254 people, manikins and life rafts: Maritime University of Szczecin joins national CPR record attempt

Students, rescuers, police and residents working together

Participants included students and staff of the Maritime University of Szczecin and the Pomeranian Medical University in Szczecin, secondary school pupils, representatives of Szczecin City Hall, the Szczecin branch of the Water Volunteer Rescue Service (WOPR), the ArtMed A.B. rescue association and the Szczecin Niebuszewo police station, as well as local companies and residents. It is not the first time the university has joined the national record attempt, and as every year the event was hosted at its MUSTC academic training centre.

The university stresses that the record is only part of the point. The main aim is to spread knowledge, help people overcome the fear of stepping in and show that anyone can help save a life.

Saving lives on land and at sea

The university's academic training centre is where future merchant navy officers and ship crews train every day. This time its facilities were used to show first aid in conditions closer to life at sea. Participants worked on manikins on land as well as aboard rescue boats and in life rafts, where every movement takes more strength and composure. Special effects gave the event an extra, spectacular dimension.

For a maritime university the subject sits close to the curriculum. Elementary first aid is a mandatory part of every seafarer's training under the STCW Convention, because at sea professional medical help is often hours away.

More than 100 cardiac arrests a day

The figures show why such events matter. According to Poland's National Centre for Monitoring Emergency Medical Services (KCMRM), emergency dispatchers in Poland received 3,298 calls about sudden cardiac arrest in September 2026 alone, more than 100 a day. In such cases survival often depends on whether a bystander starts chest compressions immediately, before the ambulance crew arrives.

An October focused on resuscitation

The event forms part of European Restart a Heart Day, held on 16 October, when first aid training and demonstrations take place across Europe. On 16-17 October Kraków is also hosting the congress marking 25 years of the Polish Resuscitation Council, where nearly 20 institutions and organisations are signing a letter of intent on Systems Saving Lives. Its aim is to implement solutions in line with the 2025 European Resuscitation Council guidelines so that more people survive sudden cardiac arrest without lasting effects.

The Szczecin event shows that ordinary initiatives repeated every year, bringing together a university, emergency services, schools and residents, also move towards that goal.