Coventry University to open first British campus in Poland
Monday 30 July 2018
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Coventry University has announced plans to launch a new campus in Poland in what would be the first independent campus set up by a foreign university in the country.
University leaders met with officials in Wrocław last week to discuss the latest stage of plans for a new campus offering Coventry University degrees, taught in English.
Teaching and learning at the new Wrocław campus would be based on a flexible model, enabling students to study whilst working part-time, helping them to fund their studies.
Plans are to initially offer full and part-time undergraduate courses to around 300 students in IT and cybersecurity, business, engineering, and hospitality and tourism – all of which the university group has identified as being in demand in the Lower Silesia region of Poland.
The university hopes to collaborate with local employers to design and deliver qualifications that aim to produce ‘work ready’ graduates equipped with the knowledge and professional skills needed to boost their employment prospects.
The new campus would also offer students exchange opportunities with Coventry University Group’s UK campuses in Coventry, Scarborough and London.
Coventry’s announcement comes just weeks after it was ranked in the Times Higher Education magazine’s top 100 universities in Europe for the quality of its teaching and learning, and in the top three in Europe for how well it engages with its students.
Coventry University Vice-Chancellor, John Latham and senior colleagues have visited officials in Wrocław a number of times in recent years – including meeting with the city’s mayor – to explore opportunities to launch a campus.
The university already collaborates with the Wrocław University of Science and Technology (WUST) to teach a master’s degree in European systems and control, with students able to study in Poland and Coventry.
We’ve been inspired by our visits to Wrocław, particularly to see how our focus on the student experience and on employability are shared so keenly with the community there.
There’s a real appetite for the kind of education that we’re able to offer through our flexible learning model, whereby students can study while they work and upskill themselves without necessarily having to commit to a full-time degree.
Students from Poland and central Europe place a great deal of value on a UK education, and we’d want to emphasise that they will be more welcome than ever at British universities, including our own.
Our message with the new campus is that we’ll also be offering them a flexible and career-friendly local alternative, which will provide a new way to earn a British degree in a subject that is in demand by employers.
Vice-Chancellor, John Latham
In Wrocław, we have for years been consistently building a knowledge-based economy, trying as much as possible to involve the city in the international exchange of knowledge. The Coventry University investment, on one hand, fits in with our long-term strategy and on the other it is an absolutely pioneering undertaking.
For the first time in history, a renowned foreign university has decided to make such a significant commitment to the life of a Polish city and to open a campus with us. We are convinced that both Wrocław residents, as well as Coventry University – recognised as one of the best and most innovative in Europe – will benefit from this.
Wroclaw mayor Rafal Dutkiewicz
