A C-level meeting of the Łódź IT industry was held within the walls of the Technical University of Łódź, combined with a panel discussion on the generation gap in the training of personnel for the modern economy.
In his speech, the Rector of the Technical University of Łódź, Professor Krzysztof Jóźwik, presented data on the average remuneration and average age of academic teachers involved in IT education. These data are not optimistic - without decisive action, there may soon be a shortage of didacticians, which will force us to reduce the number of students. Summing up his speech, the Rector noted that 'within the walls of the university we have natural intelligence - but soon there may not be enough staff to teach artificial intelligence'.
In a discussion moderated by Dr Dominika Kaczorowska-Spychalska (Director of the Centrum Inteligentnych Technologii Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego) took part:
- Prof Andrzej Romanowski (Pro Vice-Chancellor for Education, Lodz University of Technology)
- Grzegorz Trzcinski (Technology Business Development & Site Manager Lodz in Eviden GDC, Chairman of the Steering Committee of the Lodz ICT Cluster)
– Marek Walczak (Program Manager at HARMAN Connected Services Poland, Chairman of the Education Task Force of the Lodz ICT Cluster).
The discussion included key reasons for the generation gap - including the attractiveness of working at universities. Both university and corporate jobs offer a variety of opportunities - including contacts and travel abroad or the implementation of interesting projects, but the unattractive (compared to industry) salaries of researchers in the broader IT industry are causing a decline in the number of new academics. The economic calculus is straightforward - even the most passionate didacticians clash with a flattened salary grid that puts the salary of a (young) teacher close to that of administrative or support staff. One solution could be to bring salary levels in IT in universities and companies closer together - so as to limit the exodus of teachers from universities to the wider business.
The panel discussion was the cause of a heated discussion in which representatives of both businesses and higher education institutions in Łódź took the floor. The problem of Łódź being perceived as an attractive city in which to create a place to live and the outflow of well-qualified staff to other cities were both noted, as was the need for closer cooperation between business and universities - both in design and in education.
Thursday's meeting also had a networking character, and discussions - including on the very important problem of the generation gap in the education of IT specialists - took place behind the scenes. The Łódź ICT Cluster (Łódzki Klaster ICT) works for the benefit of the industry in the Łódź region - the meeting made it possible to establish and strengthen contacts between universities, business and the Łódź local government.