SGH shapes leaders

The quote from the mission of SGH Warsaw School of Economics adopted by the SGH Senate.

It is a world-recognised centre of scientific research, new ideas and initiatives created by the academic community, graduates, as well as business representatives, social organisations and public administration. As one of the most important centres for competence training in the field of economics, data analysis and business law, it conducts research and creates expert opinions commissioned by enterprises, public institutions and local government units.

This is what has been said about SGH for years. Is it really true? What challenges are facing our university, especially now when the reform of higher education and science is being implemented in Poland? What can be done by SGH to accomplish the mission undertaken by our community?

We encourage you to take part in the discussion on the indicated topic in ‘Gazeta SGH’, both in the published quarterly and on our website.

Quite recently, during this year's school celebration, the Rector Marek Rocki, recalling the effects of a year-long work of a multi-person team on defining the mission, vision and university development strategy in a long-term perspective, illustrated the concept of SGH functioning in a new shape. The university's mission clearly focused on SGH's openness to new challenges, as well as the role of SGH as a leader in the economic, social and public environment.

Therefore, the slogan of our university is: SGH shapes leaders - the Rector announces and underlines: - Thus, the university intends to assimilate and shape new concepts, innovative ideas, trigger creativity, support entrepreneurship and creative activity. The strategy is also about shaping, improving and modernising university management methods, using modern technologies, so that SGH could be a university open to the expectations of stakeholders, improving decision-making processes, effectively using employee initiatives, as well as efficient in obtaining funds, in rational management of resources and entrusted assets and implementing the expected investments.

How far is it to the target?

The vision should include the fact that SGH Warsaw School of Economics is an elite economic university of an academic nature imposing high demands on its community and educating at the highest level and that it should combine the features of an economic university and a practical business school. The characteristic feature of SGH is conducting interdisciplinary scientific research, as well as at international level. SGH is a university oriented at the needs of an open economy, cooperating with business practice, public administration and social organisations, cooperative and involved in a constant dialogue with key stakeholders, being a leader of initiatives that integrate economic environments both in the country and abroad, and above all, it should be an open university, supporting new social ideas - this is how the rector describes both present and future of our university.

The reality is that since the 1990s SGH has been strengthening its position as the best university of economics and business in Poland. The foundation of this success is constituted by very good and increasingly improving education directions, in which economic practices and ambitious students have a large share. The university focuses on the development of student entrepreneurship and recognition of the needs of employers seeking the best staff and it verifies its efforts by analysing the graduates’ professional histories.

As a result, a relatively small university in terms of the number of students turned out to be a tycoon in educating entrepreneurs and specialists achieving professional success. The SGH graduates are the presidents of the largest Polish enterprises, banks, insurance companies and financial institutions. The aforementioned effectiveness is confirmed by, among others, ‘Kuźnia Prezesów’ ranking of the Rzeczpospolita daily. SGH took the first place ex aequo with many times larger Warsaw University of Technology in the ranking of universities that have educated the majority of the heads of the largest Polish companies.

It is not a coincidence that during the inauguration of the 2018/2019 academic year at SGH Warsaw School of Economics, Jadwiga Emilewicz, the Minister of Entrepreneurship and Technology (pol. MPiT) addressed her speech mainly to SGH students, indicating that the future shape of Poland depends on them, and at the same time underlined the role of SGH in the Polish economy development: Due to such universities as SGH Warsaw School of Economics it is possible to attract investors interested in the human resources to Poland.

The efforts of academic community bring measurable effects

The success of recent months is, among others, the distinction awarded in the field of finance and accounting in the accreditation of the Polish Accreditation Commission, and of recent weeks - the prestigious distinction of the European Commission, the so-called HR logo received by European institutions creating a friendly scientific work environment in accordance with the guidelines of the European Charter for Researchers and the Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers. The last month's success is also the grant of the National Agency for Academic Exchange (pol. NAWA) as regards international exchange of doctoral students, which means that we will host young scientists from both Europe and Australia, and our best doctoral students will go there for educational and research workshops.

SGH belongs to universities that are most closely involved in the cooperation with business in Poland. It invited entrepreneurs to cooperate from the beginning of the 1990s, believing that good education in economic majors should, in addition to providing current knowledge, be based on applications. The goal of the indicated activities is the development of graduates. The cooperation regards many forms and all levels - from workshops with beginner students, building their awareness through joint education programmes, to strategic cooperation, consultations and discussions among the SGH Partners Club Council. It is the SGH Partner Club, celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2018, which constitutes the most extensive form of cooperation with business practice. The SGH Entrepreneurs Club, which unites our graduates' businesses, is also thriving.

SGH regularly wins all rankings of economic studies in Poland. It has been included in the list of 90 best economic universities in Europe prepared by The Financial Times journal (selected out of several thousand existing European universities). The high quality of education resulted in IQA CEEMAN and ACCA accreditations for the finance and accounting field of study. In December 2017, students of the prestigious international MA programme CEMS Master in International Management awarded the University of the Year title to SGH Warsaw School of Economics, and prof. Jacek Miroński from SGH became the lecturer of the year. MBA type studies enjoy great recognition - the CEMBA and MBA-SGH programmes won the 1st and 7th places in the ‘Perspektywy’ ranking, respectively.

People do good and the effects of their activities work out, which constitutes the capital of the future. However, this is still the beginning of the transformation of our university into a state-of-the-art academic centre for intellectual reflection on the reality surrounding us. We hope that the coming months will be a time of many discussions on how to take advantage of an opportunity offered by the introduction of the new law for the development of SGH.

SGH Leaders 

SGH lecturers include or included: prime ministers and deputy prime ministers of the Republic of Poland, the majority of the Polish Ministers of Finance after 1989, the first-ever EU Commissioner from Poland, two NBP presidents, members of the Monetary Policy Council, the Stock Exchange presidents, chairmen and members of the Financial Supervision Authority, government experts, advisors and associates of the European Union and other European institutions as well as the United Nations Organisation or the World Bank.

SGH experts

SGH lecturers are the most valued experts who share their knowledge with the public. The report of SGH employees, specially prepared for the XXVIII Economic Forum in Krynica entitled Economic challenges for Central and Eastern Europe can serve as an emphatic example of this.
SGH experts’ opinions  on events and phenomena expressed every day and related to the field of finance, data analysis (big data), management, demography, banking, economic and international law, modern technologies, logistics, public policy, the situation on capital markets, European funds are cited by the most important Polish editors, including: 'Rzeczpospolita', 'Parkiet', 'Puls Biznesu', 'Gazeta Wyborcza', Polish Radio and TVP, TOK FM, Polsat, TVN, Onet.pl, Bankier.pl, and Wirtualna Polska.