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Cracow University of Technology
Politechnika Krakowska im. Tadeusza Kościuszki
TypePublic university
Established1 April 1945
RectorAndrzej Szarata
Academic staff1,111
Administrative staff867
Students11,779 (12.2023)
AddressWarszawska 24, 31-155 Kraków, Kraków, Poland
CampusUrban
AffiliationsSOCRATES, EUA, EAIE
Websitepk.edu.pl
University rankings
Regional – Overall
QS Emerging Europe and Central Asia73 (2022)

Cracow University of Technology (Polish: Politechnika Krakowska im. Tadeusza Kościuszki), also known in English as Cracow University of Technology (CUT), is a public university located in central Kraków, Poland. It was established in 1945 and, as an institution of higher learning granted full autonomy in 1954.

The university offers full-time and part-time studies of the first and second cycle as well as doctoral school and postgraduate studies. The university offer education in more than 30 fields of study in Polish. In addition, some majors are also taught in English, and two majors are taught in Ukrainian. Such a variety of choices means a diversity of intellectual pursuits and solving challenging tasks. A large selection means a variety of intellectual explorations and solving ambitious tasks under the supervision of highly qualified academic staff.

In 2018, Cracow University of Technology was ranked in the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU), the world's best universities by discipline. Cracow University of Technology was classified in the category "Engineering" in the scientific discipline "Chemical Engineering". Shanghai Ranking 2019 classification, in the category "Mechanical Engineering".

According to the results of the evaluation of scientific activities for the years 2017-2021, Cracow University of Technology was among the top three universities in Poland. The University underwent scientific activities assessment in eight disciplines: architecture and urban planning, information and communication technology, automation, electronics and electrical engineering; chemical engineering; civil engineering and transport; materials engineering; mechanical engineering, environmental engineering, mining and energy. As per the final decisions of the Ministry of Education and Science (Poland), they were all awarded the scientific category A+ (leading level) or A (very good level).

Patron

Since 1976, the patron of Cracow University of Technology has been Tadeusz Kościuszko — a hero of the Polish and American nations. Not only was he an excellent commander, but also a skilled fortification engineer. Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the USA and one of the country's founding fathers, said about him: "He is the purest son of liberty I have ever known".

Tadeusz Kościuszko was one of the first opponents of slavery in the United States, with his views ahead of the era in which he lived. In carrying out its mission, Cracow University of Technology seeks to draw on the heritage of its patron by cultivating values such as the pursuit of truth, respect for knowledge and skills, reliability in sharing and disseminating them, openness to new ideas, respect for personal dignity and civil rights, and respect for academic freedoms.

History

The establishment of Cracow University of Technology is related to the socio-political consequences of World War II. The devastated country needed engineers capable of rebuilding it. In addition, due to territorial changes, the Lviv Polytechnic, the oldest Polish technical university, found itself within the borders of the USSR. Given the situation, Professor Izydor Stella-Sawicki, who had headed the Department of Construction and Engineering at the Mining Academy (AGH University of Krakow) before the war, proposed the establishment of a technical college in Krakow. The concept was endorsed by the Rector of the Mining Academy, Professor Walery Goetel, and by the Minister of Education, Stanisław Skrzeszewski. In 1945, the Minister of Education authorised the organisation of the following polytechnic faculties at the Mining Academy: Architecture, Forestry, and Civil, Hydraulic and Surveying Engineering. They enjoyed administrative and budgetary autonomy and had their own senate. Professor Stella-Sawicki was appointed vice-rector of the newly established faculties.

On November 19, 1946, the state authorities issued a decree on establishing Faculties of Architecture, Engineering and Communication within the Mining Academy, called Polytechnic Faculties. The act had retroactive effect from 1 April 1945, and this date was recognised as the date on which the University was established. In 1947, the headquarters of the faculties were moved to buildings in Warszawska Street adapted for educational purposes - the former Austrian military barracks named after Archduke Rudolf, which in the interwar period bore the name of King Jan III Sobieski. The first rector of the Cracow University of Technology was Professor Ludomir Sleńdziński. The university gained full independence on July 7, 1954, when Resolution No. 409 of the Council of Ministers on establishing the Cracow University of Technology was adopted. On September 30, 1976, it was given the name of Tadeusz Kościuszko.

