Gdańsk University of Technology

The Gdańsk University of Technology (Gdańsk Tech, formerly GUT; Polish: Politechnika Gdańska) is a university of technology in the Wrzeszcz borough of Gdańsk, and one of the oldest universities in Poland. It has eight faculties with 41 fields of study and more than 18,000[3] undergraduates, as well as about 626[4] doctoral students. As of 2016, it employed 2,768 people, including 1,313 academic teachers.[5]

Gdańsk University of Technology
Politechnika Gdańska
Motto
"History is wisdom – the future is a challenge"
TypePublic
Established1904
RectorKrzysztof Wilde
Students14,439[1] (December 2023)
Undergraduates3000
Postgraduates1000
500
Address
Narutowicza 11/12
80–233 Gdańsk Wrzeszcz
, , ,
AffiliationsCESAER, Erasmus+, EUA
Websitewww.pg.edu.pl
University rankings
Regional – Overall
QS Emerging Europe and Central Asia[2]78 (2022)

The Gdańsk University of Technology has an international institutional accreditation, EUA-IEP (European University Association-Institutional Evaluation Programme).

History

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The university was founded in 1904 as Royal Institute of Technology in Gdańsk (Königliche Technische Hochschule zu Danzig), which was part of the German Empire. The names of the city's educational institutions were affected by the changes in the Gdańsk city status.[6] The university was known by different names throughout different times:

  • 1918–1921: Technische Hochschule in Danzig (Wyższa Szkoła Techniczna w Gdańsku)
  • 1921–1939: Technische Hochschule der Freien Stadt Danzig (Wyższa Szkoła Techniczna Wolnego Miasta Gdańska)
  • 1939–1941: Technische Hochschule Danzig
  • 1941–1945: Reichshochschule Danzig

Following the takeover of the city by the Red Army, the Soviets arranged stables and barracks in other buildings.[7] The school was reorganized under the supervision of Stanisław Turski, a Polish mathematician and former inmate of German concentration camps.

The 110th anniversary ceremony was held on 6 October 2014.[8] The culmination point was the ceremony of conferring Robert Cava from Princeton University.[9] The main ceremony ended with the concert at the Polish Baltic Philharmonic. The symphony orchestra of PBP with the Gdańsk Tech and Poznań University of Technology choirs performed the oratorio Quo vadis by Feliks Nowowiejski. The next day, Gdańsk Tech organised a meeting with members of the European Federation of National Engineering Associations.[10]

The motto of the university, "History is wisdom – future is challenge", was adopted by the resolution of the Senate of Gdańsk University of Technology on 21 January 2015.

 
Main building in 1904

Location

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The Gdańsk University of Technology (Gdańsk Tech) is located in Gdańsk, situated at the mouth of the Vistula River on the Baltic Sea. The Main Campus is situated in the centre of old Wrzeszcz. The campus is located on Narutowicza Street.

Courses

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Some degree courses and various specialisations are taught in English. Students have access to laboratories. Undergraduates can also join one or more of 60 student science or language societies as well as other organisations.

Interior

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The main building, designed by Hermann Eggertt and Albert Carsten, was built between 1900 and 1904. The main building is the symbol of the university.[11] All the buildings were designed in the style of the Northern Renaissance with the elements of Art Nouveau. The images above the eastern side gate are a lighthouse and the tower of St. Mary's Church. The ornamental gutters are decorated with copper spouts in the shape of four male figures holding water monsters. The Clock Tower destroyed in 1945 was restored to the roof of the main building on 13 May 2012. The tower is 18 meters in height. The main building encloses inner courtyards that were covered by glass domes.

In 2012, the South Courtyard was officially renamed in honour of Johannes Hevelius. It is named after the French physicist who first performed a similar experiment at the Paris Pantheon in 1851. The Foucault pendulum is designed to show the rotation of the Earth on its axis. An electromagnet fixed at the point of suspension powers the movement of the pendulum. Reliefs in the window niches above the Foucault pendulum show the design of a reflective sundial (on the left) and a rotating map of the sky with a sextant.[12]

Faculties

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Faculty of Electronics, Telecommunications and Informatics

The university's faculties are:

