Irish Medical Times Medical News for Healthcare Professionals
The Polish university, located on the grounds of an eighteenth-century Baroque palace, has gained a reputation as a successful modern campus with academic and scientific excellence at its core, writes Michael McHale
Just as important to the institution, however, is the wellbeing and welfare of its students, particularly those coming from all over the world to study at its campus. Keen to ensure that students enjoy their time at MUB, the university has placed significant emphasis on non-scientific amenities and activities so that students and academics can form bonds with the picturesque city of Bialystok and with each other.
“We realise that our students come from different parts of the world, so our priority is to make them feel at home here as soon as possible,” Professor Tomasz Hryszko MD, PhD, the Rector’s Plenipotentiary for International Cooperation at MUB, said. “We need to help them immerse in a new city, new environment and new daily schedule.”
This immersion begins at the university’s Welcome Centre, which assists foreign students, PHD students and academic staff with any issues they may have as they begin their journey with MUB.
Welcome Centre staff are fluent English speakers and can provide assistance with practical issues like accommodation or opening a bank account, to providing English language workshops and guides for the university or advice on local transport and academic calendars.
As people get settled in Bialystok, the university also holds events to help them get to know each other, as well as giving them an important break from their studies.
“A student’s life is not just learning, you also need to take a break and relax after a hard week of studying”, Prof Hryszko added. “We realise that – especially at the very beginning – we do need to help them find a way to make friends and colleagues from different countries as well as with the Polish students.”
To help form these bonds of friendship, MUB organises a number of free events, including a sightseeing tour of the region that these students now call home. MUB is located in north eastern Poland. Known for its scenic landscape, there are many forests and lakes to explore. This is combined with a historical city with a rich multicultural population of 300,000.
Together with English-speaking guides, students have the opportunity to explore sites such as Planty Park, Białystok Cathedral, St. Nicholas Orthodox Church, the Great Synagogue monument and the Podlaska Opera and Philharmonic.
The university organises international Karaoke nights, with solo singers and groups invited to join in the friendly competition. Students can perform songs from their home countries, allowing others to get a glimpse of different cultures. An international cooking day also offers students the opportunity to showcase some of the speciality cuisines from their home countries, as well as sampling some of the local Polish foods.
Pic: Maciej Nowakowski
Emphasising the importance of promoting a healthy lifestyle, MUB also runs an annual international sports day for its students. The day’s events include an international relay where runners come together to represent their country. Students are invited to participate or cheer on the athletes and stay for the post-event barbecue.
International students are also encouraged to forge professional networks while they study, and are encouraged to take part in research projects and present their findings at scientific meetings.
“We have a great faculty and they are passionate about their jobs. They’re really devoted to not only research work, but also to teaching. They are more than happy when the students want to engage in extracurricular activities.”
To aid students in their everyday academic lives, the university has developed the myMUB mobile app. The app provides a fast and effective way to communicate for staff and students. For example, an announcement of a cancelled lecture can be given through a push notification that appears on the student’s phone immediately. Information on where classes are held and how to reach different parts of campus are also stored in the app.
Pic: Maciej Nowakowski
The app also stores important information on class scheduling, examinations, deadlines and a campus map. Students can upload their own personal profiles and access useful information such as emergency contact details, local transport timetables and route, and currency exchange rates.
This new technology is just one example of how MUB is using modern methods to aid and enhance the academic experience of its students. The university has developed a centre for simulation to allow its students to implement the theory they learn in a practical way. Under the supervision of their tutors, they are able to play out medical scenarios such as a car crash, using a simulated ambulance and equipment.
Pic: Maciej Nowakowski
Using virtual reality, a range of different environments can be created to assess students’ abilities in high-pressured environments like hospital settings. Tutors can review their students’ actions in real time and provide immediate feedback, helping them to prepare for a life in medicine.
It is hoped that these interventions, coupled with a welcoming community, will lead to the development of well-rounded healthcare professionals who will go on to share the knowledge expertise learned among colleagues wherever they go on to work in their careers. The university’s study abroad programme is also integral to this ambition. MUB has obtained cooperation agreements under the Erasmus+ programme with many countries including Germany, Italy, Lithuania, France, Portugal, Belgium, Slovenia and Spain, allowing for the mobility of its students for studies and traineeships ranging from five days to 12 months.
The university’s efforts have been recognised internationally, with MUB currently ranked in the 1001-1200 group of The Times Higher Education World University Rankings, and ranked 601 in the clinical and health category of the table.
These are just some of the ways MUB is enhancing student life. “We still have a lot of plans to improve our amenities and facilities for students,” Prof Hryszko added. “We think of ourselves as a young university – we have a lot of will and energy to still make progress.
“I think we are just at the very beginning of the road to excellence. We are still trying to improve and be an even more international university.”
Currently MUB has approximately 400 international students who study through the university’s English Division. More than 30 countries are represented among this global student population, who come to study here from across Europe, the USA, Canada and Saudi Arabia, among other regions.
The English Division is currently welcoming applications from students globally for the 2023/24 academic year, with more information on the process available at umb.edu.pl/en/admission. 
The article is financed by the Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange under the Welcome to Poland (2020) programme. Grant agreement no. PPI/WTP/2020/1/00017/U/00001.
