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– I think that there is a good chance of success in the competition of the "Excellence Initiative - Research University" program - says the rector, Prof. Zbigniew Pater. – We have almost 3 years for this. The amendment to the act gave us the opportunity to increase the subsidy by 2% and we took advantage of it. These PLN 2.4 million per year will allow us to focus on internationalization and improvement of our research structures.

The first competition under the "Excellence Initiative - Research University" program was conducted by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education in 2019. Twenty universities signed up to participate, ten of them received the status of a research university. The winners receive a subsidy increased by 10% in the years 2020–2026.

As the rector recalls, the university could not participate in the first edition of the competition due to its narrow specialization, limited to one field of technical sciences. The evaluation results themselves were very good in 2017.

– Now the conditions have been changed and we meet all the criteria for becoming a research university. There is a requirement for six disciplines, and we evaluated seven. We also meet the remaining criteria, i.e. we do not have a single category B - we did not have it even after the first stage - and we have most disciplines, six out of seven, with categories A and A+ - explains Prof. Zbigniew Pater.

How does the university prepare for the competition for a research university?

- We have developed a concept with eight actions that allow us to achieve scientific excellence. These include: competitions for financing high scoring publications, participation in international invention exhibitions, a special program addressed to employees starting their scientific careers, and financing the stay of an outstanding foreign scientist - informs Prof. Wojciech Franus, vice-rector for science.

The university will also provide support to its students. A system of individual student education paths as part of participation in research projects and a talent management program will be developed.

For Lublin University of Technology, being a research university brings many benefits. Firstly, subsidy increased by 10%. Secondly, scientists will have the opportunity to develop scientifically on an unprecedented scale and thirdly, LUT will establish lasting, systemic relationships with the scientific and economic environment around the world, which will result in the implementation of joint research initiatives.