TELSP 2023 projects
The main component of the summer program is an active participation in the selected research project offered by the staff members of the Nicolaus Copernicus University, please see the topics and their descriptions below. Interested students are welcome to contact possible advisors for more details concerning the foreseen projects and discuss the dates that the project could be undertaken.
ECONOMICS, MANAGEMENT AND FINANCE:
LAW:
ECONOMICS, MANAGEMENT AND FINANCE
Sustainable development
The subject of the project concerns the issues of sustainable development. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by all United Nations Member States includes urgent call for action. The areas of interventions are defined by the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). No poverty, zero hunger, good health and well-being, quality education, gender equality, clean water, affordable and clean energy, decent work and economic growth, innovation, reduced inequalities, sustainable cities and communities, responsible consumption and production, climate action, life below water, life on land, strong institutions and partnerships for the goals are highlighted.
Additionally, sustainable issues including development, are widely discussed in the literature.
The aim of the project is the analysis of sustainable development with main consideration of chosen spheres.
The following tasks are included within the proposed project:
- The theoretical consideration of sustainable development.
- Analysis of selected spheres with special consideration of chosen goals, targets and indicators in the selected UN countries.
- Formulation of conclusions in written form.
- Presentation of results.
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Modern forms of motivating employees
New generations of employees have different attitudes and beliefs in relation to professional work and leisure time. Employers are often confused when faced with today's workforce engagement issues, especially with regard to Generation Z. For many HR managers the biggest challenge is to find an efficient way to increase motivation in the workplace.
Therefore, the main goals of this project are:
- identifying the main differences in the motivation of employees of generations of modern employees;
- development of recommendations for employers on effective modern forms of motivating employees.
Main research goals include:
- Review of the literature on the differences in the motivation of employees of generations of modern employees
- Identifying the main motivators of the modern workforce and differences between generations;
- Looking for examples of using effective instruments to motivate employees;
- Development and presentation of recommendations for employers in the field of motivating modern employees.
| Supervisor: | Barbara Józefowicz, PhD (Barbara.Jozefowicz[at]umk.pl) |
| | Department of Business Excellence, Faculty of Economic Sciences and Management |
| Internship period: | 14.08 - 10.09.2023 |
| Scientific disciplines: | Management |
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Economic and social consequences of the war in Ukraine with special emphasis on the Central and Eastern Europe
On 24
th of February, 2022 Russia invaded Ukraine. This aggression has been condemned internationally and many countries imposed sanctions on Russia. Numerous companies withdrew their operations from Russia and Belarus. The consequences are already (25
th of March, 2022) very serious as already a month of bombardment caused thousands of deaths, ruined cities, the war also triggered Europe’s largest refugee crisis since WWII. The humanitarian, social and economic impacts of invasion and also of sanctions on Russia will have a substantial impact on the global economy as they will reduce global growth and raise global problems (inflation, disruptions and supply shocks of certain markets) over the next years but they will especially influence the development of the whole region of the Central and Eastern Europe (CEE).
The aim of the project is to show the most significant impacts of Russia’s aggression on Ukraine on the societies and economies with a special attention on the CEE.
The research task should include:
- analysis of the estimated worldwide consequences of the war in Ukraine and unprecedented sanctions announced on Russia with a special attention for Ukraine, Russia and other countries of the CEE;
- analysis of the anticipated financial needs and actions to be taken worldwide, including intervention from financial institutions (IMF etc.) especially targeted to the CEE;
- advice on how should the CEE countries calibrate their social and macroeconomic policies to manage spillovers and financial markets and other consequences of social and economic crisis.
| Supervisor: | Aranka Ignasiak-Szulc, PhD (aranka[at]umk.pl) |
| | Department of Economic Policy and Regional Studies, Faculty of Economic Sciences and Management |
| Internship period: | 14.08 - 10.09.2023 |
| Scientific disciplines: | Economics and finance |
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Sustainable and responsible tourism in the post-pandemic times
Tourism is considered one of the engines of economic development and a factor of competitiveness in many countries and regions. It should be noted, however, that the influx of tourists, especially mass tourism, can also result in a number of negative effects (e.g. overtourism), and even conflict with the concept of sustainable development. Therefore, an important role for entities responsible for the development of tourism should be the idea of responsibility, which today is referred to the concept of the so-called responsible tourism and connected to sustainability in travel and tourism industry.
The pandemic caused by the COVID-19 has significantly affected the tourism industry worldwide. Facing the consequences of the crisis connected with pandemic is there a space for responsible and sustainable recovery for travel and tourism industry?
