Inauguration of the 2nd stage of the PKM and FarU competition

26.10.2022

The second stage of the Railway to the South competition, jointly organized by the Fahrenheit Universities (FarU) and the Pomeranian Metropolitan Railway (PKM), was officially inaugurated. The ceremony took place on October 21 at the Auditorium Primum named after Prof. Olgierd Narkiewicz at the Atheneum Gedanense Novum. The university coordinator of the project on behalf of the MUG is Maciej Tankiewicz, Eng.D. of the Division of Environmental Toxicology of the MUG, who additionally prepared a workshop for the participants of the competition as part of the event.

The ceremony was hosted by one of the contest participants Michalina Gryzio, a 5th year student majoring in health psychology. The inauguration was attended by representatives of FarU authorities: Director of FarU Prof. Adriana Zaleska-Medynska, Vice-Rector for Student Affairs – Prof. Tomasz Smiatacz (MUG) and Prof. Barbara Wikieł (Gdańsk Tech.), and Prof. Sylwia Mrozowska, Vice-Rector for Cooperation and development (GU). Other guests included Deputy Marshal of the Pomeranian Voivodeship – Leszek Bonna, Prof. Przemysław Rutkowski – Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences with the Institute of Maritime and Tropical Medicine of the MUG, Prof. Lidia Wolska – Head of the GUMed environmental health degree program, Eng. D. Arch. Magdalena Podwojewska, Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Architecture at Gdańsk Tech, Maciej Nyka, Ph.D., Prof. UG from the Department of Environmental Toxicology at the MUG and the Department of Public Economic and Environmental Law at GU. The meeting was a continuation of the first stage of the competition, which was officially concluded on June 29 at the Gdańsk University of Technology.

– _ It can be said that now all the counters are reset to zero because each of the eight teams from the final stage was joined by participants from three universities_ – explained Eng. D. Arch. Magdalena Podwojewska, Deputy Dean of Gdańsk Tech Faculty of Architecture. – Now we are just going to negotiate to what extent the visions can be implemented, which elements are the most important, and which ones the students may not have thought of yet.

The participants will be tasked with developing detailed concepts for innovative environmental, social, and economic solutions for the eight projects selected in the first stage of the competition. A representative from each of the universities that make up the FarU: Medical University of Gdańsk, Gdańsk University of Technology, and University of Gdańsk – must be present in all teams. For the winning teams, PKM SA has funded financial prizes with a total value of PLN 20 000.

– I’m glad that public transportation is not passe – said Grzegorz Mocarski, President of the PKM SA – We travel around ministries, we’ve been to several government institutions and everyone likes this project very much. They tell us: you think European, where do such ideas come from? There are no such ones in Poland. And we draw from the best.

One of the goals of the Railway to the South competition is to strengthen the attractiveness of passenger rail for users. The PKM Południe investment will not only improve communication with the southern districts of Gdańsk, but will also better communicate the regional rail network with the capital of the Pomeranian Voivodeship, as Leszek Bonna, deputy marshal of the Pomeranian Voivodeship, mentioned during the inauguration.

Later in the meeting, students of environmental health and health psychology from the Medical University of Gdańsk presented challenges and problems related to the design of public space. Aspects of the impact of space and its elements on human health and the environment, which determine the quality of life, were discussed. Presentations were given by:

• Agata Karczewska & Daria Szczygielska (environmental health, 3rd year, B.A.) – Environmental health in the design of public space – determinants of health
• Oliver Hirsz & Krzysztof Kovaćs ((environmental health, 3rd year, B.A.) – New ways of shaping urban space – the idea of Green – Blue City
• Wiktoria Kucharek (environmental health, 2nd year, B.A.) – Zdrowie środowiskowe w projektowaniu przestrzeni publicznej – wpływ roślinności na zdrowie i samopoczucie
• Aniela Brzezińska, Michalina Gryzio, Urszula Ostrowska & Justyna Święcicka (health psychology, 3rd and 5th years) – Health psychology, 3rd and 5th years.

Immediately after the official inauguration, the first workshops began.

– During the classes, participants worked in interdisciplinary teams on usable solutions for bus stops and the obstacles that lurk along the way to a public transportation stop. The initiative is an example of the synergy of Gdansk’s academic centers and various scientific disciplines in jointly shaping space – says Maciej Tankiewicz, Eng.D. – The competition is proof that together we can achieve much more. Students have the opportunity and conditions to translate the knowledge they have gained during their studies into practice and realize themselves in a project that they will realistically be able to use shortly. It should also be noted that the design of public space, using the example of passenger rail stops, requires the participation of specialists from many fields..

According to the schedule, classes in the second stage of the Railway to the South competition are scheduled until the end of January 2023, and the winners of this edition will be announced in early February next year.

PKM South – about the project

This is a joint initiative of the local government of the Pomeranian Voivodeship and municipalities affiliated with the Gdańsk-Gdynia-Sopot Metropolitan Area. Prepared by the local government company PKM SA, the project envisages the construction of a new railroad line from the SKM Gdańsk Śródmieście stop to the planned Kowale Junction, providing for the possibility of its subsequent connection with both the existing railroad line 248 (PKM) and the currently closed line 229 (Pruszcz Gdański – Stara Piła), which requires modernization. A Technical-Economic-Environmental Study of the PKM South is currently being prepared, which at the end of 2023 will not only determine the recommended route of the PKM South but will primarily be the basis8 for making financial and material decisions on the future implementation of the project and the optimal phasing of the entire investment. For more information, visit the PKM South project’s dedicated website at www.pkm-poludnie.pl.

fot. Paweł Sudara/MUG