Creation of a new Faculty at our University

Among the most important reasons for the establishment of the Faculty of Spatial Economy and Regions in Transition at the University of Economics in Katowice are:

1. Territorial and sectoral transformation topics have recently become priority issues that will determine the further socio-economic development of Poland. The importance of these topics has increased especially after 2015, i.e. after the signing of the Paris Agreement, the UN Agenda 2030, and after 2019, with the adoption of the European Green Deal. The idea of transformation is directly linked to the drive for the development of a low-carbon economy, in particular the development of the green economy, renewable energy sources, circular economy, passive house building, blue and green infrastructure, and low-carbon transportation in conjunction with sustainable urban mobility and urban development (including brownfields).
2. The University of Economics in Katowice needs to open up to new interdisciplinary research areas, the unifying features being: economy, space, region, environment, ecology, energy and transformation. These issues should become new key specializations of our University. In other words, it is necessary to intensify and integrate efforts to advance research and teaching, especially in the fields of spatial, urban, climate, energy and fair economy transformation processes.
3. For more than 30 years, the University of Economics in Katowice has been conducting scientific work, teaching and expert activities that are part of strategic and regional research and spatial and environmental management. Employees of our University, especially from the Department of Strategic and Regional Research and the Department of Spatial and Environmental Management, have scientific and expert achievements that are highly appreciated in the field of spatial management, both nationally and internationally. It is worth noting that these accomplishments and their recognition in the field have resulted in establishing the term "Katowice School of Strategic and Regional Studies."
4. The urgent need to create new scientific disciplines at the University of Economics in Katowice, which would be included in the University evaluation at the end of 2025. The establishment of the Department of Spatial Economy and Transformation of Regions will promote the integration of researchers and better motivate them to contribute to the new scientific discipline, i.e. "Social and Economic Geography and Spatial Economy." The said discipline is distinct from the current scientific disciplines carried out at the University, i.e. "Economics and Finance" and "Management and Quality Sciences." The new discipline would significantly contribute to the much sought-after diversification of scientific specializations, essential to the current rules of scientific evaluation.
5. The University's recent activities, including efforts to establish the Economic Transformation Center, are in line with current trends in socio-economic transformation. They are a response to the need for a new research-teaching-expert space dedicated to conducting research for the benefit of the entire University community, including the Faculty of Spatial Economics and Regions Transition.

The achievements of our employees mentioned in the reasons for the establishment of the Faculty are visible in, for instance:

• participation in scientific committees associated with spatial management, i.e. the Committee for Spatial Economy and Regional Planning of the Polish Academy of Sciences, the European Regional Science Association, the Regional Studies Association, the Commission for the Study of the Future of Upper Silesia of the Polish Academy of Sciences;
• initiation and conduct  of the annual transitive conference of Urban and Regional Research POLREG (with key academic centers in the country), together with the Jagiellonian University, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, the University of Lódź, the University of Warsaw and the Wrocław University of Economics, and, together with the University of Lódź, the annual conference MAŁE MIASTA ("Small Cities")
• implementation of scientific and research projects (including, but not limited to, HORIZON) and scientific and development projects relating to spatial issues (such as projects of the Institute of Environmental Protection and the Ministry of Climate and Environment);
• conduct of a study program, i.e., Spatial Management and Urban and Real Estate Management;
• participation in the Union of Universities for the Development of Spatial Management Study Programs;
• years of expert relations with government institutions, both at the local and regional level, especially in the Silesian Voivodeship;
• many years of experience in planning of restructuring and territorial-sectoral transformation. This applies to both the national-sectoral level (work carried out for the Minister of Climate and Environment and the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management) and the regional-territorial level (work for individual coal and problem regions).