A meeting of the signatories of the Sectoral Agreement for Offshore Wind Energy Development in Poland was held at the Main Library of the University of Gdansk. The signatories are involved in the activities of Group 5 ‘Social Education’, set up to implement the Sectoral Agreement at the Ministry of Climate and Environment. The meeting was held for the first time in a stationary mode. At the invitation of the Director of the Centre for Sustainable Development UG Sylwia Mrozowska, PhD, DSc, Prof of the UG, who is the coordinator of Group 5, over 40 guests arrived in Gdansk: representatives of companies involved in energy transition activities, state administration, local government units and scientific institutions.
The event was held on 1 July 2022 in the Senate Room of the UG Main Library and was primarily an opportunity for the members of the 100-plus-strong working group to get to know each other better and to present good practices in offshore wind energy industries.
The location was key to the meeting: the University of Gdansk is the largest university in northern Poland, and it is here that the offshore wind energy sector will be developed. UG treats the sector strategically, which can be seen in the University’s educational offer: the list of faculties is constantly being extended with new specialisations that educate for offshore wind energy.
The meeting was opened by the Director of CZRUG Sylwia Mrozowska, PhD, DSc, Prof of the UG. A word of introduction also belonged to the UG Vice-Rector for International Cooperation, Anna Jurkowska – Zeidler, PhD, DSc, Prof of the UG, who presented a spot promoting university recruitment and current initiatives undertaken by UG, also in the field of MEW.
The meeting in this form was primarily an opportunity to share the experiences of the group’s members and to present good practices in public education for the energy transition. On the basis of the presented activities, a catalogue of good practices will be developed, which will constitute the Group’s contribution to the 1st Conference of the Parties scheduled for 15 September 2022. During the Conference, the working group coordinators will present the results of their work to date.
Presentations on OWE activities were opened by Jarosław Kumięga, Head of the Energy Department of the Economic Development Department of the Pomeranian Marshal’s Office, who presented the effords of the Pomeranian Platform for Offshore Wind Energy Development in the Baltic.
Good educational practices were presented, among others, by experts from the Social Education Department of the Polskie Sieci Elektroenergetyczne (Polish Energy Networks) Beata Nasiadka and Małgorzata Krzanowska, as well as Małgorzata Lipska from the Pomeranian Employers’ organisation. Representatives of the EduFun Centre Dawid Kubacki and Marta Stępień presented an interactive programme for pupils, developed on behalf of Polskie Sieci Elektroenergetyczne.
Magdalena Klera – Nowopolska (Polenergia) and Kacper Ćwiek (Equinor) also presented joint activities in the field of social education for OWE. Representatives of RWE Offshore Wind Poland – Joanna Grochocka, Anna Zając and Joanna Rybicka – Gronowicz – talked about a series of educational classes addressed to primary and secondary school students in Pomerania.
Subsequently, Katarzyna Tomaszek from Bireta Translation Agency presented an offshore specialist dictionary developed by the Agency.
There was also a presentation of the educational offer of Tricity universities cooperating within the Association of Fahrenheit Universities, designed to meet the needs of the growing offshore wind energy industry. Wojciech Olszewski, M.Sc. from the Institute of Ocean Engineering and Shipbuilding at Gdansk University of Technology, talked about postgraduate studies in offshore wind energy. The University of Gdansk’s activities in this area were also presented. Aleksandra Dudkowska, PhD, from the Institute of Oceanography UG presented the offer of the Faculty of Oceanography and Geography UG, including the majors: Marine Hydrography (engineering studies) and Applied Physical Oceanography (second-degree studies), which start as early as October 2022. Whereas, the postgraduate course Education for Sustainable Development: Offshore Wind Energy was presented by the course director Dorota Pyć, PhD, DSc, Prof of the UG.
At the end of the presentation of good practices in the field of public education for the energy transformation, Barbara Gryczon from the Youth Climate Council spoke in an interesting summary of the issue from the point of view of young people.
In the discussion concluding the meeting at the UG Library, the floor was taken by Rafał Miętkiewicz, PhD, of the Naval Academy in Gdynia, who pointed out the need to take safety issues into account in the context of OWE development.
The final point of the meeting was networking, for which guests were invited to the Dom Zdrojowy (ecological education centre). Guests had the opportunity to visit the building located right on the beach in the Gdansk district of Brzeźno – a 19th-century curhaus, a resort that was put into use in 2021 after extensive revitalisation that is now primarily a place for environmental education.