Portrait of Izydor Stella-Sawicki

Almost from the beginning of its existence, Cracow University of Technology has been implementing a broad programme of research activities and cooperation with industry. As a result, by the early 1970s, three of its four faculties had been granted full academic rights to confer doctoral and postdoctoral degrees. In 1966, the fifth faculty, the Faculty of Chemistry (today the Faculty of Chemical Engineering and Technology), was established. Nine years later, the Faculty of Transport (now the Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering of the Cracow University of Technology) was established. In 1999, the seventh Faculty was established; it is now the Faculty of Computer Science and Telecommunications of the Cracow University of Technology.

As of 2019, the research activities of the university's staff focus on eight scientific disciplines, which were selected, among other things, based on an analysis of the staff's research potential and publication output. The leading scientific disciplines at the Cracow University of Technology are: architecture and urban planning; automation, electronics and electrical engineering; information and communication technology; chemical engineering; civil engineering and transport; materials engineering; mechanical engineering; and environmental engineering, mining and energy.

Identifying the main areas of research activity made it possible to base the university's organisational structure on faculties clustered around these disciplines. As a result of these changes, a new faculty, the Faculty of Materials Engineering and Physics, was established at Cracow University of Technology on October 1, 2019, and two other faculties expanded their profiles and changed their names. The Faculty of Physics, Mathematics and Computer Science was transformed into the Faculty of Computer Science and Telecommunications, and the Faculty of Environmental Engineering into the Faculty of Environmental Engineering and Energy.

Faculties

The university comprises 8 faculties with 30 majors of study accredited by the Polish Accreditation Committee.

Doctoral School

Established on May 29, 2019, the Doctoral School of the Cracow University of Technology, in accordance with the adopted rules, offers education in eight scientific disciplines in which the Cracow University of Technology is authorised to confer a doctoral degree. The Council of the Doctoral School exercises supervision over the CUT DS at the Cracow University of Technology, which includes, among others, university researchers representing the scientific disciplines. The School Director chairs the Council. This function is performed by dr hab. inż. Małgorzata Cimochowicz-Rybicka, Prof. CUT.

List of Rectors

  • Izydor Stella-Sawicki (1945–1948)
  • Ludomir Sleńdziński (1954–1956)
  • Bronisław Kopyciński (1956–1965)
  • Kazimierz Sokalski (1965–1968)
  • Jan Kaczmarek (1968)
  • Jan Wątorski (1968–1972)
  • Władysław Muszyński (1972–1975)
  • Bolesław Kordas (1975–1981)
  • Roman Ciesielski (1981–1982)
  • Tadeusz Środulski (1982–1987)
  • Władysław Muszyński (1987–1990)
  • Józef Nizioł (1990–1996)
  • Kazimierz Flaga (1996–2002)
  • Marcin Chrzanowski (2002–2005)
  • Józef Gawlik (2005–2008)
  • Kazimierz Furtak (2008–2016)
  • Jan Kazior (2016–2020)
  • Andrzej Białkiewicz (2020–2023)
  • Andrzej Szarata (2023–)

Current Authorities

Rector

  • prof. dr hab. inż. Andrzej Szarata

Vice-rectors

  • prof. dr hab. inż. Dariusz Bogdał
  • dr inż. Marek Bauer
  • dr hab. inż. arch. Tomasz Kapecki, prof. PK
  • dr hab. inż. Jerzy Zając, prof. PK

University Council

  • dr Rafał Świerczyński (Chairman of the University Council)
  • dr inż. Aleksandra Burczyk
  • mgr inż. Marcin Styrna
  • prof. dr hab. inż. Wiesław Zima
  • dr hab. Jacek Jaśtal, Prof. CUT
  • dr hab. inż. Stanisław Młynarski, Prof. CUT
  • Mateusz Dąbrowski (representative of the Students' Council)

Doctors honoris causa

  • Leopold Escande (1965)
  • Walery Goetel (1970)
  • Marian Kamieński (1972)
  • Pietro Gazzola (1972)
  • Wacław Olszak (1976)
  • Jerzy Hryniewiecki (1980)
  • Kazimierz Gamski (1985)
  • Bronisław Kopyciński (1988)
  • Heinz Peter Brauer (1988)
  • Olgierd Cecyl Zienkiewicz (1989)
  • Gerard Duncan Galletly (1995)
  • Henk C. van der Plas (1995)
  • Witold Cęckiewicz (1995)
  • Roman Ciesielski (1995)
  • Michał Życzkowski (1995)
  • Zenon Mróz (1997)
  • Wiktor Zin (1998)
  • Władysław Muszyński (1998)
  • Jaime Lerner (1999)
  • Oscar Mahrenholtz (1999)
  • Jan Hult (1999)
  • Herbert Mang (2000)
  • Jan Kmita (2000)
  • Mihály Zádor (2000)
  • James C. I. Dooge (2000)
  • Artur Wieczysty (2001)
  • John Tinsley Oden (2001)
  • Walter Henn (2001)
  • Aleksiej Mitrofanowicz Kutiepow (2002)
  • Janusz Bronisławowicz Danilewicz (2002)
  • Jarosław Mikielewicz (2004)
  • Michał Kleiber (2004)
  • Tadeusz Chrzanowski (2005)
  • Zbigniew Engel (2006)
  • Günter Wozny (2008)
  • Józef Nizioł (2008)
  • Henryk Górecki (2010)
  • Antonio Monestiroli (2011)
  • Oskar Josefowicz Kojfman (2011)
  • Kazimierz Flaga (2011)
  • Stanisław Mrowec (2012)
  • Alberto Molinari (2019)
  • Adam Hamrol (2021)
  • Wojciech Radomski (2021)
  • Józef Kuczmaszewski (2022)
  • Jiří Jaromír Klemeš (2023)
  • Wojciech Bonenberg (2023)

