Almost 2 thousand candidates from abroad wanted to study this year at Wrocław University of Science and Technology, which is a record number of applications for admission to our university. Some 550 foreign people have just inaugurated the academic year.

For the past week, the newly admitted foreign students have been getting to know Wrocław and our university. Thanks to a grant from the National Agency for Academic Exchange, those interested could take part in activities including an urban game, a guided tour of the capital of Lower Silesia, intercultural training, and the so-called "freshman academy”, i.e. meetings offering a large amount of useful information on life in Poland, dealing with formalities, etc. 

On October 1, they officially started the academic year in two meetings (separately for students who will study in Polish and for those studying in English) with the university authorities, as well as the student government, representatives of the Careers Office and the ESR Organisation. The inauguration was also attended by representatives of the Moscow Power Engineering Institute – a university cooperating with Wrocław Tech and actively taking part in international exchange programmes.

In his welcome speech to the students, Prof. Dariusz Łydżba, Vice-Rector for Cooperation, wished them to make good use of their time at the university and in Wrocław.

– You have chosen one of the leading universities in Poland and a city where 25 per cent of the population are students – he stressed. – You can feel the spirit of student life here. I hope you will feel it, too. And above all, "grab" as much knowledge as possible from the lecturers. Gaining a diploma is very important, but the most important thing is the knowledge that will stay with you throughout your life and the skills you will acquire here – he pointed out. – We’re delighted to finally be able to see you in person.

Last year, we met new students remotely, but it’s not the same – said Anna Rogalska, head of the Department of International Cooperation at Wrocław Tech. – You’re on the point of beginning a big adventure. It’ll be a time of new friendships and many opportunities for you – to gain new knowledge, but also to develop personally and test yourselves in new situations. May it be a

Around 300 people from outside Poland have been accepted to full-time degree programmes at Wrocław Tech – the majority from Ukraine, Belarus, and Turkey among other countries. More than 250 people have come for a semester or a year – as part of student exchange programmes such as Erasmus+. They are students from Spain, Portugal, France, and Turkey, but also Russia, China, and Brazil.

– We also saw quite a lot of applications from Nigeria this year. We received several hundred of them, which is certainly thanks to our cooperation in social media with Grace Awhobiwom Abu-Undiyaundeye, our graduate from the Faculty of Electronics, who is Poland's Digital Ambassador (Digital Ambassador NAWA) – adds Anna Rogalska.

Also, interest in Polish and English language courses for foreigners reached an all-time high this year.

We have asked several international students about their first impressions of Wrocław and why they chose Wrocław Tech:

Luis Miguel Teixeira Dias from Portugal:

– I’ve never seen snow in my life and I hope to see it here! I've already heard that precipitation can vary in Wrocław itself, but I'm planning a trip to your mountains to try snowboarding. Wanting to experience the local weather is one of several reasons why I chose Poland and Wrocław. Some of my friends had been here before me and they enjoyed it immensely. My mother, who is a professor of mathematics, visited Poland before the pandemic and also told me lots of good things. I also wanted to experience a completely different culture – so I looked for a city and university as far away from Portugal as possible. So far, my impressions have been very positive. The people are nice and very well-organised, and you have great public transport. I admit though that I was surprised by the stops in the middle of the road, I have not encountered such ones before. I’ll spend one semester in Wrocław as an exchange student, doing computer science.

Valentina Bolbas from Belarus:

– I’ve come to Poland because my parents have found jobs here. They’re both programmers and have convinced me that IT is a field with good prospects and lots of development opportunities. That’s why I’ll be studying Applied Informatics. I chose Wrocław University of Science and Technology because it’s a good technical university and because it offers courses in English. Although I speak Polish, I think that studying in English will open up more avenues for me in the future, especially in the IT industry. I've been in Wrocław for two months, but I'm just getting to know the city. I’m living close to the zoo and for now, my favourite places are the Odra river banks and Szczytnicki Park, where I like going for walks.

Oihan Fernandez from Spain, the Basque Country:

– I was in Poland on holiday three years ago. I visited Warsaw, Cracow, and Oświęcim – and I really wanted to come here again. It’s my first time in Wrocław, and I’m going to spend a whole year here studying electronics. Your city reminds me a little of my home town. It's not huge, but it's big enough to find quite a few attractions and places to visit. I certainly won't be bored here. I like travelling, so I plan to explore not only Poland but also Germany and Czechia.

I don’t know a word in Polish yet. It's an incredibly difficult language, especially the pronunciation! I speak three languages - Spanish, Basque, and English, but yours is a completely different thing. I will try. Who knows – I might succeed.

Clarisse Loverne from France:

- I’m studying architecture at the Nantes School of Architecture (ENSA) and I’ve come here for one semester, together with some friends. My younger siblings – my sister and brother – visited Poland on a school trip and their stories from years ago made me choose your country for a student exchange. I want to see as much as I can. I think architects should take every opportunity to see architecture in other countries and cultures, to see it from different perspectives, talk about it, and learn about construction techniques. This is also my plan for this semester. I want to visit as many places as possible in Poland but also go to the neighbouring countries, taking advantage of the fact that Poland is in the centre of Europe.