- 2.1 M people in the range of 25 km & 8.5 M citizens in the range of 100 km from Katowice
- 1,701 people/sq km in Katowice & 839 people/sq km – population density for Metropolis – significantly higher than the average for Poland (122 people/sq km)
- 19 universities and 92,522 students and 22,901 graduates annually in Metropolis
- Over 90% students can speak English and over 7,000 students participate in foreign philology studies programs
- 38 different foreign languages are used in business service centers
- over 250,000 companies in Metropolis, 56,754 in Katowice where work well-educated people
- 36,800 people employed in business services sector in 156 centers BPO, SSC/GBS, IT and R&D
In Katowice, we implement educational projects, including:
THE ‘CORPORATE READINESS CERTIFICATE’ (CRC) project, launched in Katowice in 2013. Project partners include Accenture, EY, ING Hubs Poland, and Kyndryl. The CRC is targeted at university students and aims to support the development of competencies and skills in IT and business services. Training sessions are delivered by the project partners and are free of charge for participants. The program concludes with an exam, and successful participants receive a certificate.
P-TECH – a global program created by IBM, implemented in Katowice at two secondary schools between 2019 and 2023/24 by Fujitsu and IBM, and subsequently by Kyndryl. Following the conclusion of the program, both companies – Fujitsu and Kyndryl – have continued their cooperation with the schools, developing original, proprietary educational initiatives.
The FUJITSU Tech Programme is an innovative initiative addressed to upper secondary school students, aimed at effectively preparing young people for the rapidly evolving labour market in the IT sector. The programme equips students with the skills and competencies needed to meet the challenges and opportunities offered by modern technologies. Thanks to the substantive support of our Partner, Fujitsu Poland, programme participants have the opportunity to explore key areas of IT such as Cybersecurity, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Python programming, and Virtualization. These are among the most in-demand skills sought by today’s employers. Last year’s edition of the programme was a great success at Śląskie Techniczne Zakłady Naukowe. Over one hundred students from five IT-focused classes took part in more than 150 hours of lectures and mentoring sessions delivered by Fujitsu experts. In addition, seven students had the opportunity to gain valuable hands-on experience through professional internships at the Fujitsu office.
KYNDRYL Future Achievers, implemented in Katowice since 2023, is a proprietary educational project of Kyndryl. Similar to FUJITSU-Tech, it is addressed to secondary school students and covers IT-related topics such as artificial intelligence, mainframe systems, design thinking, project management, cloud computing, and mindfulness, combined with a mentoring programme. Participants include students of Liceum Ogólnokształcące im. Maczka and Zespół Szkół Poligraficzno-Mechanicznych in Katowice.
TECHNOLOGICAL CAREER COMPASS – Sopra Steria – a project aimed at preparing young people for entry into the labour market. Course modules include, among others: Automation and Innovation, RAG and MCP, Cloud solutions, Azure Data Factory, FinOps, and LLMs. The programme combines advanced technologies and artificial intelligence with the development of soft skills, helping students discover their talents and build self-confidence. The project involves four secondary schools in Katowice: Zespół Szkół Technicznych i Ogólnokształcących Nr 2, Zespół Szkół Ogólnokształcących Nr 1, VI Liceum Ogólnokształcące, and Zespół Szkół Poligraficzno-Mechanicznych.
THE ‘KATOWICE, BUSINESS, AND MY FUTURE’ project, implemented in Katowice since 2022, is addressed to third- and fourth-year secondary school students. Project partners include Ammega, Honeywell, Accenture, Kyndryl, Sii, as well as TDJ-Famur, Arche Consulting, Randstad, Hays Poland, and Manpower. The project focuses on organising expert-led meetings at schools and presenting career development opportunities within partner companies. HR experts involved in the project discuss recruitment processes and engage students in discussions on topics such as future competencies, labour market trends, future career paths, and building a professional CV.
THE ‘KATOWICE – CITY OF PROFESSIONALS’ programme aims to promote education in vocational and technical schools, enhance the attractiveness of this form of education, and highlight related career prospects. The programme is implemented according to the following structure: Stage I – Introductory lesson at school; Stage II – Study visit to a company; Stage III – Visit to a technical or first-degree vocational school; Stage IV – Final summary lesson.
