- GPW’s flagship educational programme celebrates it 20th anniversary
- Nearly 25 thousand participants have completed a total of 874 courses focusing on the exchange and the capital market in those two decades
- The success of the programme has been possible thanks to long-time support of universities across Poland
The first courses of the Exchange School, an educational programme of the Warsaw Stock Exchange (GPW), opened 20 years ago. They took place with the support of the University of Economics in Wrocław and Kraków. Today, the Exchange School organised by the GPW Foundation works in partnership with more than a dozen universities in Poland. Each training course attracts many participants willing to gain a better understanding of the exchange and the capital market. The Exchange has hosted a gala celebrating the anniversary for all those involved over the years in the Exchange School project. A special event during the gala was a panel discussion featuring Wiesław Rozłucki, the first President of GPW and founder of the Exchange School, and Marek Dietl, President of GPW.
“I understood from the very beginning of the Warsaw Stock Exchange that successful development of the capital market hinges on social acceptance, which in turn is a function of knowledge. We wanted the Exchange School to present economic education accessible to everyone in ways similar to its predecessor, the French L'ECOLE DE LA BOURSE operated by the Paris Stock Exchange. Education is an important part of the mission of the Warsaw Stock Exchange, which has provided general education in economics for nearly three decades. I cannot imagine the exchange without social acceptance, which depends on education,” said Wiesław Rozłucki, former President of GPW.
The Exchange School is addressed to people of all ages at all levels of education. The biggest group of participants are the age group from 18 to 25 years (45%) followed by the age group from 26 to 35 years (31%), of whom 75% are beginners on the exchange.
“Our mission is not only to educate next generations of investors on the exchange but mainly to improve economic knowledge of the general public. That knowledge is crucial in our daily lives even if we do not know it. We have trained nearly 25 thousand participants in the last 20 years. We have offered 874 training courses with the support of more than a dozen universities. These are excellent numbers. I am certain that our Exchange School not only promotes financial education but also raises awareness of the general public and educates informed investors by demonstrating the importance of the exchange and the capital market in the economy. Our lecturers introduce prospective investors to the stock and bond market as well as derivatives. The Warsaw Stock Exchange offers financial instruments which are most popular on the global markets, including ETFs which are the simplest and least expensive form of access to leading indices in Poland and globally,” said Marek Dietl, President of GPW.
The Exchange School provides education in the basics of investing, as well as additional training to professionals. Courses offered by the Foundation take place in different cities in Poland. The Exchange School offers the “101 of Investing Course” (basic level) and the “Exchange for the Advanced Course” (intermediate advanced level).
“According to research compiled by the GPW Foundation, only 8% of Poles consider their financial knowledge to be good or very good. We feel responsible for introducing them to the capital market and responsible investing on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. The GPW Foundation’s Exchange School project supports that process. We are proud that the Exchange School initiative, founded 20 years ago, still finds a receptive audience,” said Anna Salamończyk- Mochel, President of the GPW Foundation.
Each course offers 14 hours of training comprised of five lectures. Exchange School lecturers are capital market experts and practitioners who share their expertise and experience with course participants in an accessible format.
Exchange School courses take place on weekends. Course participants are certified. The Exchange School lectures have been developed by Polish capital market experts based on courses offered by L'ECOLE DE LA BOURSE operated by the Paris Stock Exchange.
