This achievement aligns with the European average and testifies to the extensive efforts made by Polish higher education institutions over the last two decades, said Waldemar Siwiński, founder of the Perspektywy Foundation and initiator of the Study in Poland program.
Perspektywy Educational Foundation report reveals that Poland is attracting a substantial number of foreign students, primarily from Ukraine, Belarus and Turkey.
Among the international students enrolled in Poland, 48,100 or 45.6 percent hail from Ukraine, demonstrating a significant rise of over 12,000 students from the previous academic year.
Following Ukraine, Belarus and Turkey occupy the second and third positions, contributing 12,000 (11.4 percent) and 3,800 (3.6 percent) students, respectively, to the total international student population of 105,000. This overall figure represents 8.7 percent of the 1.21 million university students in Poland, marking a robust internationalization rate for the nation’s higher education sector.
This achievement aligns with the European average and testifies to the extensive efforts made by Polish higher education institutions over the last two decades, said Waldemar Siwiński, founder of the Perspektywy Foundation and initiator of the Study in Poland program. Siwiński highlighted the drastic increase in foreign student enrollment from a mere 0.48 percent in 2004, when Poland joined the European Union, to the present rate.
Significant efforts to globalize Polish higher education included the development of English-taught programs and training academic and administrative staff for efficient internationalization management.
Foreign students enrich Poland’s academic environment by bringing their talents, scientific interests and cultural diversity, said Prof. Arkadiusz Mężyk, Rector of the Silesian University of Technology. He added that these students serve as ambassadors for Poland and its universities upon their return.
The report also noted an increase in the number of students from countries like Zimbabwe, India, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, China, Kazakhstan and Nigeria over the past four years. However, a decline in student numbers from the US, Russia, Germany, Vietnam, Sweden, Saudi Arabia, Canada, Thailand and Georgia was observed.
Data shows that most international students in Poland are from Europe (67 percent), followed by Asia (20 percent) and Africa (12 percent). These students mostly pursue studies in management, computer science, and medicine, with 60 percent studying in Polish, 37 percent in English and the remaining three percent in other languages.