  • Faculty of Architecture
  • Faculty of Electronics, Telecommunications and Informatics
  • Faculty of Electrical and Control Engineering
  • Faculty of Applied Physics and Mathematics
  • Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering
  • Faculty of Mechanical Engineering
  • Faculty of Ocean Engineering and Ship Technology
  • Faculty of Management and Economics

Chemical Faculty

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Student laboratory
 
Wooden fume hood at Gdańsk University of Technology

The Chemical Faculty was one of the four original faculties of 'Royal Technical College in Gdańsk'. The Chemical Institute (Chemisches Institut) building was one of the first built specially for Gdańsk University of Technology in 1900–1904.[13] In 1904, the laboratories in the Chemical Faculty at the Technical University in Gdańsk were equipped with wooden fume hoods.[14]

Chemical Faculty is one of five faculties that started operations research and teaching in 1945 as a result of the decree of the Polish government transforming technical universities acting in Gdańsk since 1904 into Polish Gdańsk University of Technology.[15]

At the faculty, there are projects that were financed by the Komitet Badań Naukowych (Science Research Council) and European Commission. At the faculty operates the Centre of Excellence in Environmental Analysis and Monitoring.[16] There are also research programmes financed by the European Commission within the framework of EU programmes V and VI.[17]

Academic Computer Centre

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The Academic Computer Centre in Gdańsk (CI TASK) has been operating since 1992 due to an agreement reached between the Tri-City's chief institutions of higher education. The initial plan was for it to primarily serve all schools of higher education as well as local branches of the Polish Academy of Sciences.[18]

Library

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The library has a collection of over a million volumes.[19] The library also stores publications in electronic form. The library has a total of 16 reading rooms. Gdańsk University of Technology has participated in the creation of the Universal Library.[20]

Notable alumni

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References

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  1. ^ "Higher education in the 2023/24 academic year" (in Polish). Statistics Poland. Retrieved 30 June 2024.
  2. ^ "QS World University Rankings-Emerging Europe & Central Asia". Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  3. ^ "Gdańsk University of Technology". 2018. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  4. ^ "Gdańsk University of Technology – General information". 2016. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  5. ^ "Gdańsk University of Technology – General information". 2016. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  6. ^ Andrzej, Januszajtis. "Outline of the history of Polytechnic until 1945". Gdańsk University of Technology. Retrieved 7 December 2024.
  7. ^ Józef Włodarski. "Technical University in Gdańsk in the years 1904–1945, official website of Gdańsk Technical University". Józef Włodarski. Archived from the original on 6 December 2007. Retrieved 25 November 2009.
  8. ^ "110th anniversary GUT – Honourable Committee". Retrieved 20 January 2017.
  9. ^ "Cava Granted Honorary Doctorate from Gdańsk University of Technology". Retrieved 20 January 2017.
  10. ^ "110th anniversary of the GUT – Programme". Retrieved 20 January 2017.
  11. ^ "Gdańsk University of Technology campus". Retrieved 26 January 2017.
  12. ^ http://pg.edu.pl/documents/10607/0/PROGRAM%20EUROPEJSKIEJ%20NOCY%20MUZE%C3%93W%20NA%20POLITECHNICE%20GDA%C5%83SKIEJ.pdf [bare URL PDF]
  13. ^ "History of the Chemical Faculty". chem.pg.edu.pl. Retrieved 1 September 2016.
  14. ^ John Buie (9 December 2011). "Evolution of fume hoods". Lab Manager. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  15. ^ "Wehikuł czasu na Politechnice Gdańskiej; Politechnika Gdańska, audytorium chemiczne, wydział chemiczny, wydział chemia, Gdańsk, Gdynia, Sopot". Trojmiasto.pl. 30 September 2010. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
  16. ^ "Centre of Excellence in Environmental Analysis and Monitoring at the Chemical Faculty of the Gdańsk University of Technology" (PDF). www.pjoes.com. 2 January 2004. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
  17. ^ "Faculty of Chemistry – General Information". chem.pg.edu.pl. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
  18. ^ "Academic Computer Centre in Gdansk". Retrieved 20 January 2017.
  19. ^ "The Library of Gdansk University of Technology". Retrieved 20 January 2017.
  20. ^ "Partners Pomerania Digital Library". Retrieved 20 January 2017.
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54°22′17″N 18°37′8″E / 54.37139°N 18.61889°E / 54.37139; 18.61889