The first edition of the postgraduate course ‘Education for Sustainable Development: Offshore wind energy” conducted at the University of Gdansk by the Centre for Sustainable Development together with the UG Marine Research Centre concluded with a ceremonial meeting of the graduates of the studies with the Prorector Sylwia Mrozowska, PhD, DSc, Prof of the UG, and the Director of the Centre for Sustainable Development Krzysztof Szczepaniak, PhD, Director of the Research Centre for Maritime Economy and manager of postgraduate studies Dorota Pyć, PhD, DSc, Prof of the UG, as well as a representative of Polenergia Paweł Mawduk and Vice-President of the Polish Offshore Wind Energy Association Jakub Budzyński.
The meeting took place on 20.07.2023 at the UG Centre for Sustainable Development. In the short speeches, there were many arguments justifying the need for interdisciplinary education in the field of renewable energy. It was emphasised that in Poland, significant benefits of the emerging offshore wind energy sector include the creation of new jobs, and that representatives of various industries involved in offshore projects cooperate with the administration and stakeholders. In order for this cooperation to be effective, the soft skills of employees are important. Postgraduate studies conducted at the University of Gdansk Education for Sustainable Development: Offshore Wind Energy is the only study in Poland that is focused on building soft competences in offshore.
“We are very happy to celebrate the completion of the first edition of our studies together today. I hope that they have met your expectations. We continue to develop our offshore education offer at UG. We have organised the second edition of the MEW postgraduate studies, and there will be others. We have established cooperation with, among others, Polenergia and the Polish Offshore Wind Energy Society,” said Vice-Rector for Cooperation and Development Sylwia Mrozowska, PhD, DSc, Prof of the UG.
“The first edition of the MEW postgraduate course is unique and motivating for us lecturers because of your involvement. You asked various questions and shared your insights, which helped to generate a truly creative atmosphere in the classes, for which I would like to thank you very much,” said the head of studies Dorota Pyć, PhD, DSc, Prof of the UG.
Afterwards, Krzysztof Szczepaniak,PhD, Director of the Centre for Sustainable Development at UG, congratulated the graduates and drew attention to the great importance of the offshore sector in the economic development of coastal regions. On the other hand, Paweł Mawduk, Offshore Wind Project Manager at Polenergia, talked about the need to involve not only large companies, but also medium and small enterprises in offshore wind energy. Finally, Jakub Budzyński from the Polish Offshore Wind Energy Association drew attention to the dynamic development of the offshore sector and its huge demand for human capital – not only for people with science majors, but also for humanists.
A particularly nice moment for the graduates was the presentation of a book bearing the same title as the postgraduate studies, namely ‘Education for Sustainable Development: offshore wind energy’. This is a special book, as it consisted of the theses of the students of the first edition of the studies, in which their authors presented the results of their research and their own reflections on offshore wind energy. This publication is proof of the good cooperation and communication between the postgraduate students, academics and offshore wind professionals from business.
The UG Centre for Sustainable Development has an Education for Sustainable Development programme focused on the Sustainable Development Goals. As part of the programme, the first edition of a thematic, interdisciplinary postgraduate course on offshore wind energy was launched at UG in March 2022. The study programme includes: law in offshore wind energy, management of offshore wind energy potential, safety and control of offshore wind energy generation and marine spatial planning, as well as offshore wind energy in the energy transition. In March 2023, the second edition of the postgraduate course was launched. The next edition is scheduled to be launched in March 2024. We warmly invite you to join us!
Dorota Pyć, PhD, DSc, Prof of the UG
First edition of postgraduate course Education for sustainable development: offshore wind energy completed
Fot. Marcel Jakubowski, UG Press Team
The publication “Education for Sustainable Development: Offshore wind energy”