The Baltic as Europe's strategic region: Gdańsk hosts the first Baltic Rectors' Forum

The forum brought together delegates from universities and institutions in Poland, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Lithuania, Latvia and Ukraine. Alongside the academic community, it drew government officials, including from three ministries, as well as experts in energy, security and climate transition. Among the guests were Eliza Zeidler of the Ministry of State Assets and Rüdiger Strempel, Secretary General of the Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission (HELCOM). International partners also travelled to Gdańsk, among them the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

A sea that binds strategies

Opening the proceedings, the Rector of the University of Gdańsk, Prof. Piotr Stepnowski, observed that the Baltic is ceasing to be a purely geographical region and is becoming one of Europe's most important strategic areas. In the face of Russia's aggression against Ukraine, the security of the sea's critical infrastructure has become a priority, and energy questions, he stressed, have long since moved beyond the purely economic. He described the Baltic as a global laboratory for the energy transition, arguing that these new challenges are redefining the role of universities as the intellectual backbone of the changes under way.

Offshore, the blue economy and security

Discussions centred on issues critical to the region's entire maritime economy: the development of the offshore sector, nuclear energy and the so-called blue economy, energy security, marine environment protection and the internationalisation of research. Particular attention went to the region's resilience to the effects of climate change and to the joint search for solutions that serve sustainable development.

The voice of maritime higher education was heard in particular through Gdynia Maritime University. Its Rector, Prof. Adam Weintrit, took part in a panel devoted to closer scientific cooperation aimed at strengthening the Baltic's resilience, protecting the marine environment and advancing sustainable development. The presence of a maritime-focused university was a reminder that the region's future, from shipping and ports to offshore energy, depends in large part on the people and research emerging along the coast.

A triangle of science, business and administration

Participants agreed that the region's development calls for the combined efforts of three communities: academia, business, and governments and public administration. The Mayor of Gdańsk, Aleksandra Dulkiewicz, underlined the need for such cooperation. The forum also sat within the wider context of Poland's engagement in the Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS).

The meeting culminated in the signing of the Baltic Rectors' Declaration (the Gdańsk Declaration), a document setting out the direction of cooperation among the region's universities for the years ahead.

The event was organised by the University of Gdańsk, with the support of strategic partners: ORLEN, the Ministry of Science and Higher Education and the Port of Gdańsk.