150 students will be engaged to work in the Pavilion of Poland during Expo 2020 Dubai

The involvement of Polish university students in the everyday running of the Pavilion of Poland during Expo 2020 Dubai aims to – apart from providing the daily service of the exhibition – enable the young people to gain a memorable experience, in an international environment during the most prestigious economic event in the world. The students will also have a unique opportunity to improve their professional and linguistic skills during the organization of industry conferences, official visits of international delegations to the Pavilion of Poland and the accompanying cultural and educational events.

The internship program coordinators hope that an important aspect of this project will also be the integration of students representing universities from various parts of Poland with the young  people  working in the  pavilions of other countries, in accordance with the motto of the World Exhibition Expo 2020 Dubai: Connecting Minds, Creating the Future. During  Expo, the universities plan additional activities such as seminars and research projects with partners from the United Arab Emirates and participation in trade fairs. The students will also be involved in the promotion of Poland’s regional programs.

– A guarantee of Poland’s success during Expo 2020 Dubai will be professional, creative and enthusiastic people involved in the implementation of the project. I am convinced that the formula of cooperation we have developed will bring mutual benefits. It will allow the students to gain a unique professional experience, which will be advantageous for them in their future position on the labor market and enable them to face interesting challenges in large, international projects. The involvement of the students will be, at the same time, a great opportunity to promote their university among visitors to the Pavilion of Poland. – says Adrian Malinowski, Commissioner General of the Polish Section Expo 2020 Dubai.

Shaping the image of Poland through the involvement of students – a young, well-educated team working in the Pavilion of Poland, also proved successful in past Expo’s such as the one in Astana. Poland was one of the first countries to opt for this form of cooperation. The students will be recruited in three stages. At the end of February, members of the Expo 2020 Dubai Team of the Polish Investment and Trade Agency conducted webinars with students from five universities who expressed their interest in participating in the project. Then, the universities were responsible for coordinating the collection of applications from among their students. In the final stage, the members of the Expo 2020 Dubai Team will select the best 150 candidates to go to Dubai.

The implementation of practices for 84 students of the University of Warsaw, the Cracow University of Economics, the University of Lodz and the Bialystok University is financed by the Ministry of Education and Science, according to article. 404, paragraph. 1 of the Act of July 20, 2018 – Law of higher education and science as an action as a measure “Organization of foreign internships for students in connection with Poland’s participation in the World Exhibition Expo 2020”. The financing of internships for 66 students of the Vistula Group of Universities comes from the resources of the National Center for Research and Development under the scheme POWER, Measure 3.5 „Comprehensive university programs”.

The internship program coordinated by the Polish Investment and Trade Agency is not the only form of cooperation with universities. Students from the Faculty of Material Technology and Textile Design of the Lodz University of Technology will design the outfits for the staff of the Poland Pavilion. Many of the Marshal’s Offices also engage universities in work on the concepts of their regional exhibitions in the temporary exhibition zone in the Pavilion of Poland.