On 6th March, the UW Senate elected two members of the university council: Prof. Janusz Bujnicki and Prof. Pearl Dykstra. According to the Law on Higher Education and Science, every public university will set up a new body – the university council.

The university council will give its opinion on the UW statute, strategy and its implementation report. Also, it will screen financial management of the university, designate candidates for the position of rector after receiving an opinion of the UW Senate.

 

The council may be composed of 6 or 8 members – in addition to the elected members, a place for a Student Union president will be guaranteed. In November last year, the UW Senate decided that the first university council at the University of Warsaw will comprise 6 elected members.

On 6th March, the UW Senate elected two members of the UW council:
  • Prof. Janusz Bujnicki from the International Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology in Warsaw (IMCB), correspondent member of the Polish Academy of Sciences, one of the highly cited researchers,

 

  • Prof. Pearl Dykstra from the Erasmus University Rotterdam, member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, appointed as member of the group of European Commission Chief Scientific Advisors – advising the EU Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation.
Procedure for election of university council members

Members of the UW Senate nominated candidates for the university council and sent their proposals to the nomination committee which had been appointed by the rector from representatives of various groups of the academic community.

 

Names of 16 candidates were submitted (one person did not meet formal requirements). The nomination committee chose 6 people. The members of the UW Senate elected two members of the university council. Other members of the UW council will be elected at the next meetings of the UW Senate.

 

According to the new law, apart from the people elected by the UW Senate, the council will also include a president of the Student Union. The term of the first university council will last until the end of 2020. Future bodies will be elected for 4 years.