SUT is the oldest technical university in the region and one of the most prestigious in Poland. It was established in 1945 as a scientific and educational facility for Upper Silesia, the most industrialized area in Poland, and one of the most industrialized in Europe. For over 70 years of its history, it has always been a public institution, playing a cultural and opinion forming role in the region. 15 educational units of the University – 13 faculties, one college and a scientific-didactic centre – currently offer almost 60 study programmes and about 200 specializations, including the whole spectrum of engineering studies. Aside from technical programmes, candidates may also study administration, business analytics, mathematics, sociology and management – including project management – as well as foreign languages and pedagogy. SUT occupies leading positions in both national and international rankings. It ranked 4th among technical universities and 9th among all universities in Poland in the “Perspektywy” Educational Foundation Ranking. Two study programmes: environmental engineering and logistics were considered the best in Poland, which allowed SUT to rank 4th in the whole country in terms of engineering study programmes. In the SCImago Institutions Ranking (SIR), an international classification of higher education institutions, SUT was awarded the 4th place in Poland and 17th in Eastern Europe. Nowadays, SUT educates nearly 20,000 students at all three levels of study: Bachelor (and Engineering), Master and Doctoral studies. Those programmes are available both as full-time (over 15,000 full-time students) and part-time study. SUT offers 15 programmes conducted fully in English.

Aleksandra Kuzior, PhD, Associate Professor of Humanities, coach-training educator, is an expert of SUT in the field of sustainable development, technology assessment, applied ethics. She acts as the Head of the Department of Applied Social Sciences, Vice-Dean for Students’ Affairs at the Faculty of Organization and Management, deals with the internationalization of the Faculty, is the president of the Silesian Center for Business Ethics and Sustainable Development and the Vice President of the Polish Association of Technology Assessment. Scientifically, concerns with the quality of life, education for sustainable development, applied ethics and technology assessment, axiological foundations of sustainable and intelligent development and intercultural communication. For 10 years now she has been the organizer of an international conference on “Global contexts of respect for human rights and freedoms” organized, among others, under the honorary patronage of the Polish Committee for UNESCO.

Grzegorz Kłapyta, PhD Eng is specialist in mechatronics, robotics and smart materials. Since over 20 years he is a lecturer at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering of SUT. Author of over 60 publications in field of mechatronics and education. He is certified trainer of Festo Didactic, delivering courses on electrical engineering and mechatronics. He is a promotor of over 50 bachelor and master projects in mechatronics. He was vice-head of Department of Mechatronics for 8 years. He is well experienced in project management being a coordinator of many research and didactic projects including coordination of the whole EU 7FP R4SME project. For 15 years he has been a head of Organizing Committee of International PhD Workshop, coordinator of several international Summer Schools and many other international activities. Since 2016 he is Head of International Relations Office of SUT. He completed postgraduate studies in Organization Management (with diploma focused on project management) and additionally he has completed certified course for managers of European Projects. He is an alumni of “Academy of Diplomacy” – certified one year course delivered by University of Silesia. He is also graduate of certified training “Activation of entrepreneurship”.

Aleksandra Synowiec, PhD and Assistant Professor in the Department of Applied Social Sciences, holds PhD degree in sociology, engaged in domestic and international NGOs activities. Interested in socio-cultural aspects of transition in post-soviet countries. She has been a grantee of individual research grant of Polish National Science Centre (2018) and Kiev International University (Ukraine 2013). As a team member of the Institute of Eastern Initiatives she has conducted several projects related to ethnic minorities in Poland and the Polonia communities. She completed a postdoc fellowship, in Kiev (Ukraine), where she was working on the issue of Ukrainian collective memory after the fall of communism. She has been involved in scientific and academic cooperation with Ukrainian HEI’s, also as a visiting professor. Additionally, she was a short-term observer, representing OSCE/ODIHR during presidential (2014, 2019) and parliamentary (2014) elections in Ukraine. She served as a volunteer in a project on establishing a Model Family Support Centre for Integration of Internally Displaced Persons and Host Communities in Ukraine (2017) within the Polish Development Cooperation Programme of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Involved in community development project concerning rural areas in Ukraine within the Fund of Sustainable Development and Open Rural Development Academy in Hrytsiv, Ukraine (2018). In her academic work she is focused on sociology of social change, memory studies, nation and ethnicity, axiological foundations of intelligent development, research methodology, analysis and interpretation of research results. She has coordinated a number of sociological field studies for sociology students (international level).