First Year at University in Katowice: How to Survive & Adapt
The first weeks of studying in Katowice may seem intense, but the capital of Silesia is one of the most compact and friendly academic cities in Poland. The key to rapid adaptation in the academic year 2026/2027 is to master the integrated transport system of the GZM Metropolis, efficiently go through the bureaucracy of the dean’s offices and learn about the topography of the campuses of the University of Silesia (UŚ), the University of Economics (UEKat), the Medical University of Silesia (ŚUM) and the Silesian University of Technology.
Here is a complete, local guide that will guide you step by step through the challenges of the first year – from the fight for points in USOS, through cheap lunches and quiet places to study, to the nightlife on Mariacka Street.
October First-Year Checklist – Start With This
The turn of September and October is a time of formalities. Completing the following points in the first week will save you unnecessary stress.
1. Electronic Student ID (ELS)
This is your most important document. You can pick it up at the dean’s office of your faculty after presenting your identity card and proof of payment (22 PLN). ELS gives you:
The right to a 50% discount on public transport (ZTM) and a 51% discount on trains (Koleje Śląskie/PKP Intercity).
The function of the library card in CINiBA.
Access to discounts in restaurants, theaters and city swimming pools.
2. Logging in to USOS / My University and academic email
Universities in Katowice communicate with students only through official e-mail addresses in the university’s domain (e.g. @us.edu.pl, @uekat.edu.pl, @sum.edu.pl). Ignoring emails from a lecturer sent to USOS is the most common reason for failing the first organizational colloquia.
Logistics and movement around Katowice and the Metropolis (ZTM, Trains, Metrorower)
Katowice is the heart of the Metropolis of Upper Silesia and Zagłębie (GZM). All public transport is handled by ZTM (Metropolitan Transport Authority), which means that you can travel around Katowice, Sosnowiec, Chorzów, Gliwice and 37 other cities on one ticket.
1. GZM Transport and Metrobilet application
Forget about paper tickets. Download the GZM Transport app.
Metrobilet Student: The most cost-effective option for the whole month. By purchasing a Student Metrobilet (approx. PLN 70–110 per month with a 50% discount), you can travel without limit on all ZTM buses, trams and trolleybuses and Silesian Railways trains in the Metropolis.
Verification of the relief: After logging in to the application for the first time, you must confirm your entitlement to the student relief once (upload a photo of the ELS or go to the ZTM Passenger Service Point at the Main Station).
2. Patent for commuting from Ligota (For students of ŚUM)
If you study in Ligota (Medyków Street) and live in the center: do not take the bus during rush hours (7:30 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.). Mikołowska Street is in a huge traffic jam.
Main hack: Go to the Katowice Ligota train station and get on any train of Koleje Śląskie. The ride to Katowice Główny station takes exactly 6 minutes.
3. Metrobike
In Katowice, there is an integrated system of city bikes (Metrorower). With a season ticket in the Transport GZM application, you are entitled to a free 60-minute city bike ride every day! You will find stations under all campuses (Bankowa, 1 Maja Street, Medyków Street, Krasińskiego Street).
Academic Survival – USOS, Dean’s Office and CINiBA
How to win a battle in USOS (Registration for classes)?
Token registration for physical education, language courses or electives is an annual extreme sport.
Rule 1: Log in to USOS 15 minutes before the registration opens. Sync your watch on your phone with server time.
Rule 2: Don’t refresh the page multiple times (F5) at the last second – the server will treat you as a DDOS attack and block your IP.
Rule 3: Have a reserve list of groups and hours ready – the best dates (e.g. PE in the middle of the day) disappear in 3 seconds.
CINiBA – Your main base for learning
The Scientific Information Centre and Academic Library (CINiBA) at 11a Bankowa Street is a joint library of the University of Silesia and UEKat, open to all students of Katowice.
You don’t have to order books from a librarian – you enter the Free Access Zone, take a textbook from the shelf and sit down at a free stand with an outlet and fast Wi-Fi (eduroam).
Remember: There is absolute silence in the open zone. For group conversations, there are specially designated rooms for shared work.
Student basket and cheap food in Katowice
You don’t have to cook every day or spend a fortune on food ordering apps. Katowice’s student gastronomy has its cult points.
Top 5 places for a cheap and good dinner:
- Milk Bar Europe (Mickiewicza Street): The legend of the city center. Delicious, fresh, two-course home-made dinners within 20-25 PLN.
- Kącik Bar (Powstańców Street): Located on the south side of the tracks, close to the faculties of the University of Silesia and the Academy of Fine Arts.
- UEKat Canteen (1 Maja Street Campus): Food by weight with a student discount – you pay exactly what you put on your plate.
- Plac Miarki (Śródmieście): The main city market. Stop by here in the morning for fresh vegetables, fruits, cheese and bread directly from local suppliers – prices are 30% lower than in Biedronka.
- Zapiekanki przy Stawowa: A quick, hot snack for the burdensome hunger between lectures in the heart of the promenade.
Life after lectures – Where to spend your free time?
Katowice is a city with two faces: post-industrial and entertaining, and surprisingly green.
1. Mariacka Street – A center of student nightlife
Mariacka is a pedestrian street closed to traffic full of pubs, shot-bars and restaurants. On Thursday and Friday evenings, you will meet students from all Katowice universities.
Alternative: Francuska and Warszawska Streets, if you are looking for quieter craft pubs, board games or atmospheric cafes.
2. Culture Zone – The Post-Industrial Heart of the City
Located 5 minutes from the Spodek. It includes:
Silesian Museum: Built on the site of the former KWK Katowice Mine (most of the galleries are underground). On Wednesdays, admission to the permanent exhibitions is free!
NOSPR: One of the best concert halls in the world. Follow the so-called “student tickets” sold for a symbolic amount 45 minutes before selected concerts.
3. The Valley of Three Ponds (3 Ponds) and the Silesian Park
Valley of Three Ponds: Muchowiec district (15 minutes from the center). Kilometers of asphalt skating tracks, a canoe marina and the iconic Sztauwajery summer containers.
A huge city park on the border of Katowice and Chorzów (access by tram along Chorzowska Street). Here you will find the ZOO, the Planetarium and the “Elka” cable car.
Health and medical formalities – Be wise before harm
Moving to another city means that you have to secure medical care. Do this in October, before you catch your first autumn cold.
Registration with a primary care physician (NFZ)
You can keep your doctor in your hometown, but it is much more convenient to submit a declaration to a primary care clinic in Katowice (submitting a declaration at a new clinic automatically deregisters you from the old one).
Student-friendly clinics:
NZOZ Academic Medical Center (Ligota, Medyków Street): An excellent point for ŚUM students and residents of dormitories.
Graniczna Medical Center (Graniczna Street): Close to the Paderewskie Estate and the campuses of the University of Silesia/Poland.
Night and Christmas Healthcare: It operates from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m. and on non-working days (e.g. the Hospital of the Ministry of Interior and Administration at 10 Głowackiego Street).
Scientific Clubs and Student Organizations – How to build an advantage on the labor market from the first year?
Involvement in non-scientific activities already in the first year of studies is the fastest way to get paid internships in Katowice’s business centers (. KTW, Global Office Park, Face2Face). Employers in the region pay more attention to practical projects than to the grade point average itself.
Key Players at Katowice universities:
AIESEC Katowice (Headquarters at UEKat): An organization that enables the management of international projects, foreign volunteering trips and direct contact with recruiters of corporations from the BPO/SSC sector.
Independent Students’ Association (NZS UŚ / UEKat): It is famous for organizing nationwide campaigns (e.g. Wampiriada – student blood donation) as well as training in labor law and event management.
Student Self-Governments: Responsible for the organization of Silesian Juwenalia, Otrzęsiny and representing students before the university authorities. Joining a cultural or promotional committee in the first year gives a real impact on the budget of events.
Scientific Clubs: Each university has several dozen thematic clubs (from financial law at the University of Silesia, through data analytics clubs at UEKat, to gamedev and climbing clubs).
First Exam Session – Survival Strategy (Kindergartens, Conditions, ECTS)
The winter exam session (late January and early February) is the first serious verifier. The study system is different from high school, and the key to success is mastering academic jargon and credit rules.
1. What are “Kindergartens”?
Exams on the so-called zero date take place at the last lectures in January, before the official start of the session.
