European University Of Cities In Post-industrial Transition (unic 2.0)

University of Lodz in the UNIC /juːˈniːk/ alliance

University of Lodz joined UNIC, one of 50 alliances of European Universities in 2022.   

European Universities are transnational alliances that will become the universities of the future, promoting European values and identity, and revolutionising the quality and competitiveness of European higher education. They will do so by joint implementation of innovative solutions in the field of education and science and deep institutional integration.    

The Alliance focuses on the challenges faced by post-industrial cities, the role of universities in their transition and building the potential of cities in key areas such as:   

  • inclusion,  
  • superdiversity,  
  • sustainability, 
  • social influence, 
  • mobility.  

In 2023. UNIC entered the next phase of the Alliance, which resulted, among other things, in modification of its name.   

UNIC 2.0 (European University of Cities in Post-Industrial Transition) is a continuation of the cooperation started under the UNIC (European University of Post-Industrial Cities) Alliance. It is an alliance of 10 universities working together to advance education and support engaged research, geared towards working with post-industrial cities. The new Alliance covers activities from 2023 to 2027.  

See the joint vision of UNIC2040, i.e. the joint vision of the European University that is to operate after the end of the project.  

UNIC (European University of Cities in Post-Industrial Transition)  

The objective of the Alliance is to:  

  • strengthen the internationalisation of universities through the implementation of joint activities aimed at the university and local communities;  
  • give a new form to the institutional cooperation.  

We have been working intensively on activities in four key areas of higher education: education, research, innovation and activities for society. We want to deepen, intensify and increase the effectiveness of this cooperation.  

See how unique UNIC is!

Get to know the 10 partner universities

[Translate to English:] mapa UNIC

The UNIC (European University of Cities in Post-Industrial Transition) Alliance is currently made up of 10 partner universities, including:  

*universities that joined the Alliance in 2022  

Each university offers unique opportunities – both linguistic and academic ones – that can benefit all those working, studying and pursuing a doctorate at the University of Lodz. What should you know about the partner universities?  

WHAT DOES UNIC FOCUS ON?

  • Developing European cooperation in education and research: involving students, doctoral students and those working at UNIC partner universities in building closer and more effective inter-university cooperation in Europe. We will do so by building partnerships and joint, innovative educational and scientific projects.   
  • Embracing diversity: identifying and understanding differences and using them for the benefit of all. To achieve this goal, UNIC will use educational excellence and research experience of the universities that make up the Alliance.   
  • Developing post-industrial cities and taking up challenges to level the impact of negative social and economic trends: creating new solutions for regions within the UNIC Alliance and tackling the real challenges these regions face.   
  • Strengthening mobility: creating opportunities for all students, doctoral students and employees to participate in mobile educational and research activities.  We want to develop and expand inclusive forms of mobility: online courses, UNIC virtual courses, UNIC open courses, Blended Intensive Programme that will enable the exchange of study, work and research experiences for a wider range of students, doctoral students and those doing research or teaching work within the UNIC Alliance.  

UNIC – KEY ACTIVITIES AND DELIVERABLES

What will UNIC change for students and doctoral students of the University of Lodz?  

  • A Virtual Campus (VC) will be created – the virtual campus will be a space where students and doctoral students at all 10 UNIC partner universities will find information on, among other things, microcredentials (confirmations of learning outcomes achieved as part of a short educational experience, e.g. a course or training), mobility offers, research programmes and internships. Virtual Campus is to present various possible forms of mobility for students, doctoral students and employees.   
  • UNIC Student Board – a student council made up of student representatives from the 10 partner universities. The council's role is to represent the interests of students and doctoral students of universities that make up the UNIC Alliance and to actively participate in the implementation of the Alliance's objectives. At the University of Lodz, the UNIC Student Board is made up of regularly selected Student Representatives. Get to know the UNIC Students Board  
  • The UNIC Ambassador Programme at the University of Lodz – an initiative thanks to which we promote UNIC to the university community and encourage students to get involved in the alliance's activities. The programme involves the election of UNIC Ambassadors at each Faculty of the University of Lodz and their main task is to create a student community of the UNIC European University.

What will UNIC change for the employees of the University of Lodz?  

  • Closer and more effective inter-university cooperation in Europe by building partnerships and conducting joint, inter-university educational and scientific projects.  
  • Extended virtual mobility offer.  
  • UNIC Thematic Conferences – an opportunity to participate in conferences as part of the activities of the Thematic Lines teams.  
  • UNIC Faculty Roundtables – an opportunity to participate in meetings related to the 7 thematic lines.  

