Meeting of the Joint Management Committee of the International School of Engineering – ISE

On 12 December 2023, a meeting of the Joint Management Committee and the Academic Committee of the International School of Engineering (ISE) at Tianjin Chengjian University took place. The school is an educational institution run by Tianjin Chengjian University in China (TCU) in cooperation with Bialystok University of Technology and Cracow University of Technology.

The meeting was held remotely, via the Teams platform. It was attended by Assoc. Prof. Marta Kosior-Kazberuk, DSc, PhD, Eng, Rector of Bialystok University of Technology, as well as representatives of partner universities.

This is the third meeting of the Joint Management Committee and the Academic Committee of ISE, attended by representatives of Bialystok University of Technology, the International School of Engineering and Cracow University of Technology. The partners summarised the activities of ISE in the academic year 2023/2024, which is a breakthrough for the functioning of the school, as well as adopted resolutions on the main issues related to the administration and development of ISE.  

– Since October, we have started full-time education of ISE students at Bialystok University of Technology. Thanks to the joint efforts of our teams and the university authorities, we managed to organise the arrival of over 80 students from China who attend classes covered by the study programme at Bialystok University of Technology – said during the meeting Assoc. Prof. Marta Kosior-Kazberuk, DSc, PhD, Eng, Rector of Bialystok University of Technology (who attended the meeting online), adding that the establishment and functioning of the International School of Engineering at Tianjin Chengjian University is one of the largest educational projects of Bialystok University of Technology, thanks to effective cooperation with Tianjin Chengjian University.

Participants of the meeting:

– representatives of Bialystok University of Technology

• Assoc. Prof. Marta Kosior-Kazberuk, DSc, PhD, Eng, Rector of Bialystok University of Technology/ Member of ISE, Member of the Joint Management Committee of ISE
• Assoc. Prof. Mirosław Świercz, DSc, PhD, Eng, Vice-Rector for Development of Bialystok University of Technology/ Vice-Chairman of the ISE Joint Management Committee
• Assoc. Prof. Dorota Anna Krawczyk, DSc, PhD, Eng, Vice-Rector for International Cooperation of Bialystok University of Technology/member of the ISE Academic Committee
• Prof. Katarzyna Zabielska-Adamska, member of the ISE Academic Committee
• Dariusz Andraka, PhD, Eng, Vice-Dean of the International School of Engineering

– representatives of Tianjin Chengjian University

• Bai Haili, TCU President/ Chairman of the ISE Joint Management Committee
• Wang Zhongliang, TCU Vice President/ISE President/ISE Joint Management Committee Member/ISE Academic Committee Chairman (who joins us online)
• Huang Lingxiang, ISE Dean/ISE Joint Management Committee Member/ISE Academic Committee Member
• Dr Yang Ping, ISE Chairman/Member of the ISE Joint Management Committee
• Liu Ge, Dean of the Graduate School of TCU/ member of the ISE Academic Committee
• Wang Jianghua, Dean of TCU School of Architecture/ISE Academic Committee member
• Wang Hailiang, Dean of TCU School of Civil Engineering/ISE Academic Committee Member
• Liu Zhihua, Dean of the Faculty of Environmental Engineering and Municipal Management of TCU / member of the Academic Committee of ISE
• Chen Xuan, Deputy Director of the Academic Affairs Office of TCU
• Li Guangmin, Vice-Dean of ISE / member and secretary of the ISE Academic Committee

– representatives of Cracow University of Technology:

• Prof. Andrzej Szarata, Rector of Cracow University of Technology
• Prof. Jan Kazior, former Rector of Cracow University of Technology/ Vice-Chairman of the ISE Joint Management Committee
• Rafał Blazy, DSc, PhD, Arch., Eng. , Vice-Dean of ISE
• Assoc. Prof. Rafał Zawisza, DSc, PhD, Arch., Eng (PK, Kraków) /Deputy Director for Architectural Programmes of ISE/ Member of the ISE Academic Committee
• Assoc. Prof. Katarzyna Łakomy, DSc, PhD, Arch., Eng (PK, Kraków) / Deputy Director for ISE Landscape Architecture Programmes/ Member of the ISE Academic Committee

It should be reminded that together with our partner from China we are co-creating the International School of Engineering (ISE) since 2013. The signing of the agreement establishing that international educational institution took place in 2021. Since then, we have been educating specialists together.