Why is it worth taking kindergartens? If you pass – you have a free session. If you fail – in most cases, an unsatisfactory grade is not included in the protocol, and you retain the full right to take the first term in the main session.
2. ECTS system and Conditional Entry (“Condition”)
Each subject in the study is assigned a weight in the form of ECTS (European Credit Transfer System) credits. To pass the year, you need to earn 60 ECTS credits (30 per semester).
Acceptable credit deficit: If you fail one subject (e.g. for 4 ECTS), the university allows you to move on to the next semester on the condition that you submit an application for conditional enrolment.
Cost of condition: Conditional entry is paid. In the academic year 2026/2027, the cost of repeating an unpassed course at Katowice universities is on average PLN 80 – 130 for each ECTS point of a given course (e.g. a course for 4 ECTS = cost of approx. PLN 320–520).
Culture and Studio Cinemas Sector – Where to spend your evenings cheaply?
Katowice is not only commercial cinemas in shopping malls. The city has one of the most interesting studio cinema chains in Poland (Silesia Film Institution), offering student tickets at very low prices.
Cultural gems for the student:
Rialto Cinema (24 Św. Jana Street): Located 2 minutes from the Railway Station. A unique interior with tables and a balcony where you can drink coffee or craft beer during the screening.
Kosmos Cinema (66 Sokolska Street, Koszutka): The headquarters of the film tape. It organizes cheap student Mondays and Wednesdays (tickets for PLN 14–16) and screenings of cinema classics combined with lectures by researchers from the University of Silesia.
St. Wyspiański Silesian Theatre (Market Square): All you have to do is go to the box office 30 minutes before the performance and ask for student tickets (available for free seats at a fraction of the price of standard tickets).
Casual work in the first year – How to reconcile finances with studies?
Combining full-time studies with a first-year job requires choosing flexible employment.
Student Status and Mandate Agreement (Gross = Net)
Persons up to the age of 26 who have student status are exempt from social security contributions and income tax (PIT for young people). This means that your gross rate on the mandate contract is exactly the amount you receive “on hand” (net).
Where to look for flexible employment in Katowice?
- Event Agencies (ICC and Spodek Staff): Work on recruitment and handling of major events (economic conferences, volleyball matches, Intel Extreme Masters). You select specific days in the graphics app.
- Gastronomy on Mariacka and Francuska Streets: A large turnover of bartender, waiter and auxiliary positions, the possibility of working in evenings and weekends.
- “Katowice for Education” program: Municipal paid internship programs in the Katowice City Hall and municipal units, dedicated to students of Katowice universities.
Frequently Asked Questions of First-Year Students
What to do if the USOS system crashes during registration for classes?
Don’t panic and don’t refresh the page all the time. Open USOS in a new tab in incognito mode. If you do not manage to sign up for the selected date, send an official application via USOSweb to the Vice-Dean for Student Affairs within 24 hours with a request to be added to the group due to a conflict in the timetable.
Do students in Katowice pay for parking in front of the university?
Most of the area around the campuses of the University of Silesia, UEKat and the University of Technology is located in the Paid Parking Zone (Zone A or B). Without a Katowice Resident Card (requiring a temporary registration), parking is paid for each hour. It is definitely more profitable to use ZTM transport or a city bike.
When does the Silesian Juwenalia take place?
Silesian Juwenalia is one of the largest student events in Poland, organized jointly by Katowice universities. They usually take place at the end of May in the Forest Park in Muchowiec (Valley of Three Ponds).
Can a first-year student apply for a social or academic scholarship?
Yes. The social scholarship is awarded on the basis of income per person in the family (applications should be submitted by 15–20 October). The Rector’s scholarship for the best students in the first year of first-cycle studies is awarded to outstanding high school graduates (laureates and finalists of national olympiads).
How do I get from Katowice to Katowice Airport?
From the Court Station and Katowice Główny station, there are direct, fast buses of Metroline M19 and AP, as well as trains of Koleje Śląskie on the route Katowice – Pyrzowice Airport (travel time by train is approx. 45 minutes).
The first year in Katowice is a time of intensive development, new acquaintances and discovering the metropolis, which offers great opportunities. Install the Transport GZM application, get a card for CINiBA and take advantage of what the capital of Silesia has to offer!