News and events

How does UNIC work?

The strategy for implementing the joint vision is based on three main pillars:   

  • education,   
  • research,  
  • impact and social commitment

The activities to implement the vision are divided into 6 Work Packages and 7 Thematic Lines.  

WP1 – Work Package 1 – Creating a Truly European, Systemic and Self-sustaining Structure for the Governance of UNIC

This package includes building a cooperation structure for managing the UNIC project and co-creating and strengthening Joint Vision 2040, i.e. the joint vision of the European University that is to operate after the end of the project. This package focuses on the creation of management units represented by representatives from the 10 UNIC partners.   

As part of WP1, the following will be created:  

  • UNIC Leadership Board  
  • UNIC Management Board 
  • UNIC Student Board  
  • UNIC Council 
  • UNIC Headquarters 
  • UNIC Campus 
  • UNIC Student Learners Forum 

Our objectives:  

  1. Refine the joint vision UNIC2040 and build an engaged community around this challenge.
  2. Create a coherent and systemic governance structure for UNIC, including co-designing project management plans with key internal and external UNIC stakeholders.
  3. Coordinate, monitor and evaluate the implementation of the UNIC programme.
  4. Share transformational practices with other higher education representatives.  

The role of WP1 Leader at the University of Lodz is held by Anna Rolczak, Deputy Chancellor of the University of Lodz.

WP2 – Work Package 2 – Fostering Innovative Approaches to Teaching and Mobility

The package focuses on strengthening mobility of students and employees as well as developing innovative and flexible approaches to learning and mobility with inclusion and diversity in mind.  

 

As part of WP2, the following will be created:  

  • UNIC Teaching and Learning Centre 
  • Educational Innovation Fund  
  • My UNIC Experience – Enhancing Students Mobility and Exchange in UNIC  
  • UNIC Teaching the Teachers Training – a series of training courses for academic staff on innovative teaching methods (Challenge-Based/Impact-Based Learning and Teaching), teaching in an international environment and on UNIC priority themes such as sustainability, forms of mobility, inclusion.     
  • UNIC Ambassadors  

Are you already familiar with the UNIC Handbook on Physical and Virtual Mobility?   

Watch the video about the UNIC Handbook on Physical and Virtual Mobility!   

The role of WP2 Leader at the University of Lodz is held by Dr hab. Aleksandra Orpel, Associate Professor at the University of Lodz, Vice-Dean for Research and International Relations at the Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science of the University of Lodz.   

WP3 – Work Package 3 – Engaging with Cities, Communities and Stakeholders

The WP3 tasks are intended to enable the UNIC community to engage with cities, communities and all interested parties to introduce innovations related to the transition of cities and to highlight and visualise the social impact on the integration of residents with the city.   

 

WP3 integrates education, research and innovation, and activities for society as the core areas of activity of universities, providing common infrastructure and connecting these areas; develops structured collaborative models and integrates complementary learning and research opportunities involving the city.  

As part of WP3, the following will be created:  

  • UNIC Centre for City Futures (as part of the UNIC campus) – is to enable the universities that make up the Alliance to collaborate with cities, communities and stakeholders for transformational innovation. It is also to bring science and research to cities and make it accessible to communities, and to integrate the needs of cities and communities into university science and research. 

The role of WP3 Leader at the University of Lodz is held by Dr Małgorzata Dzimińska, Assistant Professor, Department of Labour and Social Policy, Faculty of Economics and Sociology and a member of the Society for Research into Higher Education (SRHE) and the European Higher Education Society (EAIR). 

WP4 – Work Package 4 – Enhancing Cooperation Capacity between UNIC partners

This package focuses on building and strengthening cooperation between the administrative units of the partner universities. As part of the WP4 Package, Expert Groups have been established. They are made up of representatives of all 10 universities and bring together specialists dealing with international mobility, support for scientists in the development of their scientific work and in applying for grants, IT support, promotion and communication, university community inclusion and diversity, annd language training.   

 

As part of WP4, the following will be created:  

  • UNIC Capacity Building Centre 
  • UNIC Superdiversity Community 
  • UNIC Plurilingualism policy 

The role of WP4 Leader at the University of Lodz is held by Katarzyna Pardyka, Deputy Head of International Hub at University of Lodz

Existing Expert Groups within the Alliance cover:  

WP5 – Work Package 5 – Building Communities of Researchers and Educators around Post-Industrial Transitions

WP5 is a cross-cutting package of tasks that is to promote greater commitment and responsibility for the UNIC activities on the part of faculties, research staff, students and doctoral students. WP5 is to build a network of contacts around 7 thematic lines bringing together scientific and teaching staff, as well as students and doctoral students, to develop joint educational and research initiatives.   

 

Within the 7 thematic lines, teams made up of representatives from the 10 partner universities will be formed. They will work together as a community focusing on the themes of:   

  1. Superdiversity  
  2. Sustainability and Green Cities  
  3. Urban resilience and smart cities  
  4. Justice, security & institutions   
  5. Entrepreneurial learning for innovation 
  6. Health & wellbeing  
  7. Arts, Culture and Creativity  

At the same time, the WP5 team will, on the basis of ongoing activities, identify, establish and ensure the sustainability of new thematic lines, if they need to be created.   

As part of WP5 the following will be created:  

  • UNIC Thematic Line Communities 
  • UNIC Roundtable Conferences 

The role of WP5 Leader at the University of Lodz is held by Marta Jeżykowska, Specialist at International Hub of University of Lodz

WP6 – Work Package 6 – Promotion, Communication and Dissemination

WP6 focuses on communication and promotion activities in the Alliance and brings together promotion specialists from partner universities to work on a unified communication strategy across the UNIC Alliance. WP6 experts support the activities carried out as part of the remaining WPs. 

The role of WP6 Leader at the University of Lodz is held by Dr Bartosz Kałużny, Photographer and senior specialist at Communications and PR Centre of the University of Lodz.

Thematic Lines (TL)

The Work Packages provide structures, strategies and cooperation models, while the Thematic Lines provide content to enable the implementation of WPs.   

 

The development of Thematic Lines (TLs) is a key innovation to encourage additional commitment to the UNIC activities. The TLs are new collaborative structures designed to orient the relationships between the faculties of our universities around specific areas of post-industrial transition.  

  The TLs bring together the academic community of UNIC universities around 7 themes:  

  1. Superdiversity
  2. Sustainability and Green Cities 
  3. Urban resilience and smart cities 
  4. Justice, security & institutions 
  5. Entrepreneurial learning for innovation 
  6. Health & wellbeing 
  7. Arts, Culture and Creativity

How do the TLs work?  

  • Referring to the main objectives of the UNIC Alliance, each Thematic Line focuses on a specific aspect of post-industrial transition. The diversity of subject lines will help UNIC ensure the commitment of researchers, scientists and students from different faculties of the partner universities.   
  • Thematic Line can engage with UNIC's core activities under WP2 (education), WP3 (commitment) and WP4 (university cooperation). All the TLs are supported as part of WP5. They will also be supported by other WPs based on the specific tasks and outputs they engage in.   
  • Tasks and deliverables which a given Thematic Line is involved in will be defined in the action plan by each TL.  
  • Each Thematic Line team is composed of representatives from all UNIC universities, and each team includes representatives from at least two UNIC partner universities.  

At the University of Lodz, the representatives on the TL teams include:  

UNIC ambassador at the University of Lodz

The UNIC Ambassador Programme at the University of Lodz is an initiative thanks to which we promote UNIC among the university community and encourage students to get involved in the activities of the alliance. The programme involves the election of UNIC Ambassadors at each Faculty of the University of Lodz and their main task is to create a student community of the UNIC European University.

We completed the call for the first edition of the programme in November 2023. The UNIC Ambassadors at the University of Lodz in the academic year 2023/2024 were students Julita Maciejewska and Rumbidzai Hodzonge.  

Recruitment for the second edition of the programme is scheduled for November/December 2024.

UNIC team Lodz

GET TO KNOW PEOPLE, WHO WORK ON THE INTERNATIONALISATION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF LODZ WITHIN THE UNIC ALLIANCE

Dr hab. Katarzyna De Lazari-Radek, associate professor

The University of Lodz Vice-Rector for Internationalisation of Science in Education. In the UNIC project: UNIC President. She is a member of the UNIC Leadership Board.

Anna Rolczak

The Deputy Chancellor of the University of Lodz. She is a member of the UNIC Management Board.  

Małgorzata Gramala

Senior Specialist at the International Hub, University of Lodz. In the UNIC project: the Project Manager ​​​​and WP1 Leader: Creating a Truly European, Systemic and Self-sustaining Structure for the Governance of UNIC. She supports WP2 Leader in the implementation of the project objectives.   

