Kozminski University, Poland, utilizes Oracle APEX for teaching and learning

Known as one of the best business schools in Europe by the Financial Times, the Kozminski University (Akademia Leona Kožminskiego, in Polish, or ALK) is one of the most active Oracle Academy members in Central and Eastern Europe. Located in Warsaw, the capital of Poland, this higher education institution has been actively participating in an Erasmus+ project specifically focused on Oracle technologies since 2021: the Better Employability with APEX (acronym BeeAPEX) project.

Established in 1993, the university is also one of the oldest non-public higher education institutions in Poland and prides itself on having obtained three prestigious international accreditations — AACSB, EQUIS and AMBA — held by only 100 business schools worldwide.

As a distinguished international business school, ALK leverages programs like Oracle Academy that provide its students with technology resources relevant for their future careers. It is not a surprise, therefore, that ALK was among the first institutions in Poland to use Oracle Academy Cloud Program and Oracle Autonomous Database. Of course, lecturers and students are interested in technologies and services that affect and re-shape the labor market today and tomorrow, like artificial intelligence, machine learning, and business analytics.

Collaboration with Oracle Academy helps educate future tech innovators

As Prof. Aleksandra Przegalińska-Skierkowska, Vice-Rector for international collaboration and ESR at ALK, points out: “At Kozminski University, we value very much our cooperation with the IT sector in general, and with Oracle in particular. In our specialized educational programs devoted to AI in management and business and data science, our students can work together with experienced experts from Oracle, learn from them during workshops and explore through the Oracle Academy Cloud Program. Collaboration between Oracle Academy and Kozminski University brings many benefits to both sides. For Kozminski University, the partnership provides students with access to industry-leading technology and tools, such as Oracle's autonomous database management systems, which can help them to develop the skills and knowledge needed for successful careers in the technology sector. Additionally, the program provides students with forms of experiential learning, which can help to bridge the gap between academic learning and real-world experience.”

Prof. Przegalińska-Skierkowska received her PhD in philosophy of artificial intelligence from the Department of Philosophy of Culture of the Institute of Philosophy of the University of Warsaw. Currently, she is Associate Professor at the Department of Management in Digital and Networked Societies at Kozminski University, Head of the Human Machine Interaction Research Center and Vice-Rector for international collaboration and ESR at Kozminski University.

Oracle APEX provides low-code solutions to challenges 

The simplicity of Oracle Application Express and its ease of use (even by non-IT students) to quickly develop applications were the primary reasons ALK joined the BeeAPEX project preparations as its consortium member back in 2020. On BeeAPEX, ALK contributes through its affinity for modern methods of teaching and learning. Its faculty possess thorough understanding of labor market trends and business needs. ALK staff coordinated the development of six webinars for students and business managers providing insights on labor market trends and the use of APEX as an analytical and advancement tool by the business sector. The series of webinars and accompanying lectures was developed in close cooperation with subject matter experts from Oracle Polska offices in Warsaw. They are one of five key BeeAPEX project deliverables.

As Piotr Witczynski, Vice President Technology Consulting North Region (Eastern, Central Europe + DE) at Oracle summarized: “We are proud of our cooperation with Kozminski University, one of the best universities in Central and Eastern Europe. The cooperation has a very practical dimension, gives access to the latest technologies and experts, and allows us to help educate future leaders in the field of big data, AI and ML.”

The latest update: As the BeeAPEX project continues until the end of 2023, its transnational project meeting took place at ALK in May 2023. It brought together all consortium members, from Austria, Croatia, Greece, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia. The cooperation continues to expand, with additional topics of mutual interest like project management being discussed, and new projects are jointly being prepared.

Relevant links:

1. Kozminski University: https://www.kozminski.edu.pl/en
2. BeeAPEX project: https://beeapex.eu/

Earlier Oracle Academy blog article about BeeAPEX project: https://blogs.oracle.com/academy/post/beeapex-project-brings-popular-rapid-application-tool-closer-to-stem-students