*The Metropolis is composed of Katowice and 40 towns and municipalities: Będzin, Bieruń, Bobrowniki, Bojszowy, Bytom, Chełm Śląski, Chorzów, Czeladź, Dąbrowa Górnicza, Gierałtowice, Gliwice, Imielin, Knurów, Kobiór, Lędziny, Łaziska Górne, Mierzęcice, Mikołów, Mysłowice, Ożarowice, Piekary Śląskie, Pilchowice, Psary, Pyskowice, Radzionków, Ruda Śląska, Rudziniec, Siemianowice Śląskie, Siewierz, Sławków, Sosnowiec, Sośnicowice, Świerklaniec, Świętochłowice, Tarnowskie Góry, Tychy, Wojkowice, Wyry, Zabrze, Zbrosławice.
Talent pool
Potential of the Metropolis is based on 92,522 students, including 50,848 in Katowice, studying at 19 universities. The dominant categories of studies are business & administration (almost 15,000 students), ICT technology – broad approach (almost 8,000 students) and technical & engineering subgroup (over 10,000 students). The most active Silesian universities are: Silesian University, University of Economics in Katowice, Silesian University of Technology or University of Medicine.
Fields of study
At universities, many faculties are created to educate students/graduates in faculties that respond to the needs of ITO, BPO, SSC, R&D sectors, e.g. IT with Big Data Analytics, Cloud Computing, Cyber-Physical Systems, Mobile application development, Analysis of Large Data Sets, Gaming, etc., finance and accounting, finance and accounting with Finance and Accounting for Business – in English, business logistics or philology: English, German, etc. In addition, universities carry out various types of cooperation with investors, which aims to acquire new knowledge and gain practical skills. An example of such cooperation is the Corporate Readiness Certificate educational program run since 2014, in which partners are IBM, Accenture, ING Tech Poland.
University of Silesia
University of Silesia in Katowice (US), one of the largest and most
dynamically evolving Polish higher education institutions, offers innovative
solutions in the field of education and a friendly space for conducting
research. The education process is tailored to current market trends and
responds to its demand through functioning of Faculty of Humanities, Faculty of
Natural Sciences, Faculty of Science and Technology, Faculty of Social
Sciences, Faculty of Law and Administration, Faculty of Arts and Educational
Science, Faculty of Theology and Krzysztof Kieślowski Film School. At 84
fields of study (incl. 5 in English) and 216
specializations (incl. 12 in English, 1 in English and German) are
educated almost 22,000 students (in 2022). US cooperates with
many companies, scientific units, business environment institutions and local
governments within almost 2,000 contracts, agreements, and letters of intent.
Silesian University of Technology
The Silesian University of Technology (SUT) is a friendly and open university that comprehensively supports its students and helps to develop their passions and interests. Since 2019, the Silesian University of Technology is in the prestigious group of 10 best universities in Poland with the status of a Research University. This is the result of in-depth assessments of an international team of experts checking the university’s potential and research activity.
The university educates in nearly 60 fields of study (including almost 30 in English) within 12 scientific disciplines. We conduct studies in 14 units, including 13 faculties and 1 institute, which covers the entire scope of engineering activities. This means that everyone will find what they are looking for in their dream studies, but if that was not enough, the Silesian University of Technology also educates in the field of business analytics, applied linguistics and management, including project management. Currently, over 16 thousand students study at the Silesian University of Technology. The university offers first-degree studies (Engineering and Bachelor’s), second-degree studies – Master’s, education in a doctoral school called “Joint Doctoral School” and post-graduate studies. In addition to academic knowledge, students gain valuable professional experience, and carry out part of their education in the form of Project Based Learning, developing specific solutions in interdisciplinary groups, thanks to which they broaden their horizons. The university cares for the professional future of students through close cooperation with many Polish and foreign companies, as well as through dual education.
University of Economics in Katowice
The University of Economics in Katowice (UEKat) is one of the oldest universities in Upper Silesia, one of the five public economic universities in the country, the largest in the region educating about 8,000 in the field of socio-economic sciences. Polish and foreign students. It offers 25 study programs (also as part of English-language programs) related to business and entrepreneurship, communication, analytics, IT and econometrics, finance, administration, economics, insurance, logistics and management. At the same time, it closely cooperates in various areas with the socio-economic environment. Annually UEKat completes an average of 2.5 thousand jobs. graduates, at that time students and employees go on over 500 trips abroad, and about 800 people improve their competences during postgraduate studies. UEKat belongs to 74 international networks and consortia. It is the first university in the province. Silesia with the international institutional accreditation CEEMAN International Quality Accreditation (IQA) – one of the most prestigious and valued in the field of managerial education.