It must be also added that not having fully recovered from one crisis, the Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) will also face the consequences of the war in Ukraine. The humanitarian, social and economic impacts of invasion and also of sanctions on Russia will have a substantial impact on the global economy and tourism in some destinations and will directly hit the travel in the region.
Research goals include:
- learning the basics of responsible tourism and sustainability in tourism;
- indentification of the tasks of the entities in the field of ensuring the development of responsible tourism and ways of its implementation (instruments), especially in the conditions of post-pandemic times;
- comparison of the state of implementation of the concept of responsible/sustainable tourism worldwide, in Poland and the Intern's country of origin and their regions.
Research tasks will include:
- literature studies and analysis of strategic documents in the field of ensuring conditions for the implementation of the idea of responsible tourism worldwide, in Poland and the Intern's country of origin;
- case studies on the implementation of tasks of entities responsible for implementing the idea of responsible and sustainable tourism worldwide, in Poland and the Intern's country of origin;
- comparative analysis of the state of implementation of the idea of responsible tourism and atittudes towards sustainability in travel and tourism industry worldwide, in Poland and the Intern's country of origin;
- formulation of conclusions and recommendations considering the current conditions (pandemic and war in Ukraine crises).
| Supervisor: | Aranka Ignasiak-Szulc, PhD (aranka[at]umk.pl) |
| | Department of Economic Policy and Regional Studies, Faculty of Economic Sciences and Management |
| Internship period: | 14.08 - 10.09.2023 |
| Scientific disciplines: | Economics and finance |
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Creative industries in digital age
Creative industries are crucial for the European economy. They employed 7.4 million people across the EU27 in 2019, which represented 3.7% of all employment. In 2017, there were 1.1 million cultural and creative enterprises in the EU27, generating €145 bn of value-added. For example, just in UK creative industries delivering £115.9bn GVA, accounting for 2.2 million jobs, and exporting more than £50bn per year at the last count. Around 300,000, or over one in eight UK businesses (11.8%) in 2019 was part of the Creative Industries. The work of creative industry professionals is not only relevant from an economic perspective. It is also important for the promotion of Europe’s diverse cultural identity and European values including equality, democracy and sustainable development.
The objectives of the project are:
- to learn the specifics of creative industries and their development in digital age,
- to get acquainted with some examples of creative industries and their changes on the base of digitalization,
- to conduct analysis and forecast for the tendencies of creative industries development for next 10-20 years.
Research tasks include:
- Conducting desk research/online query on the idea of creative industries and their dynamics in digital economy.
- Analyzing forecasts about tendencies and direction of creative industries development and transformation (including new profession and specialties which will appear/disappear) in future 10-20 years.
- Development of case studies on the example of 1 or 2 industries (by student’s choice).
- Preparation of a short research report including main findings.
| Supervisor: | prof. Tetyana Lepeyko (t.lepeyko[at]umk.pl) |
| | Department of Business Excellence |
| Internship period: | 14.08 - 10.09.2023 |
| Scientific disciplines: | Economics and finance |
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Comparative analysis of multidimensional well-being across selected countries from the sustainable development perspective
Well-being analysis is an attractive and innovative concept, especially from the sustainable development perspective. Because of a growing concern that well-being is a multidimensional phenomenon, it should be considered in different dimensions among others health (SDG No.3), education quality (SDG No.4), and environmental (SDG No.13). Moreover, a report by Stiglitz, Sen, and Fitoussi (2010) pointed out that if well-being is assessed than its eight dimensions must be taken simultaneously into account. These are not only material living standards (GDP per capita, median equivalised disposable household income, housing conditions and income inequalities and poverty) but also the immaterial quality of life (health, education, personal activities including work, political voice and government, social relationships, environmental conditions, economic and physical insecurity). As part of the main research objective, it is planned firstly to assess well-being (in terms of: health, education, environmental conditions, political conditions, economic and mental security and happiness) by building a synthetic measure. Secondly, the research aims to conduct the comparative analysis to explore and evaluate multidimensional well-being as important aspects of sustainable development in the selected country/ countries to the situation in the European Union/OECD countries/world.
Research tasks include:
- To study literature in the field of the well-being in the framework of sustainable development.
- To define well-being as multidimensional phenomenon.
- To distinguish different dimensions of well-being.
- To collect statistical data (dimensions of well-being)
- To build a synthetic measure of well- being.
