referat

Referat is a noun used in several European languages, most notably German and Polish, with two primary senses: a spoken or written report on a specific topic, and a formal organizational unit within a government or institution.

In German, the word has two main meanings. First, a Referat can be a concise oral presentation accompanied by a written report, commonly assigned to students in schools or to staff in universities and training programs. The assignment typically involves researching sources, summarizing key points, and presenting findings to an audience. Second, in administrative use, a Referat is a unit or division within a ministry, agency, or larger organization, responsible for a particular topic such as finance, culture, or education. The head of such a unit is called a Referatsleiter, and its work often includes drafting policy notes and coordinating activities.

In Polish, refers to a short scholarly paper or essay, often part of a larger assignment or a standalone report for seminars and exams. In Russian and other Slavic languages, the cognate реферат similarly denotes a summarized report or a short research paper used in educational settings.

The term is used across academic and administrative contexts and can vary by country and institution in both formality and length. While related, the educational referat and the administrative referat differ in function: one is a pedagogical output or presentation, the other an organizational unit within government or a company.