Poznan.pl, oficjalna strona Miasta Poznania

The vote for the most student-friendly city was conducted in spring 2016 through the Uniplaces Internet platform, which assists students in finding accommodation. The survey involved more than 26,000 persons participating in the Erasmus programme. International students were grading cities which hosted them for a semester or two, supporting them with their vote and by responding to additional questions. The votes decided about the winner of the contest. Students could support their host cities until the end of March 2016, while the ranking alone was published on the Uniplaces website in April.

According to the voters, Madrid turned out to be the best city to study in, and received 1397 votes. The Finnish Oulu was second, with 1294 votes, and Lisbon placed third with 755 votes. Among the twenty best cities there were three academic centres from Poland - Kraków, Warsaw and Poznań. Kraków took the highest place among Polish cities, ranking 13 with 316 votes, whereas Warsaw ranked 15, with 298 votes. Poznań finished 19th with 269 votes. Finding three Polish cities among best twenty, which was dominated by Spanish cities, is a great distinction, since - after Spain - Poland and Portugal are the only countries that can boast by having three cities in the top 20.

The ranking was determined by the number of votes cast for each city. In addition, voters could evaluate the city in terms of six criteria. In this assessment, Poznań was the best in terms of night life and overall quality of life. The quality of universities in Poznań was deemed satisfactory, along with opportunities to spend time outdoors, shopping and food. Poznań received the lowest score for cultural life. In general, the city was rated as cheap or very cheap. Students have also indicated that it was easy for them to find accommodation here, and the contact with landlords was very good.

Poznań earned a high place thanks to the mobilisation of students, who have spent several months here. Their willingness to vote was the key to ranking high. Cities such as London, Paris, Berlin, Vienna and Rome were ranked much lower. Despite the fact of receiving high notes for cultural life and quality of universities, the individual sums of their votes was low.

The Erasmus programme was established in 1987, based on the idea of exchanging students, overcoming stereotypes, and creating inter-university cooperation. Despite the fact that the name of the programme has changed over the years, its goals remain the same. Poland participates in the programme since 1998. Every year thousands of students and research workers leave their home colleges and go to other universities to learn new cultures, enjoy an international environment, as well as acquire knowledge and professional experience at prestigious universities.