Career and Study Guidance at Polska Szkoła SEN in Dublin: Exploring Options to Study in Poland with Secondary School Students

On 12 September, Artur Banaszkiewicz, Director of StudyInPoland.ie and StudyMedicinePoland.com, visited Polska Szkoła SEN in Dublin to deliver a career and study guidance session for the school’s secondary students. The talk covered career planning, third-level options in Poland, and the routes open to Irish students who want to study medicine, dentistry or veterinary medicine abroad.

Career guidance built on real experience

Artur opened with his own career path, one that rarely followed a single plan. He has worked at the Polish Embassy in Dublin, held public sector roles, worked at University College Dublin and other universities and colleges in Ireland and Poland. Today he manages an education business. His message to students was simple: career paths are often not linear, and the skills you build at each stage carry forward into the next.

"It was an amazing experience to go back and talk to students at a one pf the largest Polish complimentary schools in Ireland that I helped grow over a decade earlier as a board member" Artur reminisced about his visit.

The mix of experience across education, public service and business underpins the career guidance and educational guidance Artur has offered Irish students and families for more than 15 years. It’s the same practical, student-centred approach that guidance counselling professionals in Irish schools will recognise: helping young people understand their options before they commit to a path.

Studying in Poland: English-taught and Polish-taught programmes

A large part of the session focused on studying in Poland from Ireland. Polish universities offer a high standard of education, and degrees awarded there are recognised across the European Union. Students heard about English-taught programmes in medicine, dentistry and veterinary medicine, and about the wider range of courses available in Polish.

For students who are fluent in Polish, the options are even broader. They can apply to programmes taught in Polish or in English, although admission requirements differ depending on the university and the language of instruction. Another route may be to begin on an English-taught degree and transfer to a Polish-taught programme after first year, once the student has strengthened their academic Polish. For many students of Polish heritage in Ireland, this is a flexible way to settle into Polish academic life without giving up on their chosen field.

Applications, entrance exams and admissions support

Students also learned how the application process to Polish universities works. Many programmes, particularly medical ones, include entrance exams as part of admissions. Through StudyInPoland.ie, Artur and his team support students of Polish heritage, in Ireland and worldwide, at every stage: choosing a university and course, preparing documents, getting ready for entrance exams and submitting the application. Students applying for medicine, dentistry or veterinary medicine are supported through StudyMedicinePoland.com.

One-to-one consultations after the talk

Following the session, Artur held one-to-one consultations with students who wanted more personal guidance. These focused on two areas:

• Career path guidance: talking through each student’s interests, strengths and goals, and how different courses and careers might fit them.

• Studying in Poland: individual advice on courses, entry requirements, language of instruction, entrance exams and the application timeline.

These short consultations give students space to ask questions they might not raise in a group, and they often help families take the next concrete step.

Working with guidance counselling professionals in Ireland

We regularly work alongside guidance counselling teams in Irish secondary schools to give students clear, accurate information about studying medicine in Poland and other study options abroad. If you’re a guidance counsellor or school leader and would like Artur to deliver a talk, career guidance session or one-to-one consultations at your school, or to join one of our regular webinars on studying in Poland, we’d be glad to hear from you.