Report from the panel discussion “Well-being of academic communities” during the KRASP Plenary Assembly

On November 27, the AGH University of Science and Technology in Krakow hosted a plenary session of the Conference of Rectors of Academic Schools in Poland. The rectors discussed key challenges, the well-being of academic communities, and strategies for the development of higher education and science.

Mental health in the academic space is one of the key challenges for universities today. To address this issue, a panel discussion entitled “Well-being of academic communities” was held during the KRASP Plenary Assembly.

The invited speakers discussed the results of ongoing research, pointed out the specific conditions of academic life, and reminded the audience of the factors that shape the mental health of various groups within the university community. The panel was attended by:

• Prof. Roman Cieślak, Rector of SWPS University
• Prof. Maciej Żukowski, former Rector of Poznań University of Economics, KRASP representative in the ministerial team on well-being
• Prof. Jacek Męcina, University of Warsaw, head of the Safe University project
• Prof. Joanna Wójcik, Vice-Rector for Student Affairs and Education, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań
• Anna Nieczaj, MA, Chair of the National Representation of Doctoral Students
• Julia Bednarska-Leśniak, Chair of the Student Parliament of the Republic of Poland

Prof. Jacek Męcina presented the assumptions and results of the project “University – a space safe from mobbing and discrimination – activities to support anti-mobbing policy and undesirable activities at Polish universities,” which he has been leading since the beginning of 2025. The project, commissioned by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education, aims to identify good practices in the field of counteracting mobbing, discrimination, and undesirable phenomena, as well as to conduct in-depth research on this topic.

Meetings of the KRASP Plenary Assembly