Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun
Encyclopedia
Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń is located in Toruń
, Poland
. It was named after Nicolaus Copernicus
who was born in this town in 1473.
The establishment of the university in a modern form began in the nineteenth century. During the partitions of Poland
the Prussian government planned to create a University of Theology, which was to include faculties of law and economics, unfortunately this project did not materialise.
In the interwar period the city authorities of Toruń again sought to establish a university. Soon after the annexation of Pomerania to the reborn Poland in 1920, a new phase of efforts to develop the university began. Even before 1920 the Supreme People's Council had considered the proposal to establish higher educational institutions in the Polish territories annexed by Prussia at the University of Gdansk and in Toruń. However, political developments and the uncertain future of Pomerania prompted the council's leadership to accept the December 1918 resolution of the Sejm to overlook Toruń as a location for a new university and instead go ahead with the development of a university in Poznań
.
In 1920, the first declaration requesting the establishment of a university was put forward in November by the National Workers Party whose members chose Toruń-born Nicolaus Copernicus
to be the patron of the University. For this purpose a number of educational societies, such as the Baltic Institute
(later transferred to Gdynia, and then to Gdańsk
) amongst others, were established in the town.
Finally in 1938 it was decided to set up the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń as a subsidiary of Poznań's Adam Mickiewicz University; work was to start at the beginning of 1940. This program, however, was interrupted by World War II. It was not until 1947, (two years after the creation of the Nicolaus Copernicus University) that prof. Karol Gorski revealed that before the outbreak of World War II there was an approved plan to open Poznań University long-distance division in Toruń in 1940, to teach the humanities and theology.
Torun
Toruń is an ancient city in northern Poland, on the Vistula River. Its population is more than 205,934 as of June 2009. Toruń is one of the oldest cities in Poland. The medieval old town of Toruń is the birthplace of the astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus....
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
. It was named after Nicolaus Copernicus
Nicolaus Copernicus
Nicolaus Copernicus was a Renaissance astronomer and the first person to formulate a comprehensive heliocentric cosmology which displaced the Earth from the center of the universe....
who was born in this town in 1473.
The beginnings of higher education in Toruń
The first institution of higher education in Torun, the Toruń Academic Gymnasium was founded in 1568 on Piekary street. It was one of the first universities in northern Poland. The Academic Gymnasium was the precursor to scientific and cultural life (including the first museum created in 1594) in the region. Thanks to the efforts of Heinrich Stroband, city mayor in 1594, academics in Toruń received good working conditions for teaching and research. Among his professors in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries were meritorious scholars of Polish and Prussian history, authors of textbooks and papers from various disciplines of humanities, and associates scientific journals.The establishment of the university in a modern form began in the nineteenth century. During the partitions of Poland
Partitions of Poland
The Partitions of Poland or Partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth took place in the second half of the 18th century and ended the existence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, resulting in the elimination of sovereign Poland for 123 years...
the Prussian government planned to create a University of Theology, which was to include faculties of law and economics, unfortunately this project did not materialise.
In the interwar period the city authorities of Toruń again sought to establish a university. Soon after the annexation of Pomerania to the reborn Poland in 1920, a new phase of efforts to develop the university began. Even before 1920 the Supreme People's Council had considered the proposal to establish higher educational institutions in the Polish territories annexed by Prussia at the University of Gdansk and in Toruń. However, political developments and the uncertain future of Pomerania prompted the council's leadership to accept the December 1918 resolution of the Sejm to overlook Toruń as a location for a new university and instead go ahead with the development of a university in Poznań
Poznan
Poznań is a city on the Warta river in west-central Poland, with a population of 556,022 in June 2009. It is among the oldest cities in Poland, and was one of the most important centres in the early Polish state, whose first rulers were buried at Poznań's cathedral. It is sometimes claimed to be...
.
