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The aim of this paper is to present the involvement of public Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in Poland in promoting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2021. The reason for undertaking the research was a noticeable lack of studies in the literature on the engagement of universities in the concept of sustainability. The research conducted was mainly qualitative in nature. The aim was realized using three groups of research methods: collection of empirical data, data processing, and the presentation of study outcomes. The study used 16 indicators, constructed from data taken from SciVal and RAD-on reports. These indicators presented the number of publications promoting each of the SDGs in 2021 per academic staff and other persons carrying out and participating in teaching or research activities. The research was conducted on 57 universities from Poland. Four clusters were distinguished as a result of the cluster analysis that was performed. The first cluster comprised only universities of life sciences. This group had the highest publication productivity for the following goals: SDG2, SDG3, SDG6, SDG11, SDG12, SDG13, SDG14, SDG15, and SDG16. The universities that made up cluster 2 (predominantly universities of technology) specialized in publications related to goals such as SDG7 and SDG9. The highest publication productivity for SDG1, SDG4, SDG5, SDG8, SDG10, and SDG16 belonged to cluster 3 (consisting mainly of universities of economics). The HEIs (mainly universities of physical education) that made up cluster 4 did not have the highest publication productivity in any of the SDGs. Therefore, it can be concluded that, in 2021, there was a correlation between the profile of a public HEI in Poland and the SDGs it was involved in promoting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic affected not only global economy and society, but also particular institutions, including those of higher education. The aim of the paper is to determine changes in students' life at selected universities in Poland, Ukraine, and Belarus. An online survey was applied, addressed to students of four universities in Poland, Ukraine, and Belarus (n=380). As a result of the pandemic, more than 46% of students declared worsening of their material situation. In comparison to the period before the pandemic, the respondents observed appearance or intensification of various psychosomatic symptoms, and a 12 percent point decrease in the assessment of their own health. The comparative analysis showed similarities between students' life preferences, plans on university education, and differences in their material situation, health, and employment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents the results of the research on the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on the dissemination of innovative e-learning tools in higher education. Research was carried out in Poland in December 2021 on a sample of 621 students. The main issue that was the subject of the author's analysis was the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on the change in the use of innovative e-learning tools in university education. After conducting the research and discussing this and related research about e-learning during the pandemic, it was concluded that the percentage of students familiar with the analyzed e-learning tools has increased significantly during the pandemic. There has been a visible rise, especially in the usage of the following tools: MS Teams, Zoom, and Google Classroom. The most frequently used e-learning tools during the COVID-19 pandemic have been mainly videoconferencing tools such as MS Teams and Zoom. However, students also have used e-learning platforms and e-mails. The author's research identified three hidden factors (categories) of the used e-learning tools. They include the following categories: popular services and applications adapted to e-learning; popular applications for synchronous meetings adapted to e-learning; and other synchronous and asynchronous e-learning methods. The familiarity with information technology, as well as an interest in innovative e-learning tools, have positive influence on the ease of acquiring content in e-learning. Having the proper resources also positively influences the absorption of e-learning content. On the basis of the achieved results, the authors prepared a model of relations between students' interest in innovative e-learning technology and the resources they possess to participate in e-learning classes. This model enables us to assess which method—e-learning, traditional or hybrid—should be used in the given situation. The developed model can be useful for universities. They can assess the students' interest in innovative e-learning technologies and their level of technical resources using questionnaires and on this basis divide students into groups to prepare the optimal learning way—e-learning, traditional or hybrid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Measuring the growth of research productivity is a core element of performance in the higher education sector. This paper aims to analyse the scientific productivity of the Visegrád Group countries (2010–2019) based on data from the Web of Scopus and Scopus databases, as well as data from secondary sources (demographic and socio‐economic factors). Quantitatively, although Poland has the highest output, this is due to its comparative size, whereas output per researcher in Poland is lower than in other Visegrád Four (V4) countries. As regards the qualitative approach, Hungary and the Czech Republic are significantly more effective in terms of scientific collaboration and receive a greater number of European Research Council grants. Thus, bibliometric data in relation to cross‐country characteristic indicators (socio‐economic variables including expenditure on science and having prestigious universities) are related to the positions of the V4 countries. Practical implications suggest that university management within the Visegrád Group must develop and continue strategies to strengthen international collaboration between researchers in order to accelerate change in the dissemination of scientific output at the global level. Academic scholarly publishers may benefit from publishing research on specific issues important to different regions of the world in order to expand their audience and gain new potential resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy education of the younger generation, who are the future decision makers, investors, consumers, scientists, or skilled labor force in new energy technologies, is crucial for the future of Europe and the world. However, beyond the long-term goals of energy education policies, the short-term effects on energy conservation and the promotion of renewable energy sources are equally as important. The main purpose of the paper is to identify and analyze the behavior of students (who study the issues related to energy saving and RES), in terms of energy conservation. The conducted analysis focused on examining and comparing the scope of responses of the surveyed students in individual countries, especially in the Czech Republic, Poland, and Ukraine. The survey was carried out using the computer-assisted web interview (CAWI). Descriptive and graphical methods were used to present the results. Statistical analysis of the collected data included basic measures of descriptive statistics and the chi-square test. The main results of the study are as follows: Almost 60% of the surveyed students follow the principles of energy conservation; however increased educational activities on eco-energy behaviors is recommended. The share of RES in the heating systems of the studied residential buildings is 9%, on average, with the highest percentage of houses in Poland (14%) and the lowest in Ukraine (only 2.6%). When compared with literature reports, the collect data show that educational activities can be as effective as a tool in implementing RES and pro-environmental behaviors as the government's environmental policy and household subsidies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]