How do you lead a university when the labour market, technology, and the expectations of successive generations are all changing at once? In an interview for Kapitał Dolnośląski, the Rector of Wroclaw University of Economics and Business (WUEB) talks about the education of tomorrow and about how a university can genuinely co-create the development of Lower Silesia.
In the conversation published on the Kapitał Polski platform Rector Prof. Czesław Zając, presents WUEB as an organisation that connects education with partnerships and the implementation of solutions in the real socio-economic environment of Lower Silesia.
The Lower Silesia region does not need another “degree-issuing” institution—it needs a place that can turn knowledge into decisions and implementation, Rector says.
That ambition is clearly heard in the Rector’s words: future-ready competencies, smart partnerships, and consistent quality-building. Even the tone of the conversation signals that this is not a generic story “about a university,” but about managing a complex knowledge community: multi-generational and multi-tasking, operating under the conditions of digitalised communication and growing pressure for practical relevance. “We cannot become a vocational school, because we would lose our academic identity,” the Rector said.
The Rector’s research background (human capital management, organisational culture, organisational behaviour) becomes a decision-making compass here: how to build a healthy work environment, how to develop talent, and how to maintain balance between academic depth and real-world usefulness.
Future competencies as a system, not an add-on
A major theme in the conversation is preparing students for the labour market in the context of rapid technological development and artificial intelligence. The Rector points to the 4C competencies (creativity, critical thinking, communication, collaboration), WUEB’s participation in the “Universities of the Future” project, the Individual Study Programme, micro-credentials, and the Adult Competency Development Programme K(A)FE—together forming a coherent approach to competency development: from project-based work to modular learning that can be updated more easily as the economy evolves.
Partnerships that “make a difference” in the city and the region
Prof. Zając’s remarks portray WUEB as a partner operating at the intersection of business, local government, and public institutions—with an implementation-oriented mindset.
As Rector mentioned: “We educate, we conduct research, but above all we genuinely shape the region’s development.”
The Rector gives particular examples of cooperation with major regional companies (including KGHM and LG), as well as city and regional projects. Particularly compelling is the description of a micro transshipment hub in the centre of Wrocław: a solution that reduces heavy-vehicle traffic in the historic centre by shifting deliveries to cargo bikes. It’s a clear example of how economic and organisational expertise translates into designing solutions for a “human-scale city.”
In the same vein, the conversation mentions a pilot programme supporting energy communities, implemented with the Provincial Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management—framed as a field for collaboration in environmental transition and ecological education.
Education from youth to seniors: economic competencies as “social infrastructure”
The Rector also explains the rationale for educational initiatives aimed at younger audiences: growing interest in economics, finance, and technology, and the fact that economic decisions appear “from an early age.” The conversation references initiatives such as the Children’s Economics University, the Young Economist Academy, lectures for youth, and the University of the Third Age—as an expression of an approach where lifelong learning strengthens responsibility and competencies across the whole community.
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Topics where we can support media and partners:
- future competencies: 4Cs, mentoring, micro-credentials, personalised education models,
- managing knowledge organisations: organisational culture, communication, leadership, talent development in multi-generational environments,
- university–business–local government partnerships: designing collaboration and implementation mechanisms,
- environmental transition from an economic and organisational perspective: including energy communities and urban projects.
