Nicola Secci, a student of the Faculty of Information and Communication Technology, has received the main prize in the Interstudent competition. The jury awarded our student in the “Polish diaspora student” category.

The winners of this year's Interstudent competition will receive their awards on Thursday evening during a gala ceremony at the Wieliczka Salt Mine. The event is part of the ‘Foreign Students in Poland’ conference organised by the Conference of Rectors of Academic Schools in Poland (KRASP).

The competition jury, chaired by Prof. Marek Pawełczyk, Head of the KRASP Committee for International Cooperation, awarded prizes in three main categories: bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral studies (doctoral schools), as well as in one new category – Polish diaspora student.

It was in this last category that Nicola Secci from Wrocław University of Science and Technology was recognized as the best Polish diaspora student in Poland.

Who is the laureate?

Nicola is currently a third-year full-time undergraduate student in Applied Computer Science taught in English at the Faculty of Information and Communication Technology.

He is a member of the Youth Council of the Polish Diaspora to the Marshal of the Senate of the Republic of Poland, Chair of the Council of Residents of Wrocław Tech Student Halls, a member of the Wrocław Tech Student Election Committee, and a Wrocław Tech Ambassador. He also belongs to the Faculty Student Government Council, the Faculty Committee for the Quality of Education, and the Faculty Council.

He is actively involved in intercultural cooperation and local community initiatives, demonstrating strong organizational skills, commitment to social projects, and a willingness to represent young people in matters important to them. In 2025, he received the Dean’s Award for his engagement and contribution to the development of the Faculty of Information and Communication Technology. In 2023, he was among the awardees of the program “Outstandingly Gifted at Wrocław University of Science and Technology.”

For years, Nicola Secci has also been engaged in activities supporting the Italian Polish diaspora and promoting Poland abroad.

He is a co-founder of the PoloniaToMy.pl platform, aimed at integrating young Poles living abroad. As part of this initiative, he co-organized, among others, the Polish Diaspora Youth Congress in Italy.

Since the establishment of the Honorary Consulate of the Republic of Poland in Cagliari, he has supported its activities, including by organizing and conducting the first-ever Polish election voting on Sardinia.

He is also the initiator and organizer of the largest education fair in Italy promoting Polish higher education, “Studia in Polonia,” which connects Polish universities with prospective students from Italy. For organizing this event, he received the Pro Juvenes 2025 Student Community Award in the category “Studies with the World” in October 2025.

From Italy to Poland

“I was born in Sardinia, where I lived with my family in our home until the age of 19. I come from a mixed Polish-Italian family. This is because my father is from Italy, and he met my mother in Poland during his travels. I myself am somewhere in between – when I’m in Poland, I feel Italian, and when I’m in Italy, I feel more Polish.

During the pandemic, I started looking for a new challenge. Since I knew Polish quite well and have Polish citizenship, I decided it was time to get to know the country that I had previously seen mainly in books. I used to visit my homeland rarely, only staying with family living in the Cieszyn Silesia region.

In high school I was interested in programming, so I knew I wanted to study computer science. Browsing international rankings, I quickly concluded that in Poland only two universities were an option: Wrocław University of Science and Technology and Warsaw University of Technology.

I chose Wrocław and I’m very happy with that decision, because I consider it a very atmospheric place.”

Wrocław Needs Access to the Sea

 “First impressions? We have a modern and beautiful campus. The city also has excellent infrastructure, order, and very efficient public transport. I must admit that Italians still often have an image of Poland from the 1990s. That’s why I invite them to visit me and show them what the country looks like today. Most of them are truly shocked.

I love Italy, but I consider Poland a more modern country that has developed incredibly over the last 20 years. I also have the impression that Italians have somewhat stagnated. For example, university studies in Poland differ greatly from those in Italy. There, the focus is on theory, while at WUST classes are strongly practice-oriented – and that’s great.

Moreover, our university is alive! It’s not just about going to a lecture and going back home to books. There are student research groups, student organizations, meetings, activities – something is always happening.

I really appreciate Polish diligence. There may be less expressiveness and talking, but more doing – and that’s what matters. The one thing I miss in Wrocław is the sea. After all, I’m from an island, and that maritime atmosphere is missing here.

That’s why I’m glad Wrocław has the Odra River – it’s some kind of substitute for the sea. The views from the river are wonderful; I especially like looking at Ostrów Tumski.”

I Will Not Stop Acting 

“What I love most in the world is acting and organizing. That’s why even in my free time I get involved in new projects.

For some time now, I have been volunteering with AFS (American Field Service). We take care of high school students coming to Wrocław on international exchange programs – we organize training sessions, workshops, and trips for them.

As a student, I do a lot of things at the university. I’m involved, for example, in student self-government. Together with a small group, we conducted an in-depth analysis of all study programs and submitted it to the university authorities.

I am also the Chair of the Council of Residents of Wrocław University of Science and Technology Student Halls. At Wittigowo, we organize many activities, such as movie nights. Above all, however, we organize events for new residents and help them settle in. We also have many ideas on how to further develop our campus area.

I was also the initiator and organizer of the largest education fair in Italy promoting Polish higher education, “Studia in Polonia.”

I was looking for a way to connect Polish universities with prospective students from Italy, and since I love events organized at the university’s Serowiec building, such as job fairs or Student Activity Days, the idea came to me to encourage the Polish diaspora to study in Poland in this very way. It turned out to be a bullseye – the event was a great success and is being continued.

Recently, I have also become active in the newly established Youth Council of the Polish Diaspora to the Marshal of the Senate of the Republic of Poland. It was created to give young Poles living abroad a voice. This is something close to my heart, because I strongly want to make access to studies easier for our diaspora. This is currently my biggest goal and challenge.”