Finalist

Engaged University of the Year Award

Kozminski University

Finalist of the Engaged University of the Year Award

"Kozminski University – A New School for a New World!"


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Summary

Kozminski University (KU) aims to provide its students with the knowledge and tools prerequisite to make a lasting sustainable change both in business and in society. We are a relatively young business school with a 29-year focus on ethical conduct and real impact.
Our entry is based on one of the most important, most moving, but also most spontaneous actions of the KU community. The crisis caused by the war in Ukraine has affected us not only as residents of a country neighbouring Ukraine but also as a community directly related to Ukrainians. Among our students, staff, alumni, and friends there are many representatives of the Ukrainian nation who have been affected by a personal tragedy on 24 February 2022. Unable to remain indifferent to one of the greatest humanitarian crises we have experienced in the 21st century and since the founding of our school, we supported the bottom-up initiative of our staff by providing a space within which aid could be delivered. The effect was immediate and showed what a strong, united community we have built over these 29 years. The Solidarity with Ukraine campaign was preceded by numerous other activities which could not have happened without our wonderful community, including fundraising for the rehabilitation of our graduate who suffered the fire, and auctions for the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity Foundation.

Key People


Prof. Grzegorz Mazurek
Rector
Kozminski University



Prof. Andrzej K. Koźmiński
Co-founder and Honorary Kozminski University President
Department of Management,  Kozminski University



Prof. Aleksandra Przegalińska
Vice-Rector for International Relations and ESR
Department of Management in the Network Society,  Kozminski University



Prof. Bartłomiej Nowak
Vice-Rector for Cooperation with the Environment
Department of International Law and European Union Law,  Kozminski University



Prof. Bolesław Rok
Rector’s Proxy for Sustainability Transition
Department of Entrepreneurship and Ethics in Business,  Kozminski University



Dr. Sylwia Hałas-Dej
President of the Kozminski Foundation
Center for Consulting and Management Training,  Kozminski University



Dr. Anna Górska
Impact Advisor
Department of Human Resource Management,  Kozminski University


Images

(From the left) Prof. Grzegorz Mazurek (Rector of Kozminski University), Dr. Sylwia Hałas-Dej (President of the Kozminski Foundation), Prof. Andrzej K. Koźminski (Co-founder and first Rector of Kozminski University, and Funder of the Kozminski Foundation), Prof. Witold T. Bielecki (Member of the Management Board of Kozminski Foundation and former Rector of Kozminski University), with a ventilator donated by Kozminski Univeristy community a hospital in Warsaw (October 2020)

The ventilator donated by Kozminski Univeristy community for Szpital Praski p.w. Przemierzenia Pańskiego in Warsaw (October 2020)

Kozminski Foundation Scholars (January 2022)

24/7 Support Point in Warsaw at Kozminski University (February 2022)

Accommodation in the library of Kozminski University (February 2022)

Storehouse in the gymnasium of Kozminski University where within just a few days, we collected around 5 tons of food, hygiene products, blankets, clothes, and products for children (February 2022)

Kindergarten in the library of Kozminski University (February 2022)

Formal signing of the cooperation agreement between Kozminski University and Ukrainian House in Warsaw (April 2022)

First meeting of the ‘New Dawn’ initiative, which is a series of roundtable debates on the European integration of Ukraine and its future reconstruction organized in cooperation with the Institute for Social and Economic Enquiry, New Europeans, and Media Dialogue (April 2022)

First meeting of the ‘New Dawn’ initiative, which is a series of roundtable debates on the European integration of Ukraine and its future reconstruction organized in cooperation with the Institute for Social and Economic Enquiry, New Europeans, and Media Dialogue (April 2022)

Storehouse in the gymnasium of Kozminski University where within just a few days, we collected around 5 tons of food, hygiene products, blankets, clothes, and products for children (February 2022)

Our students, (from left) Aleksandra Knap and Agata Ordon, during the final of the world's largest social media campaign to help Ukraine, #StandUpForUkraine (April 2022)

