New shared spaces for learning, working, and recreation, improving the visual appeal of university campuses, and caring for the natural environment - voting is now open in the ACB UG and Green UG competitions. The total fund for both competitions is PLN 280,000. Voting will take place from 20 to 27 October this year. We invite all students, doctoral students and employees to have a say in what our immediate surroundings will look like!

For the fourth time, the academic community of our university will be able to participate in voting for projects within the framework of the Academic Citizens' Budget of the University of Gdańsk (ACB UG). We can also vote again (second edition) for projects in the Green University of Gdańsk (Green UG) competition. Voting takes place electronically on the Employee Portal and Student Portal, respectively, in the Academic Citizens' Budget and Green UG sections, after selecting the Vote category.

In April this year, the academic community had the opportunity to prepare their ideas for both competitions. At that time, 20 projects were submitted - 13 to ACB UG and 7 as part of the Green UG initiative. After the working group verified the projects in terms of form and content, the competition committee finally admitted 12 ACB UG projects (7 in the employee pool and 5 student ideas - full list here, in Polish only) and 6 projects under Green UG (full list here, in Polish only) to the voting stage in October.

Academic Citizens' Budget at UG

When voting for ACB UG, employees cast their votes for projects in the ‘employee projects’ category, and students vote for ‘student projects’. Each participant in the vote may vote for a maximum of 3 ACB UG projects, and may only vote once. Persons who are both employees and students/doctoral students of our university at the time of voting may vote for ACB UG projects in both categories. By logging into the Employee Portal, they select a maximum of 3 projects from the list of employee projects, and after logging into the Student Portal, they can also select a maximum of 3 projects from the pool of student projects.

As in previous years, a pool of funds in the amount of PLN 200,000 has been allocated for the implementation of ACB UG in the 2025 edition, with PLN 100,000 allocated to projects submitted by employees and PLN 100,000 to those submitted by students and doctoral students.

In the three editions to date, eight projects selected in the first two years of the competition have been implemented on the university campuses in Gdańsk-Oliwa and Sopot. Four more ideas, which proved to be the best last year, have been completed or are in the final stages of implementation.

Among the ACB UG 2024 employee projects selected by our university's academic community, the project by Ms Aleksandra Hołomej concerning the installation of composite seats on the steps of Professor Andrzej Ceynowa Square has been completed. and thanks to the implementation of another project submitted by the same author to the Green UG competition, this space has also been decorated with flower pots with low vegetation and flowers, becoming another friendly relaxation area on campus.

The winning employee project from last year, designed by dr Wacław Kulczykowski, is in its final phase of implementation. As part of the project entitled ‘Multimedia Studio at the Faculty of History’, the room has been soundproofed with professional acoustic foam and equipped with energy-efficient LED lighting, adapted to the needs of video recording. The studio has also gained new furniture: two electrically adjustable tables and two ergonomic gaming chairs, ensuring comfort during longer recordings. Complete audio-video equipment was purchased, including studio microphones, headphones, cameras, a camera with a lens, a greenscreen, an audio interface, studio lighting, monitors, a stream deck and numerous accessories to support creative and technical work. The project is currently in its final phase. Once two high-performance computers have been delivered, the studio will be fully operational.

The student project selected in last year's vote, entitled ‘A Haven at UG Library’ - the arrangement of the terrace in the Main Library of the University of Gdańsk by Mr Mikołaj Kornacki, thanks to which a friendly relaxation area was created on the terrace of the University of Gdańsk Library, is also ready. The terrace has been equipped with comfortable lounge sets, hanging armchairs, tables and umbrellas, which ensure comfort regardless of the weather, surrounded by greenery. Thanks to carefully selected design elements, the terrace has gained a warm and aesthetic character, conducive to the integration of the academic community. The new space has become a place where students can catch their breath between classes, spend time with friends or simply relax in the fresh air.

The winning ACB UG 2024 student project entitled ‘Chamber of Secrets’ is in its final phase of implementation. It involves the creation of a board and role-playing game room, designed by Ms Emilia Paszkowska. The room will be equipped with a special table adapted for games and comfortable chairs to ensure comfort during longer meetings. The interior design refers to the atmosphere of mystery and fun, creating a unique atmosphere conducive to spending time together. The project aims to support relationships between students, develop creativity and promote alternative forms of entertainment in the academic space. The room is scheduled to be arranged by the end of November - all games and the entire range of room finishes have already been purchased.

Green University of Gdańsk

Parallel to the Academic Citizens' Budget vote, voting is also taking place in the Green University of Gdańsk competition. Here, too, you can select up to three projects and, as in the case of the ACB UG, you can only vote once.

Green UG is an initiative implemented as part of the SEA-EU 2.0 project financed by Erasmus+, supporting the green transformation of UG through a series of activities specified in the competition rules. Its aim is to encourage the academic community of the University of Gdańsk to participate in the ecological and social transformation of our campus.

This year, PLN 80,000 has been allocated for the implementation of projects within the Green UG competition. The cost of implementing a single project could not exceed PLN 40,000.

In the first edition of the competition, held last year, a total of 5 projects were selected by the academic community of the University of Gdańsk and subsequently implemented.

More information on this topic is available here.

The results of the voting in both competitions will be announced by 7 November this year.