As part of the International School of Engineering, we conduct first- and second-cycle studies in the fields of: Civil Engineering and Environmental Engineering. The student exchange agreement signed in October 2023 offers the opportunity to study at both – Bialystok University of Technology and Tianjin Chengjian University in China at various faculties. This academic year, the first diploma defences will take place, we will have the first ISE graduates.

The cooperation also includes the possibility of mobilities for teaching staff. Lecturers of Bialystok University of Technology in the field of Civil Engineering and Environmental Engineering have spent a month at a partner university in China and conducted a total of over 400 hours of didactic classes there.

– Our common goal is to keep the International School of Engineering exemplary, bringing satisfaction to both students and lecturers. I am convinced that thanks to the experience gained in working with foreign students, our teaching staff involved in the International Engineering School at Tianjin Chengjian University will provide a high level of teaching and the best standards of professional preparation for school graduates. I also strongly believe that cooperation within ISE will have not only an academic, but also a scientific dimension, and personal contacts established between lecturers and researchers from partner universities will inspire to take up new research challenges and lead to joint scientific successes – argued the Rector.

The meeting was an opportunity to strengthen joint educational activities and summarise the achievements so far. Professor Huang Lingxiang, the dean of ISE, a member of the Joint Management Committee of ISE and a member of the Academic Committee of ISE, presented a report on the condition of the international school. Two resolutions were also adopted during the meeting. The aim of the first one was to further improve the operation of all joint programmes. The parties also agreed to postpone the recruitment of undergraduate students from 2023 to 2024 and to extend the operation of the ISE until 31 December 2029.

The second resolution concerned the updating of the list of members of the ISE Joint Management Committee and the ISE Academic Committee.

During the meeting, prof. Andrzej Szarata, Rector of Cracow University of Technology, assured about further support of his university for cooperation within the International School of Engineering. Representatives of partner universities confirmed their commitment to building relationships and, above all, to developing the activities of a school educating innovative engineers.  

The next meeting of representatives of the three universities will take place in China, during the graduation ceremony.

Current list of members of the ISE Joint Management Committee and the ISE Academic Committee adopted by resolution on 12 December 2023:

– representatives of Bialystok University of Technology

• Assoc. Prof. Marta Kosior-Kazberuk, DSc, PhD, Eng, Rector of Bialystok University of Technology/ Member of ISE, Member of the Joint Management Committee of ISE
• Assoc. Prof. Mirosław Świercz, DSc, PhD, Eng, Vice-Rector for Development of Bialystok University of Technology/ Vice-Chairman of the ISE Joint Management Committee
• Assoc. Prof. Dorota Anna Krawczyk, Vice-Rector for International Cooperation of Bialystok University of Technology/member of the ISE Academic Committee
• Prof. Katarzyna Zabielska-Adamska, member of the ISE Academic Committee

– representatives of Tianjin Chengjian University

• Bai Haili, TCU President/ Chairman of the ISE Joint Management Committee
• Wang Zhongliang, Chairman of ISE/ Member of ISE Joint Management Committee/ Chairman of ISE Academic Committee
• Huang Lingxiang, ISE Dean/ISE Joint Management Committee Member/ISE Academic Committee Member
• Dr Yang Ping, ISE Chairman/Member of the ISE Joint Management Committee
• Zhao Guomin, member of the ISE Academic Committee
• Liu Ge, member of the ISE Academic Committee
• Wang Jianghua, member of the ISE Academic Committee
• Wang Hailiang, member of the ISE Academic Committee
• Liu Zhihua, member of the ISE Academic Committee
• Li Guangmin, Vice-Dean of ISE / member and secretary of the ISE Academic Committee
• And I, Wang Li, member and secretary of the ISE Joint Management Committee.

– representatives of Cracow University of Technology:

• Prof. Jan Kazior, former Rector of Cracow University of Technology/ Vice-Chairman of the ISE Joint Management Committee
• Assoc. Prof. Rafał Zawisza, DSc, PhD, Arch., Eng (PK) / Member of the ISE Academic Committee
• Assoc. Prof. Katarzyna Łakomy, DSc, PhD, Arch., Eng (PK, Kraków) / Member of the ISE Academic Committee
• Katarzyna Baron-Lisiakiewicz, MA /Member of the Joint Management Committee of ISE

The meeting on behalf of our university was conducted by: Grażyna Jakimiuk, MA, Deputy Head of the Mobility and International Agreements Unit at Bialystok University of Technology.

The Mobility and International Agreements Unit at Bialystok University of Technology was responsible for the organisation of the event at BUT, and the online transmission was covered by the team of the University IT Centre.  

The photos from the meeting: