In the discussion that has been ongoing for some time in our columns regarding logistics education and the directions of its development in Poland, we present a statement given to us by Prof. Lech Bukowski, Dean of the Faculty of Management and Head of the Department of Systems Engineering at the AGH University of Science and Technology in Krakow, who for nearly 10 years has been organizing international meetings of logisticians representing the scientific and practical communities in Zakopane, as part of the annual Applied Logistics Conferences “Total Logistic Management”.
Iwo Nowak: I suggest we start our conversation with a seemingly trivial matter, namely the place of logistics in public consciousness, especially in the context of choosing it as a future profession after completing the appropriate studies.
Prof. Lech Bukowski: We are currently in a rather strange situation. On one hand, there is huge interest in matters related to logistics, and the word itself has become so fashionable that it is almost a key, a skeleton key for solving many problems. If someone doesn’t really know what a given system or process is about, they immediately define it as “logistical”. A positive aspect of the reality surrounding us is the fact that so many people identify with logistics, and this is not – I hope – a temporary trend or fashion. However, the negative is the overly common tendency of an increasing number of various educational centers to implement what is currently profitable to pursue as a subject of education. As a result, many people have a low level of preparation for dealing with logistical issues, for presenting them, and even more so for teaching them. And many are dealing with it because… it sells well at the moment. This creates information noise, and institutions, courses, and postgraduate studies are multiplying, led by not always competent people.
Apart from outstanding experts and lecturers, there are also people completely unprepared practically and theoretically, in a word – accidental. And this is unfavorable for external recipients who need reliable knowledge, not a multitude of information of very different substantive levels. From my point of view, this is exactly the picture of the current situation in which logistics education in Poland finds itself.
I.N.: Where are the positives then? It is impossible that there are none…
Prof. Lech Bukowski: We are currently in a rather strange situation. On one hand, there is huge interest in matters related to logistics, and the word itself has become so fashionable that it is almost a key, a skeleton key for solving many problems. If someone doesn’t really know what a given system or process is about, they immediately define it as “logistical”. A positive aspect of the reality surrounding us is the fact that so many people identify with logistics, and this is not – I hope – a temporary trend or fashion. However, the negative is the overly common tendency of an increasing number of various educational centers to implement what is currently profitable to pursue as a subject of education. As a result, many people have a low level of preparation for dealing with logistical issues, for presenting them, and even more so for teaching them. And many are dealing with it because… it sells well at the moment. This creates information noise, and institutions, courses, and postgraduate studies are multiplying, led by not always competent people.
Apart from outstanding experts and lecturers, there are also people completely unprepared practically and theoretically, in a word – accidental. And this is unfavorable for external recipients who need reliable knowledge, not a multitude of information of very different substantive levels. From my point of view, this is exactly the picture of the current situation in which logistics education in Poland finds itself.
I.N.: Where are the positives then? It is impossible that there are none…
Prof. L.B.: Of course there are. For example, it is positive how many manufacturing enterprises, service companies, and others recognize the importance of this problem. I believe that however one looks at logistics, it is primarily an applied science. It is important and has a chance to develop as long as there are those willing to apply the results of these actions. And here, the interest of potential clients forces certain actions and solutions. This is very, very important. It is also important that there is feedback between those who generate ideas, models, solutions, and logistical concepts, and those who implement them. It is impossible for every idea to be immediately brilliant and flawless. In the sciences I deal with, one generally reaches the goal iteratively, through trial and error. Also in logistics, there is a certain set of principles based on which models can be built, and their quality is only verified by practice.