In 1920, the first declaration requesting the establishment of a university was put forward in November by the National Workers Party whose members chose Toruń-born Nicolaus Copernicus
Nicolaus Copernicus
Nicolaus Copernicus was a Renaissance astronomer and the first person to formulate a comprehensive heliocentric cosmology which displaced the Earth from the center of the universe....
to be the patron of the University. For this purpose a number of educational societies, such as the Baltic Institute
Baltic Institute
The Baltic Institute in Gdańsk is a scientific society researching the topics of the Baltic Sea countries, maritime economic issues, and Polish-German and Polish-Scandinavian relations.- History :...
(later transferred to Gdynia, and then to Gdańsk
Gdansk
Gdańsk is a Polish city on the Baltic coast, at the centre of the country's fourth-largest metropolitan area.The city lies on the southern edge of Gdańsk Bay , in a conurbation with the city of Gdynia, spa town of Sopot, and suburban communities, which together form a metropolitan area called the...
) amongst others, were established in the town.
Finally in 1938 it was decided to set up the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń as a subsidiary of Poznań's Adam Mickiewicz University; work was to start at the beginning of 1940. This program, however, was interrupted by World War II. It was not until 1947, (two years after the creation of the Nicolaus Copernicus University) that prof. Karol Gorski revealed that before the outbreak of World War II there was an approved plan to open Poznań University long-distance division in Toruń in 1940, to teach the humanities and theology.
School Authorities
- Rector: Prof. Andrzej Radzimiński
- Vice-Rector for Education: Prof. Danuta Janicka
- Vice-Rector for Research and International Relations: Prof. Andrzej Tretyn
- Vice-Rector for Students Affairs: Prof. Witold Wojdyło
- Vice-Rector for Economics and Development: Prof. Włodzimierz Karaszewski
- Vice-Rector for Collegium Medicum: Prof. Małgorzata Tafil-Klawe
- Vice-Rector for Computerisation: Prof. Grzegorz Jarzembski
- Director of Administration: Dr Paweł Modrzyński
Staff
| Staff / Year | 2003 | 2004 | 2006 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Professors | 373 | 475 | 485 | 497 | 474 | 485 |
| Habilitated doctors | 85 | 111 | 107 | 131 | 121 | 123 |
| Senior lecturers | 576 | 805 | 852 | 964 | 995 | 1,027 |
| Teachers (total) | 1,427 | 2,009 | 2,077 | 2,244 | 2,203 | 2,221 |
| Other staff | 1,663 | 2,102 | 2,059 | 2,180 | 2,149 | 2,119 |
| Total staff | 3,090 | 4,111 | 4,136 | 4,424 | 4,352 | 4,340 |
Number of students
| Students / Year | 2003 | 2004 | 2006 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full-time day students | 17,455 | 20,622 | 20,688 | 20,575 | 21,575 | 22,725 |
| Extramural students | 14,501 | 16,680 | 17,178 | 10,641 | 9,247 | 8,110 |
| Postgraduate students | 3,889 | 4,526 | 2,673 | 2,487 | 2,517 | 2,275 |
| Total | 35,845 | 41,828 | 40,539 | 33,703 | 33,339 | 33,110 |
Levels of study offered by institution
- Shorter/intermediate university level qualifications
- First main university level final qualifications
- Advanced/postgraduate study
- Doctorate
- Higher/post doctorate
Diplomas and degrees
- Licentiate (3 years undergraduate degree. Equivalent to Bachelor of ScienceBachelor of ScienceA Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
or Bachelor of Art) - Engineer (3 or 3.5 years technical degree. Equivalent to Bachelor of EngineeringBachelor of EngineeringThe Bachelor of Engineering is an undergraduate academic degree awarded to a student after three to five years of studying engineering at universities in Armenia, Australia, Bangladesh, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Denmark, Egypt, Finland , Germany, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Jordan, Korea,...
) - Magister (5 years degree equivalent to a course-based Masters programme)
- Ph.D. Degree
- Habilitated Doctor Degree.
