Silesian University of Technology at the 2025 NAFSA Conference in San Diego
On May 27th -30th, 2025, the prestigious 77th edition of the NAFSA Annual Conference & Expo was held in San Diego, California, the largest and most influential event in the world dedicated to international cooperation in higher education. This year’s edition brought together more than 8,000 participants representing academic institutions, government agencies and organizations from over a hundred countries. Almost four hundred universities and institutions operating in the field of education, research and academic cooperation presented their offer in the exhibition hall.
"Purpose, Place, Partnership" is the motto of the event, which symbolically emphasizes the need to build responsible, permanent, and sustainable international relations in education.
Poland, thanks to the initiative of the National Agency for Academic Exchange and the Ministry of Science and Higher Education, was represented as part of the joint stand "Study in Poland", at which 18 universities from all over the country were present. One of them was Silesian University of Technology, which actively participated in the event, promoting its scientific achievements, didactic offer, and the potential of research cooperation.
The “Study in Poland” stand attracted the attention of representatives of universities from the USA, Europe, Asia, and South America, as well as government institutions, international organizations and students and candidates interested in studying in Poland.
The Silesian University of Technology was represented by a three-member delegation composed of the International Mobility Office staff: Ludwina Żukowska – Head of the International Mobility Office and Coordinator of the University Erasmus+ Program, Beata Machula and Katarzyna Czumak, long-term employees of the International Mobility Office who deal with the organization of foreign exchange of students and employees of our University on a daily basis. The presence of the Silesian University of Technology at the event of this rank was a confirmation of the international position of the University, as well as an opportunity to strengthen relations with existing partners and establish new, prospective contacts. We managed to present current projects, as well as the offer of studies conducted in English, double diploma programs, as well as initiatives related to the internationalization of research and mobility of academic staff and students.
During the stay in California, the delegation of the Silesian University of Technology also held a number of meetings with representatives of universities from the San Diego region, including representatives of the renowned University of California, San Diego (UCSD). The participants had the opportunity not only to familiarize themselves with the research and teaching infrastructure of this prestigious university during an organized campus tour, but also to take part in inspiring lecture panels devoted to, among others, sustainable academic mobility, new models of education in the post-pandemic era and cooperation between the university and the economic environment. The meetings inspired us to continue our activities, allowed for the exchange of good practices and the opening of new paths of bilateral cooperation.
There were also elements more informal, but equally valuable from the point of view of learning about academic culture in California. The delegation of our University had the opportunity to participate in the graduation ceremony of UCSD graduates, which – as befits American tradition – was full of emotions. A unique event, and at the same time a bit surreal for the European eye, was also the traditional “graduation beach session” – a photo session of graduates in togas and birets against the background of the ocean and the setting sun. The sight of dozens of young people in gala college uniforms posing with surfboards was both fun and beautiful – a remarkable combination of academic seriousness and California freedom.
The Silesian University of Technology delegation also conducted numerous interviews with UC San Diego students, thanks to which it was possible to gather information on their expectations toward partner universities, mobility preferences and interests in engineering and science. This information will be used in the preparation of further activities in the field of promotion of the University abroad and cooperation projects with American universities.
Author: Beata Machula
Photos: Ludwina Żukowska, Beata Machula, Katarzyna Czumak