IMPACT STORY

Impacting lifes

As early as the second day of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, a group of our employees volunteered to provide 24/7 support to civilian refugees arriving at the Medyka border crossing. One of the volunteers, Professor Paweł Krzyworzeka, emphasizes, „The help point for people crossing the border was coordinated by our friend from the Department, Anna Kovbasiuk. A question was asked in the forum of our team if someone can go because the situation is difficult (…) In the first days the walking queue from Ukraine was very long, and some people, most often families with children, would stay for three hours before crossing the border and reaching our point and before that, just getting to the border sometimes required walking tens of kilometres. It snowed, the temperatures were below zero and those fleeing Ukraine were not prepared to spend several days outside. When they reached us, they were extremely exhausted (...) It may sound trivial, but in those conditions, it (i.e., warm clothes and boiling water to prepare hot drinks) was a lifesaver for people on the verge of hypothermia”.
Moreover, the help provided by the members of our community included organizing overnight transportation to nearby Przemysl, giving information to lost refugees, assisting in the search for missing family members and support in contacting the Border Guard. Representatives of our community were in Medyka until the first week of March. According to figures from the Border Guard, over 922,000 people had arrived in Poland from Ukraine by March 6th.

LEARNINGS

Lessons learned

KU students, employees, alumni, and friends have repeatedly demonstrated that community is the foundation of our DNA. The first decisions to launch the "Solidarity with Ukraine" action were made as early as 24 February in the morning when the tragic news about the Russian aggression against Ukraine spread around the world. On the same day, a bottom-up initiative was launched by our employees, who decided to get directly involved in helping civilian refugees reach Poland. Thanks to the support of the university authorities, on 25 February the first 24/7 Support Point for refugees in Warsaw was opened at KU. The picture of familiarity of our community was extremely touching and positively surprising for us – in the case of the Support Point, the role of KU was limited to allowing the community to provide real assistance, e.g., by making space available. Students, employees, graduates, and friends of KU joined us of their own accord, guided by their values and willingness to help the Ukrainian people.
Our example shows that university engagement is not just about top-down initiatives by university authorities. It's worth trusting your community and supporting heartfelt grassroots initiatives that can bring thousands of people together with a common goal. Within the action “Solidarity with Ukraine” members of our community of different generations and nationalities continue to make efforts to support the victims of war to this day – efforts that make us proud to be part of such a great community.

FUTURE PLANS

What's coming?

Many of KU’s initiatives are strategically planned, but some respond to unexpected events of great importance, e.g., our response to the COVID-19 pandemic or our support for refugees from Ukraine. Activities that have a real impact on our community and its well-being are extremely important to us. We are committed to supporting meaningful, bottom-up initiatives by our students, staff, alumni, and friends while nurturing strong leadership to nurture our DNA. The Rector’s Proxy for Sustainability Transition, Vice-Rector for International Relations and ESR, Vice-Rector for Cooperation with Environment, Advisor on KU Impact, and Kozminski Foundation play an important role in supporting the Rector of KU and setting the direction of our impact activities.
Our activities are aimed at shaping patterns of social responsibility among our community, with a special focus on our students. KU is a specific institution, which is not profit-driven but oriented toward a good and responsible education of future leaders. Inclusion of the Sustainable Development Goals within education, research and societal impact aims to equip all our stakeholders with knowledge and skills on how the business can be a force for good. We believe that the social initiatives we have planned (e.g., continuing to help the Ukrainian people, including talented Ukrainian applicants by funding scholarships for the next academic year) and future environmental initiatives (e.g., a systematic transformation from paperless to zero paper organization), provide a real example of models of responsibility, which has the potential to change our world for the better

KEY STATISTICS

PLN 100,000

Amount of money collected by Kozminski Foundation to support financially victims of the war in Ukraine

2,000

Number of medical kits donated to the territorial defence forces in Ukraine

1,336

Number of volunteers registered in 24/7 Support Point for Ukrainian refugees at Kozminski University

340

Number of families we welcomed in 24/7 Support Point for Ukrainian refugees at Kozminski University, incl. 600 adults and almost 500 children

5t

Number of tons of donations (e.g., warm clothes, shoes, cosmetics) delivered by our community to the 24/7 Support Point for Ukrainian refugees at Kozminski University

Triple E Awards

The Triple E Awards are a global recognition of efforts toward the quest for entrepreneurship and engagement in higher education. It is the first award to focus specifically on different dimensions of the universities' third mission. Implemented regionally, the Triple E Awards aim to foster change in universities and to emphasize their role in their communities and ecosystems.

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