals of sustainable development.“
816 employees and 1,064 UG students and postgraduates took part in the electronic vote held on 20-27 May 2024. In total, they cast 4,566 votes.
Results of the competition – projects selected for implementation
Place 1: Green Haven Community Garden at the UG Main Library
Amount: PLN 19 910.00 (≈ 4 582,98 Euro)
Location: Terrace of the Main Library of the University of Gdansk
The plan is to invite students representing each of the faculties of UG and then organise an event where herbs or plants, symbolising a particular faculty, will be planted together. The green symbol of each faculty will be drawn during this event. In addition, it is planned to furnish the terrace with plants to provide shade on hot days.
Lead author: Patrycja Laskowska, Promotion Section, University of Gdańsk Library
Co-authors: Maria Mincewicz, Monika Budzińska, Marietta Tiszbein, Aleksandra Chrobak
Place 2: Living Herbaria: Native Meadows and Herbal Gardens UG
Amount: PLN 15,990.00 (≈ 3 679,45 Euro)
Location: Oliwa Campus
The aim of the project is to create ‘living herbaria’: spontaneous meadows and herb gardens, through contact with them, to increase knowledge of plants and their socio-cultural biographies, to create spaces of biodiversity, and to raise awareness of sustainable development strategies and practices, especially practices through reduced action.
Lead author: Dr Anna Zadrożna, Assistant Professor , Department of New World Anthropology and Ethnic Studies
Co-authors: Robert Dettlaff, Rafał Pawłowski, Dominika Konkol, A. Mogiełka, Bartek Łukaszewicz, Marta Leszczyńska, Zofia Wrosz, Michał Depczyński , Konrad Nowak, Marta Szaszkiewicz, Michalina Kuczkowska
Place 3: Replacement of lighting with leds in the UG Law Library
Amount: 20 000,00 zł (≈ 4 602,19 Euro)
Location: UG Law Library
The aim of the project is to reduce consumption and make efficient use of electricity. The UG Law Library is open 6 days a week (which amounts to 75 hours a week). The light between the shelves is on all the time, so it would be a good solution to install energy-efficient led lamps.
Lead author: Anna Stasiewicz-Jakubik, Head of the Law Library, University of Gdańsk
Co-authors: Katarzyna Arabasz, Dr Tomasz Snarski
Place 4: Green steps next to the bar at the Rector’s Office and the retrofitting of a ‘pocket’ in neophilology
Amount: PLN 18,120.00 (≈ 4 168,87 Euro)
Location: UG Rector’s Office, Neophilology
Retrofitting the steps in front of the bar, the main entrance and the patio at Neophilology with plant pots.
Main applicant: Aleksandra Hołomej, Office of the Dean of the Faculty of Philology
Co-author: Dawid Dacko
Place 5: Horace Square
The project is made possible by an increase in the funds necessary for its implementation on the basis of § 9. paragraph 4 of the Competition Regulations. Funding has been granted by the Rector of the University of Gdańsk, Prof. dr hab. Piotr Stepnowski.
Amount: PLN 10 684.00 (≈ 2 458,19 Euro)
Location: Green area near the Castorama shop
Horace Square, whose green planting refers to the tradition of ancient gardens, is a fusion of educational and recreational space. It provides a physical and metaphorical link between past and present, sensitises to the beauty of nature and culture, and promotes the idea of a green university.
Main applicant: dr hab. Tatiana Krynicka, Prof. UG, Department of Classical Philology
Co-authors: Julita Maniecka, Ewa Matczuk, Patryk Gałązka, Dr. Jacek Pokrzywnicki
Next stage of the competition
The next stage of the Competition is the implementation of five projects with funding. The Centre for Sustainable Development will keep you informed about the progress of the implementation on its website and social media.
The implementation of the Competition would not have been possible without the help and involvement of the University of Gdansk staff. Those involved in the organisation include: Centre for Sustainable Development, Centre for Real Estate Exploitation (including the Department of Teaching Facilities), Centre for Communication and Promotion and Centre for Information Technology. Thank you!