Krzysztof Sikora, head of the University of Economy in Bydgoszcz, talks to Wojciech Romanowicz.

What role does your university play in the region?
The university offers a diverse array of courses covering everything from economics to sociology, management, architecture, urban planning, IT and land development. It also educates services sector staff by offering courses in geography and tourism, for example. Our university is the only one in the region offering some subjects. So we complement what the state-run colleges are doing. We are the fourth largest university in the region and, with 8,000 students, play a vital role in its educational system. We influence the academic community at the local and national level, for example in sports and culture. We're building a special institution-the Academic Culture Space-with this goal in mind. This will have an art gallery, a concert hall and a photography museum. We expect it will have a significant impact on the cultural life of the region.

A university depends heavily on its staff for its prestige.
Our teachers contribute greatly to the academic community. International Road Transport Union chairman Prof. Janusz Łacny is a case in point.

The caliber of graduates also says a lot about a university.
We already have 4,500 graduates. Our first students graduated in 2002 so they're still young and don't have a lot of professional experience yet. But our extramural graduates include heads of big companies, tourist agencies and hotels, from Poland and abroad.