A short guide to studying in Poland: cultural background

Diversity is the spice of life. Different cultures around the globe cultivate different customs, different social norms, and different ways of life. Moving to a foreign country to study may present some challenges arising from cultural differences between your home country and the country where you will go to a university. It is not possible to predict every single situation that you may encounter while living abroad, but being aware that people might do things differently in another country helps to avoid awkward situations or misunderstandings. During our webinar, we will talk about cultural differnces and how they can enrich your study experince.

Meeting focus

Our expert, cultural psychologist Karolina Mazurowska, Ph.D., will talk about cultural differences, how they can impact your first impressions upon arrival in a different country, and how to be open-minded to things being done differently than in your home country. We will focus on the following topics:

• What are cross-cultural differences? Examples of common misunderstandings arising from cultural differences.
• Can cultural differences impact education and the quality of education?
• Cultural codes and stereotyping. How can different cultural codes influence communication and behavior?
• Can you experience culture shock upon arriving in Poland? How is Poland different from the rest of the world? What can surprise foreigners?

Our experts

Expert

Karolina Mazurowska, Ph.D.

Cross-cultural psychologist

Dr. Karolina Mazurowska is a cross-cultural psychologist, specializing in intercultural business psychology and working in intercultural organizations. At SWPS University she teaches classes on psycho-cultural differences, concerning business and daily life, between the Western and East-Asian cultures. She also runs cultural adaptation workshops for Chinese and other international students, who come to Poland thanks to the Erasmus exchange program.

Host

Dorota Słowińska

International Admissions Officer, psychology student at SWPS University

“Working with candidates and students from around the world gives me a lot of satisfaction. I graduated from a secondary school in Dublin, Ireland, so as someone who has experienced the process of moving to a foreign country as well as learning in a foreign school, in a foreign language, I know how important the support of the institution and its employees is for the newcomers.”

This project is financed by the Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange under the Welcome to Poland programme