The University of Information Technology and Management (UITM) in Rzeszow, Poland, holds the HR Excellence in Research award granted by the European Commission—a distinction that carries real weight for anyone deciding where to study, teach, or conduct research. In August 2026, the university strengthened its commitment to those standards by establishing a dedicated Team for the Implementation and Monitoring of the Human Resources Strategy for Researchers (HRS4R). For current doctoral candidates, early-career academics, and experienced researchers considering a move to Poland, this development is worth understanding in detail. It affects how researchers are recruited, evaluated, supported, and developed at one of Podkarpacie’s leading private universities.
This article explains what the HR Excellence in Research award actually guarantees, how the European Charter for Researchers translates into everyday academic practice, and what the new HRS4R team at UITM in Rzeszow will do through 2030.
Why HR Excellence in Research Matters for Researchers in Poland
The HR Excellence in Research award is not a decorative certificate. It is the European Commission’s formal acknowledgment that an institution meets defined standards in how it treats its research staff—standards covering recruitment transparency, working conditions, professional development, and ethical conduct. Holding the award also creates an ongoing obligation: institutions must continuously monitor, develop, and adapt their practices, and they are subject to external assessment.
At UITM, this commitment is not new. The university’s first working group for its HR Strategy was established back in 2014, and a Monitoring Committee and Working Group operated from 1 May 2020. The newly created Team for the Implementation and Monitoring of the Human Resources Strategy for Researchers, established by the Rector’s Regulation of 12 August 2026, has now assumed the responsibilities of those earlier bodies. In other words, the university has been refining its approach to researchers support for more than a decade, and the new team represents the next stage of that evolution rather than a fresh start.
If you are evaluating universities in Poland as a place to pursue a doctorate or an academic position, structures like this matter. They tell you that an institution has committed to measurable standards—and that an external body reviews whether it keeps them.
The European Charter for Researchers: The Standards Behind the Award
All HRS4R activities at UITM are grounded in the current European Charter for Researchers. The Charter is addressed to researchers themselves, universities and research institutions, research funders, and policymakers. Its purpose is to define what fair, supportive research environments should look like from the moment a researcher is recruited through to achieving research independence, leading teams, and training the next generation.
The Charter contains 20 key principles organised under four pillars:
1. Ethics, Integrity, Gender and Open Science
This pillar covers research ethics, honest and reproducible research practices, gender equality, and openness in how knowledge is produced and shared. For researchers, it means working in an environment where integrity is protected and where publishing and data practices follow recognized European norms.
2. Researchers’ Assessment, Recruitment and Progression
Here the Charter demands transparent recruitment and assessment criteria, equal treatment, and merit-based career progression. Researchers should know exactly how they will be evaluated and on what basis hiring decisions are made—before they apply, not after.
3. Working Conditions and Practices
Fair contracts, reasonable workloads, attention to staff wellbeing, and protection against discrimination and mobbing fall under this pillar. It is the practical foundation that allows people to do good research without burning out.
4. Research Careers and Talent Development
The final pillar addresses mobility, mentoring, professional development opportunities, and support at every career stage—from doctoral candidate to senior professor. It recognises that research careers are built over decades and require deliberate investment.
In practice, these principles touch almost every aspect of academic life: how positions are advertised, how interviews are conducted, how performance reviews work, whether mentoring exists, and whether researchers at different stages have genuine opportunities to grow.
From Principles to Practice: How HRS4R Works at UITM
A strategy is only as good as its implementation. The Human Resources Strategy for Researchers exists precisely to convert the Charter’s principles into concrete procedures, solutions, and initiatives—and it operates as a cycle of continuous improvement. Institutions review their existing arrangements, consult researchers about their needs, plan activities, monitor implementation, and evaluate results. Award holders report their progress regularly to the European Commission and undergo external assessment.
The new team at UITM carries substantial responsibility within that cycle. Its core tasks include:
- Monitoring the HRS4R Action Plan. The team systematically tracks the implementation of each planned initiative, collecting data, indicators, and documentation that confirm real progress.
- Analysing feedback. Survey results and outcomes of consultations with the research community are reviewed and translated into conclusions.
- Preparing annual reports. Structured reporting keeps both university leadership and the European Commission informed.
- Ensuring OTM-R compliance. Particular attention is given to Open, Transparent and Merit-based Recruitment—so that hiring and employment processes meet the standard the Charter requires.
- Reviewing working conditions and development arrangements. The team monitors matters including professional development, mobility, equal treatment, wellbeing, and the ethical conduct of research.