Location

The building of the former military barracks
The building of the former military barracks

The university's main campus in Warszawska Street is located in nineteenth-century Austrian military barracks whose construction was supervised by Antoni Łuszczkiewicz. The complex of buildings, the largest of its kind in Krakow, was named after Archduke Rudolf – the successor to the Austrian throne. In the interwar period – after changing the name to the barracks of King Jan III Sobieski – Polish troops were stationed here. After World War II, the complex was handed over to the Cracow University of Technology, initially on a free lease for a period of 5 years with the possibility of extension for a further 15. The university fully took over the buildings on Warszawska Street in 1956. The former office and staff facility is currently the seat of the university authorities and the Faculty of Civil Engineering. The historic buildings, which are the remains of the barracks, house the faculties of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Environmental Engineering and Energy, Architecture, as well as the university library and museum. New buildings have been built on the campus, and the historical facades have been renovated, making the premises of the Cracow University of Technology an excellent example of combining history with modernity.

A procession walking down Krupnicza Street to the Mining Academy for the first inauguration of the academic year of the Cracow University of Technology. From the left, professors: Izydor Stella-Sawicki, Valery Goetel, Jan Krauze, May 31, 1945

With the university's growth and, consequently, its expanding needs, it acquired new facilities or built new ones. In 2010, Cracow University of Technology purchased a building on the campus in Warszawska Street from the Military Property Agency - a former cannon house. The building was adapted into the Interfaculty Educational and Research Centre "Działownia". In 2013-2014, the Małopolska Laboratory for Energy-Efficient Construction was built here.

The Dean's Offices of the Faculties of Architecture and Materials Engineering and Physics are based in the former Royal Palace in Łobzów (currently Podchorążych Street) – the oldest summer residence of the kings of Poland. In 1955, the University received 2/3 of the building, 1/3 was given to the Medical Academy. Since 1959, the building has been the university's property, and since 1999, it has been its sole user. The history of the building in Łobzów dates back over six centuries. This is where King Władysław IV was born. The building, destroyed during the Swedish invasion, was rebuilt by Jan III Sobieski. Legend has it that it was there, not at Wawel Castle, that the king celebrated his victory in the war with Turkey.

The Samuel Maciejowski Palace, on Kanonicza Street, houses the Department of History of Architecture and Conservation of Monuments. Cracow University of Technology received it for use in 1979. Since 2012, it has been owned by the university. In 1968, the Senate of the Cracow University of Technology decided to build a new university complex located in Czyżyny. On an area of over 80 ha, it was decided to build, among others, teaching and research buildings, laboratories and dormitories. The design of the new complex, prepared by Professor Witold Cęckiewicz in cooperation with the Bureau of Metallurgical Studies and Projects BIPROSTAL, was approved in 1972. In 1973, the construction of two student dormitories began in the northern part of the site. In 1974, in the southern zone, the construction of the facilities for the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, the third dormitory, a hotel for teaching assistants, and a canteen building began. The original plan was to complete these investments by 1977 and construct the entire complex by 1990. The economic crisis made it impossible to raise further funds for the investment. Eventually – in the northern zone of the site – four dormitories, a hotel for teaching assistants and a social house with a canteen were built. Work on the premises of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering continued intermittently, but the first units began to be moved from Warszawska Street in 1980. Eventually, the entire faculty was relocated to Czyżyny in 2004.

