Student and youth organizations in Poland present a complementary case with a range of contrasting organizational types. The research includes both “jurisdictional” organizations in the form of university self-governments and civil organization. Some existing groups have also considered becoming “interest groups” analogous to labor unions and professional chambers.

One student group, the Association of Polish Students (ZSP), is the reincarnation of the official student organization under communism. A second important group, the Independent Students' Association (NZS), was formed in the 1980s to contest the authority of ZSP and to protest regime policies. It collaborated with Solidarity and helped coordinate mass protests at the end of the communist regime. Some of its leaders were included in the early roundtable discussions over the future of the country, and some have gone into politics. Other groups have no history of protest or collaboration and are oriented to professional development, often in alliance with the corresponding professional chambers.

These associations interact with the official student self-governments whose university-level leaders are elected and who claim to speak for the entire student community. The National Students' Parliament includes representatives from the university parliaments. Several student groups are trying to create an alternative nationwide structure modeled after the original Roundtables.

All the student organizations face tensions over funding similar to those the Hungarian environmental organizations face. Government provides programmatic funds, and the self-governments distribute public scholarship funds and run dormitories and cafeterias under agreement with the university.