POLITECHNIKA RZESZOWSKA IM IGNACEGO LUKASIEWICZA PRZ

Their core work

Rzeszów University of Technology (PRZ) is a Polish technical university contributing to European aviation research, specifically in air traffic management systems and integrated aircraft technology demonstrators. Their H2020 work spans SESAR (Single European Sky ATM Research) and Clean Sky 2 programmes, where they support the development of trajectory-based air navigation, controller separation tools, and aircraft systems integration. Located in Rzeszów — the heart of Poland's "Aviation Valley" aerospace cluster — PRZ brings academic aerospace engineering expertise to large-scale EU aviation initiatives.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

PRZ entered H2020 in 2014 through Clean Sky 2 aircraft systems work and SESAR air traffic management projects running in parallel. Their early involvement was largely as a third party in SESAR projects (PJ06, PJ10), suggesting a supporting or subcontracted role. By 2020, they secured a direct participant role in GAM-2020-SYS with their largest individual funding (EUR 251,673), indicating growing recognition and a deeper commitment to aircraft systems integration.

PRZ is consolidating around Clean Sky 2 aircraft systems work with increasing funding and a shift from third-party to direct participant roles, suggesting they are building toward stronger ownership of aviation systems R&D contributions.

How they like to work

PRZ has never coordinated an H2020 project and participates primarily as a contributor within very large aviation consortia — their 121 unique partners across 24 countries reflect the massive SESAR and Clean Sky 2 joint undertakings rather than individually curated partnerships. Half their projects are as third parties (subcontracted through other partners), which is typical for universities entering large institutional programmes. This suggests PRZ is a reliable technical contributor that can be embedded into major consortia without friction.

PRZ has worked with 121 partners across 24 countries, but this breadth comes from participation in SESAR and Clean Sky 2 mega-consortia rather than from individually cultivated relationships. Their direct collaboration footprint is modest.

What sets them apart

PRZ sits in Rzeszów, the centre of Poland's Aviation Valley — one of Europe's densest aerospace manufacturing clusters, home to companies like Pratt & Whitney Rzeszów and numerous aviation SMEs. This gives PRZ direct access to industry testing infrastructure and aerospace talent that many Western European universities lack at comparable cost. For consortium builders needing a Polish aviation partner with both academic rigour and proximity to aerospace manufacturing, PRZ is a natural choice.

Highlights from their portfolio

• GAM-2020-SYS
  Their largest funded project (EUR 251,673) and most recent, showing progression from third-party to direct participant in Clean Sky 2 Systems ITD.
• PJ06 ToBeFREE
  SESAR project on trajectory-based free routing — a key building block of Europe's future air traffic management system.