On 6 November 2026, the Bratislava University of Economics and Business conferred the honorary degree Doctor honoris causa upon Prof. dr hab. Józef Pociecha of the Cracow University of Economics. He is one of the most distinguished figures in Polish statistics, econometrics and quantitative methods. The degree was conferred at a ceremonial meeting of the Scientific Council of the Bratislava University of Economics and Business, joined by the Scientific Council of the Faculty of Economic Informatics, in the University Auditorium.
The degree recognises his scientific work, which spans more than five decades, and his exceptional contribution to the long-standing cooperation between the academic communities of Kraków and Bratislava. Prof. Pociecha is the 39th person to receive this honorary degree from the university.
In his address, Rector Prof. Ing. Ferdinand Daňo, PhD., noted that Prof. Pociecha’s name has been linked with cooperation between Kraków and Bratislava since the 1980s, particularly with the Faculty of Economic Informatics. “At a time when economic decision-making increasingly relies on data, models and their correct interpretation, we need personalities who combine methodological rigour with critical thinking, openness and a willingness to support younger generations,” the Rector emphasised.
Scholar, teacher and academic leader
Prof. Pociecha has spent his entire professional life at the Cracow University of Economics. There he progressed through every stage of an academic career and became Professor of Economic Sciences in 1997. He headed the Department of Demography for many years and later the Department of Statistics. He served as Dean of the Faculty of Commerce and of the Faculty of Management, and as Vice-Rector of the university from 1993 to 1999.
His research covers multivariate statistical analysis, demographic processes, econometric modelling, quantitative methods in auditing, corporate bankruptcy prediction and statistical learning methods. In recent years he has also focused on the philosophical and methodological foundations of statistical research. He is a member of the Committee on Statistics and Econometrics of the Polish Academy of Sciences. He also chairs the Commission of Economic Sciences and Statistics of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Kraków and the Commission of Economic Sciences of the Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences. His honours include the Bronze and Gold Crosses of Merit and the Knight’s Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta.
Three decades of cooperation with Bratislava
Prof. Pociecha has taken part in conferences organised by the Bratislava University of Economics and Business since the 1980s. After 1989 he played an important role in strengthening cooperation between the statistics departments in Kraków and Bratislava. This led to regular Slovak-Polish scientific seminars, which Ukrainian colleagues joined in 1996. In 2026 the seminar was held for the 32nd time. After the death of Prof. Aleksander Zeliaś, who received an honorary doctorate from our university in 2002, Prof. Pociecha carried on the tradition of scientific conferences in Zakopane. Since 2006 he has developed them into the Professor Aleksander Zeliaś International Conference on Modelling and Forecasting of Socio-Economic Phenomena.
A lecture on challenges for statisticians
After receiving the degree, Prof. Pociecha gave a lecture titled Stochasticity, Non-linearity and Non-parametricity of Socio-economic Processes – Current Challenges for Statisticians. He described statistics as a method of learning from experience and making decisions under uncertainty. In his view, every statistical or econometric model is only an approximation of the reality it studies. Socio-economic processes are also often disrupted by sudden changes and by human behaviour that is not always rational, so linear development is an exception rather than the rule. He sees non-parametric and statistical learning methods as an important step forward. However, he warned that these methods are sensitive to data quality, and the more complex they become, the harder they are to interpret.
In closing, he thanked the Rector and the Scientific Council of the university. He also thanked Prof. Mgr. Erik Šoltés, PhD., Dean of the Faculty of Economic Informatics, and Assoc. Prof. Ing. Mária Vojtková, PhD., Head of the Department of Statistics, who submitted the nomination. He gave special thanks to Assoc. Prof. Ing. Eva Sodomová, PhD., and Prof. RNDr. Viera Pacáková, PhD., for more than thirty years of cooperation. He said that he associates Slovakia with many firsts in his life. He spent his first night abroad in Poprad, and he presented his first scientific paper in English at a conference of the Bratislava University of Economics and Business. Now he has received his first honorary doctorate here as well.
The profile of Prof. Józef Pociecha and the full text of the ceremonial brochure are available here.
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