We educate leaders of the green transformation - Dr. Magdalena Markiewicz at a press conference at the Marshal's Office about the GOZilla project

During a press conference held on July 30, 2026, in the Coat of Arms Hall at the Marshal's Office of the Pomeranian Voivodeship, the commencement of recruitment for the first of six editions of the postgraduate program "Circular Economy in Local Government Units" was announced. 

The meeting was attended by Mieczysław Struk, Marshal of the Pomeranian Voivodeship, Adam Gawrylik, Member of the Pomeranian Voivodeship Board, Professor Piotr Stepnowski, Rector of the University of Gdańsk, and Dr Magdalena Markiewicz, coordinator of the Circular Economy Competence Center at the University of Gdańsk.

The "Circular Economy in Local Government Units" postgraduate studies were created as an inter-faculty program between the Faculty of Management and the Faculty of Economics. The studies are one of the key activities of the GOZilla project and were designed with employees of local government units in mind. 

The study program was based on a thorough needs assessment prepared by the project team – over 200 individual surveys, 40 cross-sectional surveys in local government units, and direct in-depth interviews were conducted in 20 municipalities of the Pomeranian Voivodeship. 

Local government unit employees receive access to free or project-funded education, experts, analyses, good practices, and implementation tools. The project aims to assist municipalities not only in meeting their waste management obligations, but also in preparing strategies, investments, green procurement, monitoring systems, and projects applying for funding. 

The launch of the studies is particularly important in the context of investments planned in the Pomeranian Voivodeship, worth over €650 million. The effective implementation of these projects requires prepared staff who They are able to implement solutions consistent with the principles of the circular economy and utilize available financing instruments. 

The GOZilla project envisions six rounds of postgraduate studies, as well as numerous workshops and training sessions to develop local government officials' competencies in green transformation. Important benefits of the project also accrue to residents. 

The project will result in accessible and understandable educational campaigns, more convenient separate collection systems, greater opportunities for repairing and reusing items, the development of composting, and better tailored local services. 

A key element of the project, the ongoing biowaste pilot, aims to ultimately develop a model that can be implemented in municipalities. 

During the conference, it was emphasized that the circular economy is becoming one of the most important elements of modern local development management. Properly prepared staff will be able to plan investments more effectively, manage resources more efficiently, and increase opportunities for obtaining external funding.