To conduct a comparative analysis of multidimensional well-being across different countries.
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Presentation of non-financial information in annual reports of listed companies – comparative analysis
Presentation of the scope of non-financial information disclosed in the annual report prepared by listed companies
Research tasks include:
Preparation of a comparative analysis presenting differences in disclosures in the area of non-financial information
| Supervisor: | Ewa Makowska, PhD (emak[at]umk.pl) |
| | Department of Management Accounting |
| Internship period: | 14.08 - 10.09.2023 |
| Scientific disciplines: | Management |
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LAW
Criminal responsibility of corporations for acts against environment (student’s home country and Poland)
There are two main problems regarding corporate criminal responsibility for anti-environmental behavior. The first one, of course, is a range of criminal law regulations protecting environment. Actions against the environment are often very socially damaging. So much so that they are prohibited as a crime. However, it must be remembered that the mere act of the legislator is not enough. The introduced regulations have yet to be effective. Research on environmental crimes has been conducted for a long time and in the 1990s a new branch of criminology emerged - green criminology. The results of its research should serve to improve the legislation in this area, because an ongoing assessment of the effectiveness of the adopted solutions is necessary. Environmental protection is the subject of many acts of international law, most notably the United Nations and the European Union. It must be mentioned, that the national legislators face the difficult task of creating such provisions that, on the one hand, will contribute to the international system of environment protection, and, on the other hand, will respond to local challenges. The second one problem is criminal responsibility of corporations. Different countries adopt different solutions in this regard. In some cases such responsibility is possible and in others it is not. The situation in the case of accepting this type of responsibility is also varied. Different countries adopt different rules. In the case of environmental protection, rules of a corporate responsibility are extremely important, because they could be subjects the most dangerous and damaging. There is no real environment protection without corporate responsibility and criminal responsibility can play a leading role.
The aim of the project is to provide a look at the problem of environmental crime by:
- a examination and understanding of the phenomenon of environmental crime, in particular, from the criminological perspective;
- examination and evaluation of the penal regulations aimed at protecting environment in the EU and UN law;
- examination and evaluation of the criminal regulations aimed at environment protection in one selected state (student’s home country); and
- and comparing them to the Polish regulations
- examination and evaluation of the regulations regarding criminal responsibility of corporations and comparing them to the Polish regulations
Research tasks include:
- examination and analysis of the criminal law regulations aimed at environment protection in the EU law
- examination and analysis of the criminal law regulations aimed at environment protection in the UN law
- examination and analysis of the criminal law regulations aimed at environment protection in the law of selected state (student’s home country)
- examination and analysis of the criminal law regulations aimed at environment protection in the Polish law
- comparison of them
- examination and analysis of the criminal law regulations regarding corporate responsibility
- evaluation of efficiency of examined regulations
| Supervisors: | Natalia Daśko, PhD (ndasko[at]umk.pl) |
| | Prof. Janusz Bojarski (bojarski[at]umk.pl) |
| | Department of Criminal Law, Faculty of Law and Administration |
| Internship period: | 14.08 - 10.09.2023 |
| Scientific disciplines: | law |
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Human rights law – an idea or a practical concept?
Under the project the Student would develop the interest in international human rights. Mentor would encourage the Student to confront a letter of law and its implementation by analyzing laws, soft law, case-law and research findings from the country of Student’s origin with the UN and regional (e.g. the EU and the Council of Europe) legal instruments.
A list of possible research areas covers e.g.:
- The situation of protection seekers (asylum seekers, refugees, internally displaced persons), focusing on an access to the territory (legality of establishing border walls and stopping boats in international sees), to asylum procedures, to legal aid, to social benefits (e.g. a doctor, housing, food);
- The situation of detainees (in particular immigrants, protection seekers, children);
- Fight with terrorism (including its hybrid forms) and organized crime (in particular human trafficking and smuggling) – does it contradict with protection of human rights?
- Human rights at a workplace e.g. surveillance of employers, work-life balance (in particular in a context of work at home), non-discrimination (primarily based on sex, age and religious beliefs), increasing popularity of civil contracts in employment, responsibilities of employers for ensuring human dignity at a workplace, overuses in employment of immigrants;
- UN treaties, EU fundamental rights, and the Council of Europe system – complementarity or confrontation;
- Human rights protection as a facilitator for a continuation of the EU-Ukraine integration project;
- Humanitarian law (with special focus on refugees, Red Cross and Red Crescent movement, combatants, responsibility of political leaders) and law of war (including war crimes).
