The Polish Club of Berkeley is an organization uniting all Polish people associated with the University of California, Berkeley as well as promoting Polish culture among all community members on campus and beyond. We aim to celebrate Polish heritage of both Polish students studying abroad in the United States as well as those with Polish-American backgrounds. We welcome all undergraduates, graduates, faculty and staff to come to our events. Knowledge of Polish is not necessary :-)

If you are visiting Berkeley as a scholar or an exchange student, check in with us! We'd love to connect you with other Polish people from the area and keep the local community vibrant.

The Board

President: Emil Albrychiewicz
VP of External Affairs and Outreach: Krystyna Pietraszkiewicz
VP of Finance: Adrian Kubicki

Honorary Patronage

Pierogi Making Party, 10/13/19 - Berkeley, CA

Welcome Back Lunch, 9/10/19 - Berkeley, CA

Wojtek's Farewell BBQ, 5/12/19 - Berkeley, CA

Easter Meeting, 4/13/19 - Berkeley, CA

Pierogi & Bigos Making, 12/01/18 - Berkeley, CA

Polish Animations, 11/14/18 - Berkeley, CA

Celebration of 100th anniversary of Polish Independence, 11/11/18 - San Francisco, CA

Meeting with Agnieszka Holland, 10/28/18 - Berkeley, CA

Welcome Back BBQ, 08/26/18 - Berkeley, CA

Czesław Milosz's House, 04/14/18 - Berkeley, CA

Meeting with Bronisław Komorowski, 12/04/17 - Berkeley, CA

Smogathon'17, 10/03/17 - Berkeley, CA

Pierogi Making, 09/30/17 - Berkeley, CA

Meeting with the Undersecretary Piotr Dardzinski from the Polish Ministry of Science, 08/28/17 - Menlo Park, CA

Easter potluck, April 2017 - Berkeley, CA

Polish Movie Night, March 2017 - Berkeley, CA

Cooking Night - Pierogi, February 2017 - Berkeley, CA

Meeting with Prof. Leszek Balcerowicz @ UC Berkeley, 02/10/17

Welcome Back BBQ, August 2016 - Berkeley, CA

Poland-Portugal Quarterfinal Lunch, June 2016 - Berkeley, CA

Polish Blender BBQ, June 2016 - Stanford, CA

Polish Movie Night - "Ciało", March 2016 - Berkeley, CA

Fat Thursday, February 2016 - Berkeley, CA

Polish Movie Night - "Seksmisja", December 2015 - Berkeley, CA

TOP 500 meeting, October 2015 - Berkeley, CA

Meeting in Cafe Prague, September 2015 - SF, CA

BBQ, July 2015 - Berkeley, CA

Shoot us an email at polishclubofberkeley@gmail.com
Check out our Facebook page
You can find photos from our activities Instagram page
Or connect with us on Linkedin page

The Application to the Leadership Academy for Poland 2020 has Started!



The application process to the Leadership Academy for Poland 2020 begins! The Academy carried out under the wings of the Center for Leadership, is one of the best-rated leadership development programs in Europe, implemented in cooperation with educators from the best educational institutions in the world - including Harvard University. We are the nominating partner and we have the right to recommend chosen participants.

Apply to # LAP20

Applications dates: 14.04. - 04.05.2020.

The program is open to people who already have wide management experience, have developed in their positions, but are still looking for opportunities for growth and support to positively impact their environment. Each year, the Academy brings together 40 outstanding people from various backgrounds and sectors: business, non-profit, startups, culture, media, education, public administration, and sport.

LAP is a comprehensive 4-month practical educational program with an annual active support within the Alumni Network. As the Academy's Official Nominating Partner, we support its operation by recommending the best candidates. Usually, for one place apply over 15 candidates. Contact us for more information about the nomination and our support in this process. More information about Leadership Academy for Poland and the application process can be found: here.

The Application to the Fourth Edition of the Leadership Academy for Poland has Started!



The application process to the one of the best leadership development programs in Europe created in cooperation with Harvard University professors. Application process will be open until May 20.

The Academy is a comprehensive 4-month educational program and one-year support after the graduation within Alumni Network.

Candidates aged 25-45, who have already built their leadership positions, but they are still looking for opportunities for development and new ways of influencing the environment may join the program. Candidates can come from various sectors, such as: business, non-profit, public administration, media, culture, startups and sports).

As a nominating Partner of Leadership Academy for Poland, we have an opportunity to nominate candidates. Therefore if you are interested in applying and you would like to get our support in the recruitment process, please contact us.

More informations about the Leadership Academy for Poland and recruitment process can be found under this link.

(11/11/18)

Polish Club of Berkeley was a proud co-organizer of the biggest celebration of the 100th anniversary of Polish Independence in the Bay Area. Close to 200 attendees gathered at Crissy Field in San Francisco to celebrate this unique day. We've handed out 100 flags and Poland promo booklets by Poland Travel during the event. More information about the event and full-resolution photos can be found on the event website.



(10/04/18)

UC Berkeley and BERC hosted the 4th annual Smogathon highlighting the latest innovative air pollution solutions. The event was first launched in 2015 in Poland as a hackathon and has since evolved into an international competition with hundreds of applications featuring real strategies designed to improve air quality and reduce smog. For more, read here.



(05/17/18)

The Application to the Third Edition of the Leadership Academy for Poland Starts Soon !



