People politically persecuted by the Belarusian authorities had an opportunity to study at UITM.
Students from Belarus has completed a Polish language course conducted by lecturers from the Center for Polish Culture and Language at the University of Information Technology and Management in Rzeszów.
Thanks to scholarship programme called “School of Leaders for Democracy” thirty students took part in Polish language course. The course was part of the governmental Scholarship Program, offering support to people repressed for participating in democratic protests against President Lukashenka.
“From mid-January 2021, students from Belarus took part in an intensive Polish language course. They had 6-7 hours of classes a day, a total of 760 hours, as part of the Scholarship Program. Most of the lectures, due to the pandemic and the specific situation of some students, were held online. However, some of the classes were conducted in a traditional form. People joining the program are young people who, due to repressions in their home country where not able to continue studies. As a result, the Polish government decided to help them. Some of them managed to get to Poland. However, the groups also included people who had to stay in Belarus for various reasons.”- informs Iwona Myśliwiec, academic lecturer and philologist from the Center for Foreign Languages at UITM.
Most of the course participants did not know Polish at all. Intensive classes prepared students for a certified exam. It also allowed them to study at Polish universities.
“In Belarus, I studied social communication, but I cannot continue my studies. I was dismissed from university for political reasons. I can definitely say that I learned a lot during the language course in Poland. I met many interesting and inspiring people. During the classes, I met Polish culture. What is more, I understood that Polish culture is very close to ours, Belarusian culture” – says twenty-year-old Karolina.
The Polish language course was conducted thanks to cooperation with the University of Warsaw as part of the K. Kalinowski Scholarship Programme. It is the largest aid program in Europe for young Belarusians who are unable to study in their country due to the political situation.
The Polish Culture and Language Center at UITM is a part of the Foreign Language Center. Its goal is to help foreigners not only in learning Polish, but also to promote Polish culture. Over the past years, many foreigners have participated in the courses organized at UITM. As a result, several hundred people have already obtained certificates confirming their English language proficiency.
