After six years of the Excellence Initiative – Research University (IDUB) programme, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, can be proud of a spectacular increase in the quality of its publications. Bibliometric data from the Scopus database indicate that the focus on scientific excellence has brought tangible and measurable results.
The "Excellence Initiative – Research University" (IDUB) programme was introduced in 2019 by a new act – the Law on Higher Education and Science. The programme's priority was to identify and support universities seeking to achieve research university status and able to compete effectively with the best academic centres in Europe and worldwide.
From the very beginning, the IDUB programme promoted quality over quantity. Regarding AMU, the effects of this strategy are most evident in the publication data from the past decade.
Publications in the top 10% of Scopus journals increased across the entire AMU from approximately 250 in 2014 to around 650 in 2025. The number of publications in the world's top 1% increased from an estimated 10 to around 90. Publications in the top 25% increased from approximately 500 to approximately. 1,200.
Over the same period, international cooperation also developed dynamically. The share of publications prepared in cooperation with scholars from foreign centres increased from one-third to almost half of all publications.
Publication achievements are evident in specific Basic Research Areas, especially in the largest one – POB HUMSOC (humanities and social sciences). Publications in the top 10% of journals: increased from approx. 20 to approx. 240. Publications in the top 1%: increased from 5 to 60.
'We are preparing for the next edition of the programme," says AMU Rector Prof. Bogumiła Kaniewska, adding, "A new competition proposal is being developed, building on the positive experiences and critical comments of our community, but above all, designing the further development of AMU. This programme is extremely important to us; we must not allow ourselves to lose our position as a research university," comments Prof. Kaniewska.
"The programme's successes are undeniable and quantifiable. It is not only a spectacular increase in the number and quality of publications, but also hundreds of international trips and conferences funded by IDUB each year of the project's operation," emphasises Prof. Marek Kwiek from the IDUB Steering Committee. "AMU is changing its publishing structure, which will be visible to the world for years to come. Our publication culture is changing, but so is our grant culture," he says.
The results of the last six years clearly show that AMU is on the path of dynamic development and sustainable growth in research quality. The strategic approach to supporting scientific excellence is bringing results that strengthen the University's position as one of the leading academic centres in Poland and an increasingly recognised player on the international stage.
Photo: Władysław Gardasz