Dormitories of the Cracow University of Technology

Cracow University of Technology has its own Academic Housing Estate. It is located at Stanisław Skarżyński Street in Czyżyny and consists of four dormitories that can accommodate around 2,000 people. In recent years, the space in front of the student residences has been modernised, as well as the dormitories themselves. The work has resulted in, among other things, entertainment and relaxation areas for residents, a cinema room, kitchens for residents equipped with ovens and storage cupboards, and laundry rooms with laundry dryers. There are playing fields and tennis courts, as well as the "Kwadrat (Square)" Student Club.

Sports

Sport at the Cracow University of Technology has very strong traditions dating back to the early days of the university. In May 1951, an independent Academic Sports Association (AZS) Club was formed, quickly achieving numerous organisational and sports successes. Many sporting events were mass in nature, and some continue to this day. On November 5, 1958, the Club was transformed into the University Club. Over the years of the association's existence, titled athletes trained in its ranks, and among the students, employees and graduates of the university, there were many Olympic athletes, including: Zdzisław Styczeń, Czesław Marchewczyk, Józef Marusarz, Włodzimierz Czarniak, Andrzej Bachleda-Curuś, Andrzej Sztolf, Joanna Bartosz, Czesław Lorenc, Jerzy Solarz, Agnieszka Szwarnóg, Wiesław Glos, Renata Knapik-Miazga.

Sports facilities

The university has sports halls in Kamienna Street (mainly for team games; basketball and volleyball) and in Czyżyny (for table tennis, tennis, squash, and futsal), a Tennis Centre certified by the International Tennis Federation, a fitness club, a sailing centre in Żywiec, open tennis courts in Skarżyńskiego Street, and two gyms.

Number of university students

Over 1,530 people registered for the first academic year 1945/46, and over 2,350 students were admitted for the academic year 1953/54. Currently, 11,703 people are studying at the Cracow University of Technology, including 453 foreigners.


Student Organisations

  • Student Council the Cracow University of Technology
  • University Club of the Academic Sports Association at CUT
  • Independent Students' Union at CUT
  • Polish Students' Union at CUT
  • IAESTE CUT Local Committee
  • European Student Forum – AEGEE Krakow
  • Erasmus Student Network at CUT
  • Student E-Sports Club of the Cracow University of Technology at the Faculty of Computer Science and Telecommunications

International cooperation

Cracow University of Technology is a member of the European University Association. In 2023, together with eight other universities, it established a European University called Stars EU (Strategic Alliance for Regional Transition) and cooperates with research centres around the world, not only in the field of science and research but also in the exchange of students and research and teaching staff. During their studies, students can take advantage of the "Erasmus+" programme, which includes exchanges with most European countries. Bilateral agreements concluded by the Cracow University of Technology allow cooperation with more than 50 countries, including the United States, Japan, Australia, the Republic of Korea, China, India, Mexico and Ukraine.

The university has also signed dual diploma agreements with, among others: Cranfield University, University of Cagliari, Lviv Polytechnic National University, FH Münster University of Applied Sciences and Technische Universität Bergakademie Freiberg. Some of the courses taught at the University are accredited by foreign institutions:

Cracow University of Technology is currently listed in the most important international university rankings, including: THE University Rankings, QS World University Rankings, US News Best Global Universities Rankings, Shanghai Ranking's Global Ranking of Academic Subjects 2019 and 2020 – Mechanical Engineering, 2023 The Three University Missions Ranking and UI GreenMetric World University Ranking.

Cracow University of Technology also cooperates with foreign scientific and research institutions, e.g. with the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN). The first contacts between CUT and CERN took place as early as October 1990, and the first cooperation agreement between Cracow University of Technology and CERN was signed in 1997. Employees and graduates of the university have held positions at CERN as heads of organisational units (sections and groups) and as advisors to the Director of CERN for countries that are not members of CERN (dr T. Kurtyka). The main areas of cooperation with CERN included the design of, among others: particle accelerators, beam transport systems, superconducting magnets, correction magnet control systems, thermomechanical compensation systems, high vacuum systems, as well as the development of superconductors and their interconnections, cryogenic systems, superconducting magnet supply lines, cryostats, particle detector cooling systems, detector support structures, magnetic lenses. The agreement signed with the institution in 2015 was preceded by 25 years of cooperation. Scientists from the University contributed to the creation of the Large Hadron Collider.

Scientists from the Cracow University of Technology also had a major contribution to the creation of the Large Hadron Collider, including designing and constructing the devices located in the spaces between the accelerator's main magnets. In 2011, a second cooperation agreement was signed with CERN, and another – for an indefinite period – in 2015. Under the agreement, employees, students and graduates of the University participate in the work of CERN research teams.

