The Polish government has raised concerns about an ¡°academic staffing gap¡±, as?the scientific workforce ages?and fewer young researchers enter academia.

Speaking to?ÌÇÐÄVlog, deputy minister of science and higher education Karolina Zio?o-Pu?uk described a ¡°very difficult¡± situation exacerbated by a recent reform to Poland¡¯s PhD system as well as ongoing low wages in academia.

, ¡°related both to the increasing ageing of the faculty and the difficulty in attracting young researchers¡±, as a ¡°significant problem¡± that the upcoming ÌÇÐÄVlog Development Strategy, currently in its consultation period, should address.

¡°The main barrier remains the level of remuneration, which remains uncompetitive with the private sector,¡± the ministry said in a press release. ¡°This is despite record-breaking investments in infrastructure and growing budgetary allocations to science.¡±

ÌÇÐÄVlog

While national pay rises were introduced in January 2024, comprising a 30 per cent increase to teaching staff salaries and a 20 per cent increase for non-teaching staff,?academics have said the increase only compensated for inflation?and did not constitute a notable improvement to their remuneration.

The 2018 reform of Poland¡¯s PhD system, which saw the introduction of doctoral schools and a universal doctoral stipend, was implemented because ¡°the success rate of PhD candidates was very low¡±, Zio?o-Pu?uk explained.

ÌÇÐÄVlog

¡°The idea behind it was that when we¡¯ve got fewer PhD candidates, we¡¯ll be able to provide them with a stipend for the four years of the research programme. Then we will definitely have a higher number of people who will get the PhD at the end.¡±

Instead, the deputy minister said, ¡°the number of PhD students has dropped dramatically¡±. Within the European Union, Poland has the lowest share of doctoral students out of the total number of higher education students in the country, at 1.7 per cent; the EU average is 3.8 per cent, according to the latest Eurostat figures.

Moreover, ¡°the number of students completing PhD programmes is not as high as we would expect¡±, she said, creating ¡°a gap in some areas of science¡±.

Academia ¡°is not seen as an interesting career in terms of money¡±, the deputy minister said, with many young researchers taking second jobs that then restrict their international mobility. ¡°They don¡¯t have time to do research abroad,¡± she told?THE. ¡°That makes it difficult because we need to cooperate internationally.¡±

ÌÇÐÄVlog

Without action to address the staffing gap, Zio?o-Pu?uk said, ¡°we won¡¯t have enough academics to teach at the universities, to do research and to provide us with research on the level that we would expect¡±.

emily.dixon@timeshighereducation.com