Over 22 thousand students have started a new academic year at Wrocław Tech. – This year will certainly not be easy, but I believe in the strength of our community. Together, we can get through the difficult times, but also move forward and develop – said Rector Prof. Arkadiusz Wójs.

In his inaugural speech, the Rector emphasised that the university's mission is to conduct research as well as educate students, but that the university's special mission is also to build a knowledge-based economy and provide technology for the world of business.

Prof. Wójs stressed that the last two years of our entire community’s tremendous effort had brought excellent results in the research quality evaluation. In total, Wrocław Tech underwent an evaluation that focused on thirteen scientific disciplines, one more than previously. We received two A+ ratings: for mathematics and physical sciences. However, with the appeals filed, we could obtain this highest category in a further two disciplines.

A step towards Europe

According to Prof. Arkadiusz Wójs, the key factor to the further growth of the university is our joining the European university alliance Unite! On September 20, the Rector initialled a document to this effect, officially completing the process of inducting new members into the network, which has been ongoing since December 2021. Prof. Wójs pointed out in his speech that when applying for membership in the Unite! network, we were competing with large universities, also Polish ones.

– We won because our potential, the way we work with foreign students, the standard of education we provide despite the pandemic, as well as how prepared we are for operating under the remote teaching formula were all recognised. I am convinced that being part of the Unite! alliance will contribute to the transformation of education at our university, as well as making academic careers more attractive and easier for many of us – he said.

The Rector added that our European expansion will also be helped by the fact that Wrocław University of Science and Technology has recently seen the establishment of an important Hub of Academia Europaea – an organisation that brings together several thousand scientists from Europe, including nearly a hundred Nobel Prize winners.

Moreover, the Rector announced the plans to establish a Faculty of Medicine at Wrocław Tech and thus embark on medical education.

The new faculty will be up and running as early as next year. A team of experts has been working on the project for the past few months, and on Thursday the Wrocław Tech Senate issued a positive opinion on the proposal.

The university in the time of economic downturn

The Rector acknowledged that what we are least resilient to and prepared for is the crisis that has been unravelling for several months. Indeed, the economic crisis is affecting everyone, especially at the university, where subsidies, salaries, and scholarships are virtually frozen.

– Nevertheless, the crisis should not stop the development of science and teaching, so we will economise on whatever we can while still maintaining the core activity as defined by the university's mission. This academic year will certainly not be easy. But I believe in the strength of our community, in the strength of the people of the University. Together, we can not only survive difficult times but also move forward and develop – develop despite the events happening in the world around us and develop for this world – concluded Prof. Arkadiusz Wójs.

The Rector’s speech was followed by the ceremonial matriculation of students, including doctoral students. In the new academic year, almost 7 thousand MSc and 150 PhD students start pursuing their education at Wrocław University of Science and Technology. On their behalf, the oath was taken by representatives of each of the university’s faculties.

New honorary professor

During the ceremony, Patrick Dieckhoff, PhD (Fraunhofer Society) was accepted as an honorary professor at Wrocław University of Science and Technology in recognition of his commitment to building the cooperation between our university and the Fraunhofer Society in the areas of science and technology.

The cooperation between Wrocław University of Science and Technology and Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft has been going on for more than 14 years that have seen several key developments. The first of these was the establishment of a branch of the Fraunhofer Institute at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, which took place in 2008. The signing ceremony was attended by Angela Merkel, Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany.

Another such event was the organisation of the "Polish-German Bridge" conference by Wrocław University of Science and Technology, Opole University of Technology, Chemnitz University of Technology, and the Fraunhofer Society. It has become a regular event, held alternately in Poland and Germany.

This was followed by the European Technology Congress in Wrocław, organised jointly by Wrocław University of Science and Technology and the Polish Chamber of Commerce for Advanced Technologies with the support of the Fraunhofer Society; the second congress was held in Katowice.

All of these activities and scientific collaborations would not have been possible without the involvement of people including Dr Patrick Dieckhoff. The academic is actively involved in the life of the scientific community and increasingly also in teaching at our university, for example by giving seminars in which he presents the latest developments in bioeconomy.

The inauguration lecture was delivered by Professor Maria Carmo-Fonseca of the University of Lisbon.

Medals and awards

Medals of the Commission of National Education and the Docendo Discimus distinctions were also awarded at the ceremony, as usual.

Medals of the Commission of National Education are awarded for special contributions to education and youth mentoring. This year, fifteen of our university employees received them, while the Rector's special Docendo Discimus awards, granted for special achievements in the field of teaching, were received by ten Wrocław Tech staff.

The ceremony was graced by performances by the Chamber Choir of Wrocław University of Science and Technology and the Academic Choir of Wrocław University of Science and Technology under the direction of Anna Sipak.