The University of Gdańsk 

The University of Gdańsk – University of Gdańsk – the largest institution of higher education in Northern Poland. 

The University of Gdańsk is a dynamically developing institution of higher learning, and one that combines respect for tradition with a commitment to the new. We offer a very wide range of academic subjects, and an equally wide range of subjects that lead to professional qualifications in demand on the job market. An increasingly large proportion of students pursue their studies in state-of-the-art facilities on the University's Baltic Campus, which is one of the largest university complexes in northern Poland.

The University of Gdańsk was founded on 20 March 1970. It was formed from an amalgamation of two institutions of higher education: the Higher Economics School in Sopot and the Higher Pedagogical School in Gdańsk. Later, it also included the Higher Teacher Training School. The precursor of the Higher Economics School in Sopot was the Higher School of Maritime Trade in Sopot, which opened in 1945 and awarded its first degrees in 1947.

Currently, the University of Gdańsk is the largest educational institution in the Pomerania region. We have eleven faculties with almost thirty-three thousand students, doctoral students and post-graduates, who are taught by one thousand seven hundred academic staff. In such fields of study as Biology, Biotechnology, Chemistry, Oceanography, Quantum Physics, Pedagogy, Psychology, Law and Economic Sciences, the University of Gdańsk is one of the best institutions in Poland.

Academic staff 

The members of the academic staff of the University of Gdańsk conduct scientific and scholarly research on a world-class level, not only creatively expanding the frontiers of knowledge, but also serving the whole of the Pomerania region with their knowledge and experience, thus aiding its dynamic modern development. As an effect of the developing connections between scientific activity and economic practice at the University of Gdańsk, many expert opinions and opinions in the form of studies protected by copyright are being written. Because of the development and the activities of its academic staff, the University of Gdańsk has become an incubator for entrepreneurship in such areas as Biotechnology, Biology and Chemistry. The University of Gdańsk cooperates with institutions of higher education in most countries in Europe and also with many countries around the world. Research and other activities are conducted within the framework of over one hundred international agreements with foreign partners. A series of University institutes and departments have obtained, or are in the process of obtaining, the prestigious status of centres of excellence, which is the European certificate and stamp of quality. The numerous foreign placements undertaken by the University’s academic staff help them to offer students a modern and open education.

Academics from the University of Gdańsk every year receive prestigious awards and distinctions and are winners of Polish and international grants, including those from the Foundation for Polish Science, such as: START, HOMING, TEAM, KOLUMB, MISTRZ, VENTURES. Researchers from the University of Gdańsk have been laureates of the most important award in the Pomerania region – the City of Gdańsk’s Jan Heweliusz Award for Scholarship – from its very beginning. In Natural Sciences and Pure Sciences the winners have been Professor Dr hab. Maciej Żylicz (1992), Professor Dr. hab. Karol Taylor (1995), Professor Dr hab. Zbigniew Grzonka (1999), Professor Dr hab. Grzegorz Węgrzyn (2003), Professor Dr hab. Marcin Pliński (2007), and Professor Dr hab. Ryszard Horodecki (2008). In Humanities, this prestigious award has been won by Professor Dr hab. Roman Wapiński (2001), Professor Dr hab. Edmund Kotarski (2002), Professor Dr hab. Józef Bachórz (2003), Professor Dr hab. Bohdan Dziemidok (2004), Professor Dr hab. Józef Borzyszkowski (2005), Professor Dr hab. Jerzy Limon (2006), Professor Dr hab. Małgorzata Czermińska-Książek (2007), Professor Dr hab. Zdzisław Brodecki (2009), Professor Dr hab. Jan Burnewicz (2010) and Professor Dr hab. Mirosław Szreder (2011)

In 2003, a new scientific award was inaugurated in Gdańsk for young scientists – the “Young Heweliusz” – which since 2006 has been known as the City of Gdańsk’s Jan Uphagen Scientific Award for Young Scientists. Among the winners of this award have been young researchers from the University of Gdańsk: Dr Sławomir Antkiewicz (2003), Dr Oktawian Nawrot (2004), Dr Karol Horodecki and Dr Monika Bokiniec (2006), Dr Kamil Zeidler (2007), Dr Michał Harciarek (2008), Dr Paweł Antonowicz and Dr Robert Łyżeń (2009), Dr Sylwia Freza and Dr Magdalena Giers (2011).