Laboratories

The laboratory base of the Cracow University of Technology is constantly developing and expanding, thanks to which the university increases its research capabilities. Not only do the University's institutions support the academic development of students and the teaching process, but they also cooperate with external entities, companies and scientific institutions. Modern research infrastructure allows scientists to adequately respond to the needs of the modern world, e.g. in the field of IT technology, low-energy construction, medicine or transport.

Małopolska Laboratory for Energy-Efficient Construction

In 2013-2014, the Małopolska Laboratory of Energy-Efficient Construction was established, conducting research on low-energy technologies. The laboratory building is divided into 14 climatic and energy zones, where research on the properties of energy-saving materials and technologies is carried out. The 5-storey building was built to the stringent standards of low-energy facilities. A compact body, modern façade design and the use of advanced installation systems characterise it. In terms of insulation and airtightness, it meets the requirements characterising passive buildings.

Laboratory of Technoclimatic Research and Working Machines

The laboratory base of the university includes the unique (in Poland as well as Central and Eastern Europe) Laboratory of Technoclimatic Research and Working Machines, where it is possible to conduct research on large engineering facilities (weighing up to 60 tons) in extreme climatic and atmospheric conditions in a thermoclimatic chamber. Tests of this type include tests of functionality, strength and total resistance in the temperature range from -50 °C to +70 °C, with increased humidity up to 98% RH. In addition, the laboratory conducts research in such areas as: computer modelling and simulation, as well as the design of hydraulic and pneumatic components and systems for the drive and control of machinery and equipment, combined with experimental verification tests, computational methods and functional optimisation of industrial transport systems, including cranes and conveyors, determination of operating parameters of industrial transport means, design of electromechanical drives and modernisation of existing systems for industrial needs, development of methods of structural, kinematic and dynamic analysis and synthesis of mechanisms, computer simulation of mechanisms and their control, research and vibroacoustic diagnostics of machines and devices, design and evaluation of acoustic protection (cabins, enclosures, silencers); tests of acoustic properties of materials, tests in the field of workstation ergonomics (tests of noise, vibrations, thermal comfort and lighting). Piotr Śliwiński was preparing for the expedition to Mount Everest at the Laboratory of Technoclimatic Research and Working Machines of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering of the Cracow University of Technology. Together with extreme cyclist Valerian Romanovsky, he spent 100 hours in the thermoclimatic chamber. He tested his strength on a climbing scaffold at a temperature reduced to minus 50 degrees Celsius.

Laboratory of Environmental Aerodynamics

In 2024, a unique research centre will be opened at the Cracow University of Technology, one of Europe's most modern laboratories, Laboratory of Environmental Aerodynamics. The Lesser Poland Voivodeship supports this investment. The new laboratory was established on the campus of Cracow University of Technology in Czyżyny. The Laboratory of Environmental Aerodynamics will allow specialists to conduct research, expert opinions and analyses regarding, among others, urban ventilation, transport of pollutants, dynamic impact on smog, air exchange and regeneration systems. The results of the research carried out in the Laboratory of Environmental Aerodynamics will also provide planners and designers, as well as the construction market, with valuable knowledge for designing new housing estates, modernising existing tall buildings or constructing new ones. In the laboratory building, two mixed-circuit wind tunnels were designed, each equipped with two measurement spaces and a diverse system of fans and technical infrastructure elements, shaping the parameters of the incoming air.

Laboratory of Ultra-Precise Coordinate Measurements

As part of the National Coordinate Metrology Network (NSMET) project, of which the Cracow University of Technology is the leader, the construction of the Laboratory of Ultraprecise Coordinate Measurements is underway. The world-class scientific network and research centre comprises four leading technical universities: Cracow University of Technology, Poznan University of Technology, Warsaw University of Technology, and Kielce University of Technology. Worth over PLN 49.8 million, the NSMET project is implemented under the Smart Growth Operational Programme (measure 4.2 "Development of modern research infrastructure of the science sector"). The laboratory will have equipment enabling measurements of the geometry of internal and external structures of the measured objects on scales ranging from nano to large-scale measurements. In the new research centre, measurements will be performed primarily on machine and system components from a wide range of industries, including automotive, aerospace, energy, medical, bioengineering, composite materials and nanomaterials.


Notable alumni

See also

References

  1. "Higher education in the 2023/24 academic year" (in Polish). Statistics Poland. Retrieved 2024-06-30.
  2. "QS World University Rankings-Emerging Europe & Central Asia". Retrieved 15 January 2023.

External links

50°04′18″N 19°56′39″E / 50.07167°N 19.94417°E / 50.07167; 19.94417

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