Other themes may be proposed by the Applicant.
The project schedule and research activities:
- An identification of:
- a particular research topic, based on the interests of the Applicant;
- a subjective and temporal criteria of the analysis;
- the most relevant acts of law, case-law, reports prepared by international and national non-governmental organizations and law-implementing authorities, as well as previous research findings;
- An in-depth critical analysis of relevant acts of law, case-law, and previous research findings;
- Presentation of the project’s outcomes – if that would be an intention of the Student it is possible to continue cooperation to deliver durable and tangible results e.g. an academic article which the Student would publish in Students’ academic journal.
Assumptions:
- The research findings would be periodically consulted with the Mentor;
- Additional ad hoc consultations will be organized upon the Student’s request;
- Previous research findings from Poland and from the country of origin of the Student could be comparably analysed, if that would be to the benefit of the project and of the Student’s interests.
| Supervisor: | Piotr Sadowski, PhD (psadowski[at]umk.pl) |
| | Department of Human Rights, Faculty of Law and Administration |
| Internship period: | 14.08 - 10.09.2023 |
| Scientific disciplines: | law (international law, human rights) |
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Remote working in tax law: Evaluation of legal regulation and case law in the context of economic and social change
Research objectives:
- To assess the degree to which the national tax system is adapted to the development of remote working.
- To assess the impact of the development of remote working on tax case law.
Research tasks:
- Do the existing regulations in Poland and the country of the student participant correspond to the growth of remote working?
- Does the national tax law in Poland and in the country of the student participant take into account the specificities of remote working? (e.g. does the tax law take into account that part of the business costs of remote working are borne by the employee?)
- How is the taxation of cross-border remote working addressed?
- In their jurisprudence, are the courts willing to change their previous views in order to adapt the tax law considering the massive use of remote working?
Note: The research tasks will be based on the legal regulations of the countries selected by the student.
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International human rights standards and their national implementation
The aim of the project is to enable a selected participant to develop her/his interest in the area of human rights protection. Applicants are particularly encouraged to analyze and the domestic impact and application of international human rights law (IHRL). Thus, the interrelations between domestic legal systems and IHRL, as well as different concepts of ensuring its effectiveness are very welcomed.
A list of possible research areas covers e.g.:
- Freedom of expression and hate speech;
- Right to health and human rights in the context of healthcare;
- Protection of voulnerable groups, e.g. children, persons with disabilities, minorities + Principle of equality and non-discrimination, inclusion
- Gender and human rights;
- Civil society and human rights protection;
- Critical analysis of recent jurisprudence and practice of international human rights protection bodies and national court.
These topics however do not constitute a closed list and another issue may be selected after a consultation with the project participant
It is expected that project participant will be able to identify, analyze and interpret international and national legal instruments and jurisprudence, as well as other relevant research sources.
The project will be carried out according with a following schedule and tasks:
- Identification and selection of a particular research topic;
- An in-depth analysis of relevant sources (legal instruments, case-law, doctrine) according to the project’s aims and research questions;
- Consultations with a mentor throughout the project;
- Presentation of outcomes.
| Supervisor: | Julia Kapelańska-Pręgowska, PhD (jkp[at]law.umk.pl) |
| | Department of Human Rights, Faculty of Law and Administration |
| Internship period: | 14.08 - 10.09.2023 |
| Scientific disciplines: | law (juridical law) |
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The future of constitutionalism in time of crisis
One of the most frequent diagnoses of the state of modern democracy is that liberal-democratic system – that is, one based on the principles of the rule of law, the sovereignty of the people, and respect for human rights – is in a constitutional crisis. The crisis, which is characterized by deep polarization and a high degree of demagogy in the political debate, would undermine both the legitimacy of a democratic system that is based on political pluralism and the capacity of political rivals to debate. At the theoretical level, the tension between the vitality of democracy and the formalism of constitutionalism is often emphasized. In a constitutional democracy, the constitution is a form of institutionalizing political power arising from the tendencies functioning in a pluralistic society that realizes the ideal of equality. In this context, the constitution expresses historically and culturally conditioned ideas that are subject to interpretation and reinterpretation. Interpretative openness is supposed to be a hallmark of democracy, and for this reason it can be seen as the institutionalization of political dispute and deliberation over the political goals of the community and the rights of individuals. Therefore, a particularly important organ for constitutional democracy is the representative legislature, which is a forum for deliberation and democratic adoption of legislative decisions. Democratic constitutionalism is based on the assumption that citizens wish to participate in the creation of their own state and law, and that the institutions of constitutional democracy should enable them to pursue this goal. In addition, contemporary theories of constitutionalism would propose new institutions involving citizens – to a certain extent – in the process of law-making, the resolution of constitutional disputes, and even the establishment or amendment of the constitution, such as the proposal to establish a special deliberation day or the attempt to make the idea of deliberative democracy a reality in the form of the Citizens' Assembly in Ireland, the Icelandic National Assembly, and British Columbia's Citizens' Assembly.
