“We have strong foundations, which consist of the organizational culture, work ethics and strong brand of the university. Now we need a generational change that will ensure a modern approach to research, education and strengthen our position on the international market. Professor Grzegorz Mazurek meets all the prerequisites to become an excellent rector for new times after the coronavirus” says Professor Witold T. Bielecki, retiring from the position of KU's rector after 9 years, who has been associated with the university from its very beginning.
The Board of Trustees thanked rector Bielecki for two successful terms with the words: "He made Kozminski University antifragile", which means that he also prepared it well for the current COVID-19 crisis. The university works online from the first day of isolation. All classes, thesis defences and academic events are organized remotely. The University is also widely involved in social and charitable activities. The first semester of the 2020/2021 academic year is planned to be "online ready", although we all hope that classes will be able to take place within the walls of the university.
Prof. Grzegorz Mazurek, Ph. D., as the rector of ALK, will manage a community of more than 10,000 people, 9,000 of whom are bachelor, master, postgraduate and doctoral students. The University is the best non-public academic institution in Poland and belongs to the leading business schools in Europe. In the latest ranking of the "Financial Times" KU was placed on the 48th position on the continent, at the same time confirming once again the position of leader in Central and Eastern Europe. As the only business school in Poland and the entire region, it has the triple international accreditation of AACSB, EQUIS and AMBA, confirming the quality of education and prestige of the university. KU has also a great achievements in internationalization - apart from world-class scientific research, 1.5 thousand international students from 80 countries study here. Many study programs are conducted in English. For example, in 2018, the Financial Times recognized the Master's degree in Finance as the 17th in the world, and in 2019 the Master's degree in Management as the 42nd in the world.
“I consider the appointment to the position of Rector of the Kozminski University and the wide support of its community for my candidacy as a great honor and expression of trust in the proposed vision of building a modern university, which understands the modern world and is responsible for the development of its students. The University, which through its position on the international arena, innovative study programs, world-class research and close cooperation with the institutional and economic environment has a real impact on reality. In my vision, Kozminski is an exceptional university for exceptional times” says Prof. Grzegorz Mazurek.
The rector-elect has been associated with the university for 15 years, and for the last 8 years he has been the Vice-Rector for International Relations. His organizational achievements include, among others, establishing a strategic alliance of KU with the oldest business university in Europe - ESCP Business School, as well as the effective implementation of new study programs related to the digitization of management. He is involved in activities for the benefit of the entire academic community, being active, among others, in CRASP, EFMD, SEM Forum and NAWA. He is the President of the International Advisory Board of the French business university ISC Paris. In 2016-18 he advised the Minister of Digitization.
In his research work he specializes in the subject of digital transformation of organization, e-commerce and digital marketing. He is particularly interested in the changes that digitization processes bring about in the higher education sector. He is the author of numerous publications and books on the subject, his full academic output is available, among others, in Google Scholar and Research Gate. He graduated from the Poznan University of Economics and the University of Tilburg (the Netherlands), he received his Ph. D. at the Warsaw School of Economics in 2005, he received his habilitation and the title of university professor at Kozminski University in 2012, and on May 11th, 2020 the President of the Republic of Poland granted him the title of professor of social sciences.
Prof. Grzegorz Mazurek has been repeatedly awarded for his achievements in publishing and research. In 2014, he was awarded the medal of the National Education Commission for special merits for education and upbringing. In 2015, he was awarded the LUMEN statuette, presented to the leaders of university management (category: internationalization). In 2017 he received the Eduinspirator (FRSE) statuette for those who are active in the field of education, and are contributing to positive changes in the environment. In 2020 he was awarded the Internationalization Star Award in the research category, granted by the "Perspektywy" Foundation. During the tenure of Prof. Grzegorz Mazurek, Kozminski University has been repeatedly recognized as the most internationalized university in Poland.
Prof. Grzegorz Mazurek was born on December 27th 1976 in Przemyśl. He is married and has three children. He is an enthusiastic runner and enjoys climbing in the mountains. He listens to 1960s rock and jazz. As a lover of motorization, he is addicted to the sound of a Harley and powerful gasoline engines powering so-called muscle cars. In his free time, he plans to study Mediterranean Archaeology and polish the most beautiful in his opinion - apart from Polish - language: Portuguese.
The Rector-elect's website: www.gmazurek.pl.