- Advising university leadership. Based on the evidence gathered, the team submits proposals and recommendations to the University authorities to shape future policy.
- Managing external assessments. The team prepares documentation for evaluations and site visits conducted by the European Commission or experts it appoints.
To explore the details of the award, the European Charter for Researchers, and UITM’s HRS4R documentation, visit the university’s dedicated HR Excellence in Research pages—reviewing them is a practical step if you are comparing research environments in Poland.
Who Sits on the New Team—and Why the Composition Matters
An oversight body is only credible if it represents the people it serves. The new HRS4R team was deliberately composed to bring together different parts of the university community. Its members include representatives of early-stage researchers and experienced academics, alongside professionals from units responsible for the university’s research and human resources policies, staff development, and the prevention of mobbing, discrimination, and violence. The UITM Coordinator of the ERA-CAREERS project—an EU initiative focused on research careers—also participates in the team’s work.
Leadership of the team combines academic seniority with administrative capability. Agata Jurkowska-Gomułka, PhD, DSc, Associate Professor, has been appointed Chair, while Kinga Gaweł-Stec serves as Secretary. The team’s term of office runs until 31 December 2030, providing a stable horizon for long-term planning rather than short, fragmented mandates.
Why does this composition matter for researchers support? Because early-career and senior researchers often experience university life very differently. A doctoral candidate worried about supervision quality and a professor managing a research group need different things from institutional policy. By seating both perspectives at the same table—and by consulting the wider research community as a routine part of its work—the team increases the likelihood that future initiatives respond to actual needs rather than assumptions.
What This Means for Doctoral Candidates and International Researchers
For prospective students and academics, especially those coming to Poland from abroad, the practical value of HRS4R shows up in several places:
- Predictable recruitment. OTM-R principles mean advertised positions come with clear criteria, defined procedures, and merit-based decisions. You can prepare a meaningful application because you know what is being assessed.
- Structured development. Mentoring, training, and mobility opportunities are planned and monitored rather than left to chance encounters with a helpful supervisor.
- Protected working conditions. Attention to wellbeing, equal treatment, and prevention of discrimination and mobbing is institutionalised, with named units responsible for it.
- External accountability. Because the European Commission reviews progress, commitments are not purely internal promises.
These are exactly the factors career advisers recommend checking when you compare research institutions anywhere in Europe. Ask how researchers are recruited, what mentoring exists, how career progression works, and who advocates for research staff within university governance. At UITM in Rzeszow, the answers to those questions are now formally documented and independently monitored.
If you are considering applying, the university’s Online Application System allows you to start the process directly, and the Admission Office can answer questions about doctoral programmes, requirements, and tuition. Reaching out early—particularly if you are an international candidate navigating Polish regulations for the first time—saves considerable time later.
Evaluating a Research Employer: A Short Checklist
Whether you choose UITM or another institution, use the HRS4R framework as your evaluation tool. Before accepting a position or enrolling in a doctoral programme:
- Check whether the institution holds the HR Excellence in Research award and read its published Action Plan and Gap Analysis.
- Ask for the recruitment criteria for your specific position or programme.
- Request details of mentoring, supervision, and professional development arrangements.
- Clarify contract terms, working time expectations, and review procedures in advance.
- Find out how researchers are consulted about policy changes—and whether early-career voices are represented.
Institutions that hold the award should be able to answer each of these questions with documentation. That transparency is the core of what HR Excellence in Research promises.
A Stable Framework for Research Careers Through 2030
The establishment of the new HRS4R team strengthens the systematic nature of UITM’s efforts to create an environment conducive to research, talent development, and attractive research careers. For the university, it formalises accountability. For researchers in Rzeszow and those considering a move to Poland, it provides something equally valuable: confidence that the standards governing their recruitment, working conditions, and professional growth are written down, monitored, and reviewed by both university leadership and the European Commission.
Have questions about research opportunities, doctoral programmes, or admission requirements at the University of Information Technology and Management in Rzeszow? Contact the Admission Office to get answers specific to your situation. If you are ready to move forward, review the application requirements and submit your application today. And if you have experience with research environments in Poland or questions about building an academic career under the European Charter for Researchers, share your perspective in the comments below—your experience may help the next researcher make an informed decision.
[KClientError] [REQ_ERR: 500] [KTrafficClient] Something is wrong. [KClientError] [REQ_ERR: 500] [KTrafficClient] Something is wrong.
