Minister of Science and Higher Education Lena Kolarska-Bobińska and the Minister of Sport and Tourism Adam Korol extended the agreement between the ministries on the development of academic sports. The aim is to support research, promotion and infrastructure.
"The beginnings of the support program for academic sports date back to the 1990s. The Ministry of Sport closely cooperated with the Academic Sports Association. This year we will spend 10.5 million zlotys on Academic Sports Centres at universities. The cooperation extension is in line with the strategy of the +Sport Development Programme until 2020+ signed in August in Gdańsk"- emphasised Korol.
The ceremony to extend the cooperation took place during the inauguration of the academic year at the University of Physical Education in Warsaw.
The first agreement on this matter was signed in 2011, when the heads of the two ministries were - respectively - Barbara Kudrycka and Adam Giersz. The author of the initiative was the Academic Sports Association. The program was implemented in five modules: promotion of sport in the Polish academic community, promotion of Polish academic sports in the foreign academic community, "Students to the Games", research and academic sports infrastructure.
The Ministry of Sport and Tourism, responsible for the first modules, has allocated approx. 17 million zlotys to their implementation. The latter two modules were the responsibility of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education, with the support of approx. 6 million zlotys.
"Sport teaches perseverance, cooperation, team building, mutual trust and openness. This is what Polish universities need the most" - noted Kolarska-Bobińska.
Science Minister also congratulated the University of Physical Education in Warsaw on the students of this university winning 200 Polish championship medals this year. Rector Prof. Andrzej Mastalerz reminded that swimmer Paweł Korzeniowski and middle distance runner Artur Kuciapski also represented the university. He also noted that with the support of the ministries it was possible to modernize the infrastructure and introduce international standards.
Last Monday\'s ceremony was attended by, among others, shot putter Tomasz Majewski and former football player Roman Kosecki.
PAP - Science and Scholarship in Poland
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