Internationalization of Polish Higher Education within Knowledge Transfer and Innovation

Abstract

Internationalization of higher education in Poland is a relatively new subject which has been gradually gaining its importance. The economic and political transformation of Poland opened new opportunities for Polish universities. The accession to the European Union enabled the educational and research units to apply for European funds in this respect. Despite numerous difficulties, the universities reform their strategies and search for new solutions to increase the level of internationalization and thus their competitiveness. These actions are necessary and crucial for their further development. The chapter describes general issues of internationalization of Polish higher education and shows that the level of internationalization may be achieved successfully by various forms of cross-border cooperation. Polish-Czech cooperation in the field of knowledge transfer and innovation carried out by two partner universities located in the Polish – Czech borderland is a case study illustrating this process.