On May 14th starts the application process to the one of the best leadership development programs in Europe created in cooperation with Harvard University professors. Application process will be open until the end of May.

The Academy is a comprehensive 4-month educational program and one-year support after the graduation within Alumni Network.

Candidates aged 25-45, who have already built their leadership positions, but they are still looking for opportunities for development and new ways of influencing the environment may join the program. Candidates can come from various sectors, such as: business, non-profit, public administration, media, culture, startups and sports).

As a nominating Partner of Leadership Academy for Poland, we have an opportunity to nominate candidates. Therefore if you are interested in applying and you would like to get our support in the recruitment process, please contact us.

More informations about the Leadership Academy for Poland and recruitment process can be found under this link.

(04/14/18)

On the April 14th, Polish Club of Berkeley visited the house that Czesław Miłosz was living in while at Berkeley. We were very honored to talk to Mark Danner and Bob Haas. Bob spent about 20 years translating Czesław Miłosz. Bob also served as Poet Laureate of the United States from 1995 to 1997, won the 2007 National Book Award, and shared the 2008 Pulitzer Prize.



(12/04/17)

Bronislaw Komorowski is giving a public lecture on Monday, December 4, at 4pm in 220 Stephens Hall.
More info.



(10/03/17)

Join us on October 3 at 6:30PM at the Banatao Auditorium in Berkeley for the U.S. Smogathon Global Semi-Final. See some of the best teams pitch their solutions to indoor and outdoor air pollution in front of experts with technical, scientific, business, and VC backgrounds. Get your free ticket before they run out!

Each of 8 teams will get exactly 5 minutes to present their project. The top 2 innovations chosen by the panel of judges will participate in the final in Krakow, Poland – which also means a chance to win $100,000! Come to support your favorite projects, see who proceeds to the final, and network with some great people that care about getting rid of air pollution. Opening reception with food begins at 6:30PM followed by presentations at 7PM.

What is Smogathon?
It is an initiative aiming to fight air pollution through technology. The goal is to get startups from all over the world to compete for $25,000 in cash and $75,000 as a contract to implement their idea in Krakow to find the best solutions to eliminate smog in Krakow and other urban areas. Find out more at www.smogathon.com. Semi-finals will be hosted in Berkeley, London, Warsaw, Bangalore, and Hong Kong. Two projects will be selected from each semi-final to attend the final in Krakow, Poland.

Who will be pitching?
Artveoli from Stanford
Air Cool Africa from Uganda
I-Fourth from Colombia
Wynd from MIT/California
Activated White from Canada
Leaf@NERSC from Berkeley
O2O2 from New Zealand
Speck from Carnegie-Mellon




(08/28/17)

Polish Club of Berkeley was invited to a meeting with the Under-Secretary of State Piotr Dardziński from the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education. The event, hosted by SRI International, presented upcoming reforms of the higher education and encouraged scientists to collaborate with Poland as well as to apply for funding. If you'd like to hear more about these opportunities and funding agencies like the National Center for Research and Development, let us know. You can check out the photos from the event in our gallery.

(08/08/17)

Polish Club of Berkeley is excited to participate in hosting the semi-final of Smogathon on October 3 - a worldwide competition for projects that have the potential to fight air pollution with innovative science and technology. The semi-finals will be taking place around the world throughout October and November but the idea originates in Krakow, Poland, and that's where the final will be. Semi-finals winners will fly to Krakow for a chance to compete for the $100,000 grand prize at the Global Clean Air Summit. Application deadline is August 15 so share the news before then!



(06/04/17)

Leadership Academy opened its application process and you can apply through the special link.

(04/27/17) (Updated: 05/28/17)

Our partners from Leadership Academy for Poland - one world’s the best leadership development programs - open the application process to the 2017 edition of the Leadership Academy for Poland on June 1st and it will last for nearly three weeks ending on June 20th.

Every year Academy offers up to 40 need-and-merit based fellowships for outstanding mid-career professionals, with high leadership potential and commitment to social change, from different sectors such as: non-profit, business, academia, public administration, startups, media, culture and sports.

More comprehensive information by Prof. Cezary Wójcik can be found on the Academy's facebook page.

(11/19/16)

The Big Game is this weekend and we want to continue the tradition of bringing Berkeley and Stanford Polish Clubs together.
The game will start at 2:30pm and we'll have it on the screen. For those not interested in American football, we promise good company, and plenty of food and beverages.
Feel free to invite more people to the event (especially Stanford folks)!

If you don't want to contribute any snacks or alcohol, we would appreciate if you could support the event with $5. Zapraszamy!

(09/14/16)

Our Polish Speaking Hours are back! Kasia and Chris will organize them every other Tuesday from 8 to 9PM at Cafe Strada. We're starting next week: September 20. Join us if you want to improve your Polish, help others learn it, or simply to hang out! All language levels are welcome.

(09/03/16)

Prof. Steven Kovacs from the San Francisco State University organizes weekly (Wednesdays at 7:00 PM) screenings of Polish cinema. His class is open to the public and it's a great opportunity to learn about Polish movies! Reach Steven at email: stevkov(at)aol.com. The syllabus can be found here.

We are proud partners of Leadership Academy for Poland

Our friends in Bay Area and beyond:
Polish American Engineers Club of Silicon Valley
Stanford Polish Student Association
Top 500 Innovators
Yacht Club of Poland San Francisco
PLUGin Polish Innovation Diaspora

SUPPORTERS

Contact us if you'd like to become our supporter!