Research tasks:
- identification and description of a specific phenomenon as a symptom of the crisis of constitutionalism;
- reconstruction and interpretation of a selected contemporary theory of constitutionalism, e.g. democratic constitutionalism or deliberative constitutionalism;
- answers to the question of how the selected contemporary theory of constitutional democracy responds to the diagnosed symptom of the crisis;
- presentation of the results.
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The use of information and telecommunication technologies (ICT) in public tasks realization in selected countries
The aim of the project is to analyze and compare legal solutions adopted in selected countries regarding the ICT implementation in public tasks, including the use of ICT systems, electronic deliveries and electronic signatures by public entities performing public tasks. It is about determining and comparing the legal basis of public tasks for the implementation of which ICT techniques are used, in particular enabling remote communication with a citizen, entrepreneur, public administration bodies and remote data collection (public registers).
Research tasks
Analysis of public law regulations regulating the ICT implementation of public tasks, including those regulating electronic signatures, electronic documents and electronic deliveries in a given country (selected by the student). Analysis of views expressed in court rulings and by representatives of the science of public law of selected countries on the ICT implementation of public tasks
| Supervisor: | Łukasz Maszewski, PhD (maszewski[at]umk.pl) |
| | Department of Administrative Law, Faculty of Law and Administration |
| Internship period: | 14.08 - 10.09.2023 |
| Scientific disciplines: | law |
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Democracy and the Digital: The Need for the New Social Contracts
In the last two years, humans generated more data than in the past twenty thousand. Today there are over 8 Billion connected devices but that figure will jump to 40 Billion by 2025 with the coming of age of the Internet of Things. This systemic shift in how we operate, communicate, register and process data will change our economy, politics and social interactions. The implications of digital transformation are manifold and range from a changing landscape of economic power, to the redefinition of privacy, to the geopolitical implications of the emergence of data. This process, however, also brings with it numerous challenges linked to the generation and distribution of income. The Social Contract—that in the US was centered around social mobility and in Europe around economic security—looks increasingly broken and the gap between the highly skilled and everyone else is growing. These technological and economic transformations have reshaped the relationships between education, work, opportunities and welfare, rendering our previous social contract outdated, and making it necessary to establish a new one that benefits everyone. The understanding and governance of systemic shifts of this nature requires a new set of policies and regulations to foster innovation around data and its governance while improving social inclusion. The realisation of the project will support this process by analysing the transformation of the digital domain and the fracture of our social contract from a multidisciplinary perspective, and advancing new and realistic solutions for future agreements.
Research tasks:
- Analysing the transformation of the digital domain and the fracture of our social contract from a legal, political and economical perspective.
- Advancing new and realistic solutions for future agreements (legal reforms and reforms of international and national institutions)
| Supervisor: | Prof. Marcin Kilanowski (markil[at]umk.pl) |
| | Department of Theory of Law and State, Faculty of Law and Administration |
| Internship period: | 14.08 - 10.09.2023 |
| Scientific disciplines: | law |
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Current issues in maritime law
Carry out a research analysis on a selected issue addressed in the ongoing work on maritime law at the International Maritime Organisation or the Commite Maritime International, in particular:
- the legal regulation of autonomous ships (analysis of the work carried out so far in the international forum, comparison of the achievements in the national law of selected jurisdictions)
- prerequisites for the loss of the right to limitation of liability under international maritime conventions
- the nomenclature of national and international legislation on the maritime vessel.
Research tasks:
- analysis and compilation of research on one of the above-mentioned topics in the form of a presentation and, possibly, a publication in a student scientific journal/website of the Maritime Law Student Research Group
| Supervisor: | Zuzanna Pepłowska-Dąbrowska, PhD (zpeplow[at]umk.pl) |
| | Department of Commercial and Maritime Law, Faculty of Law and Administration |
| Internship period: | 14.08 - 10.09.2023 |
| Scientific disciplines: | law |
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