International cooperation
- Universita degli Studi di Padova – Italy
- Universita degli Studi di Ferrara – Italy
- Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg – Germany
- Otto Friedrich Universität Bamberg, – Germany
- Universität Rostock – Germany
- Ernst Moritz Arndt Universität Greifswald – Germany
- Bundeswehr Universität München – Germany
- Université d’Angers – France
- The Nottingham Trent University – United Kingdom
- Dominican University – USA
- Cranfield UniversityCranfield UniversityCranfield University is a British postgraduate university based on two campuses, with a research-oriented focus. The main campus is at Cranfield, Bedfordshire and the second is the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom based at Shrivenham, Oxfordshire. The main campus is unique in the United...
– United Kingdom
Faculties
- Faculty of BiologyBiologyBiology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
and Earth Sciences - Faculty of ChemistryChemistryChemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
- Faculty of Economic Sciences and ManagementManagementManagement in all business and organizational activities is the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives using available resources efficiently and effectively...
- Faculty of EducationEducationEducation in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
Sciences - Faculty of Fine Arts
- Faculty of Health Sciences
- Faculty of HistoryHistoryHistory is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
- Faculty of HumanitiesHumanitiesThe humanities are academic disciplines that study the human condition, using methods that are primarily analytical, critical, or speculative, as distinguished from the mainly empirical approaches of the natural sciences....
- Faculty of Languages
- Faculty of LawLawLaw is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
and Administration - Faculty of MathematicsMathematicsMathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
and Computer ScienceComputer scienceComputer science or computing science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems... - Faculty of MedicineMedicineMedicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
- Faculty of PharmacyPharmacyPharmacy is the health profession that links the health sciences with the chemical sciences and it is charged with ensuring the safe and effective use of pharmaceutical drugs...
- Faculty of PhysicsPhysicsPhysics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
, AstronomyAstronomyAstronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth...
and Applied InformaticsInformatics (academic field)Informatics is the science of information, the practice of information processing, and the engineering of information systems. Informatics studies the structure, algorithms, behavior, and interactions of natural and artificial systems that store, process, access and communicate information... - Faculty of TheologyTheologyTheology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
Notable alumni
- Zbigniew HerbertZbigniew HerbertZbigniew Herbert was an influential Polish poet, essayist, drama writer, author of plays, and moralist. A member of the Polish resistance movement – Home Army during World War II, he is one of the best known and the most translated post-war Polish writers...
, (1924-1998), poet - Maciej KonackiMaciej KonackiDr. Maciej Konacki is a Polish astronomer, notable for his tentative discovery of HD 188753 Ab, a possible planet discovered in a three star system. The planet would be similar to Jupiter.- Education :...
, (1972-), astronomer - Zbigniew Nowek, (1959-), head of Polish Intelligence Agency
- Andrzej PersonAndrzej Person-References:...
, (1951-), senator and noted sports journalist - Aleksander WolszczanAleksander WolszczanAleksander Wolszczan is a Polish astronomer. He is the co-discoverer of the first extrasolar planets and pulsar planets.- Scientific career :...
, (1946-), astronomer
See also
- The Nicolaus Copernicus University Library
- The Nicolaus Copernicus University PressThe Nicolaus Copernicus University PressThe Nicolaus Copernicus University Press is a book publisher founded in 1967. NCU Press is an official department of Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń ....
- Nicolaus Copernicus University Polar StationNicolaus Copernicus University Polar StationThe Nicolaus Copernicus University Polar Station in north-western Spitsbergen, in the northern part of the Kaffiøyra close to Aavatsmarkbreen, has operated since 1975. It was opened by the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń and named after Nicolaus Copernicus.The station has been used by 13...
- Kujawsko-Pomorska Digital LibraryKujawsko-Pomorska Digital LibraryWithin the framework of Scientific Libraries Consortium of Kujawsko-Pomorski Region, Nicolaus Copernicus University Library in Toruń has started a long-term enterprise of building a digital library called Kujawsko-Pomorska Digital Library. The project implementation was financed by EU Structural...