Hello, my dear friends, welcome to another fireside chat with the scholarship holders of my foundation. Today we have Paweł Bolek, a scholarship holder since 2025. Hi, Paweł.
Listen, I will traditionally introduce you first, and Paweł will say what I forgot or didn't. Listen, starting in August, Master's studies in economics at Columbia University, Bachelor's in economics in Paris, Sciences Po, exchange at the University of Michigan, intern at the Chancellery of the Prime Minister (regulatory impact assessment), and earlier at the American Chamber of Commerce in Poland and CASE, co-author of analyses for the World Bank regarding the use of identification systems in the Philippines. Oh, I already know what I'm going to ask you about. He is socially engaged, especially with younger students and people in more difficult situations. Distinguished volunteer at Auschwitz-Birkenau. Bravo. He comes from a large family, from my hometown. He spent part of his life in Ireland. Did I forget anything?
That's probably all the most important stuff.
The most important. How much of your life did you spend in Ireland?
11 years. So this year hits 50% of my life.
Wow. And you came back to Poland with your family?
Yes, when I was 14, in 2018.
Poland, although Ireland is—Ireland is beautiful, but my heart is ultimately in Poland.
Great. Paweł, why economics?
I actually encountered economics at the very beginning of my studies, because I started in interdisciplinary studies. In my high school in Poland, in Chrzanów, there was no subject like economics. I didn't even know what it really was. However, there were mandatory micro and macroeconomics classes there, and I realized that it is something I am really good at, something I enjoy very much, and what I understand on an intuitive level and something I can translate into my own reality. And that theory can also contribute to really improving the lives of other people as well.
So, I assume that education in this field is because you would like to solve problems at a theoretical level regarding economic challenges, right? So, not your own business, but rather the macroeconomic area, more macro, more the economic development of Poland and Central and Eastern Europe. Tell me, what was the analysis for the World Bank regarding the use of the identification system in the Philippines about?
That is a very interesting topic. It was at the University of Michigan, as part of classes with a professor who is a consultant for the World Bank; I had the opportunity to prepare a report with other fellow students on what the economic impacts of implementation—that is, introducing a state ID system in the Philippines—were, because previously there wasn't, there wasn't. It wasn't there, things were very fragmented; someone had a driver's license and brought it to the bank, someone had a passport, someone brought another document, and there wasn't one single document accepted everywhere.
Yes. And this analysis aimed to see who obtains such a document and why certain segments of society don't have one—are these socioeconomic or demographic barriers, or are they more financial or distance-related barriers? And ultimately, the report found, after we conducted linear regressions, that the most important factor was simply the cost and distance of obtaining such an ID at the office. In a country that is still developing. Such costs are, well, not insignificant, especially if you have to travel from a small island to a larger one.
Yes. Tell me, what is the life goal you would like to achieve? Is it, I don't know, would you like to become a Polish executive director at the World Bank? Did you wa—oh, I hit the mark. Yes.
Yes, exactly. That is a dream that appeared when I had an interview for an American university, and that interview was with the World Bank director for Poland and the Baltic countries. And it inspired me so much, because—
Why that? Because it's about economic development in our region, and it's also about representing Poland in such an international organization. I feel that we often still lack soft power and a Polish voice in such international institutions. And I think that as an individual, as a Pole, a patriot who grew up abroad, I feel I have a slightly different perspective on how to present Poland abroad so it's understandable to people, at least in this Western cultural circle.
That is a very cool ambition, and I agree with you that the issue of soft power is, unfortunately, something we don't yet know how to play at a world-class level, although we are learning very quickly. We are learning. Tell me, what advice would you have for young people from less affluent families, often from small towns, who have ambition and want to study at the best universities in the world but feel they don't have the foundation to do so, even though they are very talented?
Um, yes, that is certainly a very difficult thing because, we often lack that capital—not just economic, but also social and cultural. My parents didn't graduate from university, so they couldn't really help me much on that path. And to such people, I can only say: use the internet, use all those resources that are available there. That's what pushed me toward studying abroad, toward academic development. All the conferences and competitions available there. That was crucial for me, and I think that, for example, without the internet, I wouldn't have had access to those.
And why did you apply to our foundation?