Dr hab. Aleksandra Orpel, associate professor

Vice-Dean for Research and International Relations at the Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science of the University of Lodz. In the UNIC project: WP2 Leader: Fostering Innovative Approaches to Teaching and Mobility.    

DR MAŁGORZATA DZIMIŃSKA

Assistant Professor at the Department of Labour and Social Policy at the University of Łódź, Poland. She is a member of the Society for Research into Higher Education (SRHE) and the European Higher Education Society (EAIR).
In the UNIC project: WP3 Leader: Engaging with Cities, Communities and Stakeholders for Transformative Innovation and Societal Impact. 

Katarzyna Pardyka

Deputy Head of the International Hub at the University of Lodz. In the UNIC project she is the Programme Manager and WP4 Leader: Enhancing Cooperation Capacity between UNIC Partners. 

Marta Jeżykowska

Specialist at the International Hub, University of Lodz. In the UNIC project she is the Junior Project Manager and WP5 Leader: Building Communities of Researchers and Educators around Post-Industrial Transitions. She support WP6 Leaders in the implementation of the project objectives.

Dr Bartosz Kałużny

Photographer and senior specialist at Communications and PR Centre of the University of Lodz. In the UNIC project: WP6 Leader: Promotion, Communication and Dissemination.  

 

Dr Aleksandra Różalska

She is the University of Lodz Rector's Representative for Equal Treatment and Assistant Professor at Department of Cultural Studies at the Faculty of Philology. In the UNIC project: TL1 Leader: Superdiversity. 

Dr hab. Dominik Drzazga

Assistant Professor at the Sub-department of City Management, Department of City and Regional Management, Faculty of Management, University of Lodz, expert in the University of Lodz Interdisciplinary Centre for Urban Studies.   
In the UNIC project: TL2 Leader: Sustainability and Green Cities. 

Dr Karolina Dmochowska

Assistant Professor in the Department of Regional and Social Geography at the Faculty of Geographical Sciences.   
In the UNIC project: TL3 Leader: Urban resilience and smart cities. 

DR IZABELA FLORCZAK

Vice-Dean for International Relations and Projects at the Faculty of Law and Administration, Head of Postgraduate Studies “Legal and Social Aspects of Foreign Citizens Functioning in Poland”, Assistant Professor at the Sub-department of Social Security Law and Social Policy   
In the UNIC project: TL4 Leader: Justice, security & institutions and TL4 Coordinator for the entire Alliance. 

Dr hab. Agnieszka Kurczewska, associate professor

The University of Lodz Vice-Rector for External Relations, Associate Professor at the Department of Economic Mechanisms.   
In the UNIC project: TL5 Leader: Entrepreneurial learning for innovation.

Dr hab. Aneta Balcerczyk, associate professor

Head of the Department of Oncobiology and Epigenetics at the Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, University of Lodz.   
In the UNIC project: TL6 Leader: Health & Wellbeing. 

Dr hab. Aneta Pawłowska, associate professor

Vice-Dean at the University of Lodz Faculty of Philosophy and History, Head of the Department of History of Painting and Sculpture at the Institute of History of Art at the Faculty of Philosophy and History, President of the University's Commission for Academic Degrees in the Disciplines of Cultural and Religious Sciences and Art Sciences.   
In the UNIC project: TL7 Leader: Arts, Culture and Creativity.  

Marta Chruściel

Senior specialist at the International Hub, University of Lodz.   
In the UNIC project: Junior Project Manager and support for WP3 Leader in the implementation of the project objectives.   

 

Agata Burlińska

Deputy Director of the Urban Activity Office in the Department of Strategy and Development of the City of Lodz Office She is an economist, an urban planner. She has been associated with Lodz local government for six years. Agata Burlińska is involved in the coordination of revitalisation projects, organisation of citizen panels, participatory design. She is responsible for the Lodz Civic Budget since 2020.
In the UNIC project: a representative of the City of Lodz. 

Write to us

Have you attended an interesting workshop as part of UNIC? Would you like to share your impressions? Write to us: UNIC@uni.lodz.pl

Would you like to know more about UNIC? Visit the website of the Alliance!

UNIC European University

Funded by the EU.
The views and opinions expressed are solely those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Agency for Education and Culture (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor the EACEA are responsible for them.

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UNIVERSITY OF LODZ

 

Narutowicza 68, 90-136 LODZ

fax: 00 48 42/665 57 71, 00 48 42/635 40 43

NIP: 724 000 32 43

Funduszepleu
Projekt Multiportalu UŁ współfinansowany z funduszy Unii Europejskiej w ramach konkursu NCBR