In 2008, Professor Dr hab. Ryszard Horodecki from the Institute of Theoretical Physics and Astrophysics of the Faculty of Mathematics, Physics and Informatics won the most prestigious Polish scientific distinction – the Foundation for Polish Science’s Award (which is known as the Polish Nobel Prize) in the field of Pure Sciences for his contribution to the creation of the foundations of Quantum Informatics.

Range of courses 

As part of its commitment to the idea of creating the European Higher Education Space, the University of Gdańsk, as the first such higher education institution in Poland, introduced in 2005 the full range of the Bologna system of education (three-cycle higher education), enabling students to study and opening new perspectives for obtaining a degree. The University of Gdańsk offers courses in over fifty fields of study, with almost 200 specialisations. Every year, new fields of study are added and the range of courses is adapted to meet the needs of the employment market. The newest fields of study at the University of Gdańsk include German Studies, Medical Physics, Bioinformatics, Agricultural Chemistry, Neurobiology, Special Pedagogy, Social Work, Applied Linguistics, Theatre Studies, Religious Studies, Historical Tourism and Sightseeing and Ethnology. The University of Gdańsk also offers courses in unique fields, such as Oceanography, Logopaedics, Neurobiology, as well as courses conducted in English, for instance International Business.

In accordance with the principles of the Bologna Declaration, the University of Gdańsk offers doctoral studies and has a functioning e-learning internet portal. The University also offers lifelong learning programmes with a wide range of post-graduate studies and courses, as well as the University of the Third Age. Studies also include student participation in research programmes. The university has almost 200 very active research groups. Students can also gain some of their first research experience while working on grant-winning projects conducted by academic staff.

Within the framework of European student exchange programmes, such as Erasmus, University of Gdańsk students have the opportunity to broaden their knowledge, practise their skills and obtain new experiences abroad. They also participate in the MOST programme, which gives them the opportunity to study for one semester at any one of nineteen universities in Poland. The University of Gdańsk Careers Office, which is the leader among vocational consultants in the Pomorskie Voivodeship, helps graduates find work and make decisions about their professional development. Combining theoretical knowledge with practical skills broadens the possibilities of the students at the University of Gdańsk on the employment market, and is an integral part of the idea of the constant improvement of the quality of education. UG students have at their disposal modern workshops, such as: the Thomson Reuters Data Suite with its free access to financial information from companies; Information Technology workshops equipped with mobile technology; a modern Translation laboratory and a laboratory for the teaching of Interpreting; a unique dealing room where in real time students can practise stock exchange operations; one of Poland’s most modern radio studios with excellent equipment; and a Physics laboratory for students and doctoral students, with measuring equipment unique in Poland and meeting the highest world standards.

Rapidly expanding projects, such as the Open University, allow academic staff to spread knowledge through a wide range of media. Every year the number of interactive e-learning courses increases, as well as the volume of books and magazines available online. The University’s innovative infrastructure facilitates this new way of communication, and provides more than 12,000 computer workstations equipped with Internet access.

UG students 

Apart from acquiring knowledge, students can realise their passions and broaden their interests in over one hundred and eighty scientific and scholarly research groups and student organisations operating at the University of Gdańsk. They can participate in the Academic Choir of the University of Gdańsk, which has won many prizes at international festivals, the Jantar Song and Dance Ensemble, or the Alternator Academic Cultural Centre, which organises cultural projects and events that are important for the whole Pomerania region. Another important part of academic life is sport, and the teams of the UG Academic Sports Union and of the Physical Education and Sports Department regularly win medals and awards in the most important sporting competitions in Poland and abroad.

Students active in research groups and student organisations achieve spectacular successes. In 2005, Adrian Kosowski, a student at the Faculty of Mathematics, Physics and Informatics of the University of Gdańsk, won the most prestigious distinction – the title of the best student in Poland Primus Inter Pares. Students from the university team Students in Free Enterprise for nine years running won the Polish championships in the international SIFE competition – Students for Enterprise and represented Poland in the finals of the SIFE World Cup. Successes have also been noted by the Academic Enterprise Incubator associated with the University of Gdańsk, which helps UG students to set up their own companies and to propagate the idea of entrepreneurship.

In mari via tua

One of the assets of the University of Gdańsk is its relationship with the sea. The reputation of the university in marine matters is built on its excellent research stations with their international reputations: the Hel Marine Station of the Institute of Oceanography and the Bird Migration Research Station. The marine image of the university is also enhanced by its fields of study, specialisations and scientific research connected with the sea and with the Baltic coast in particular. This concerns, above all, the Faculties of Biology, Oceanography and Geography, and such subjects as Biology, Geography, Environmental Protection and Oceanography. It also concerns the Faculty of Chemistry, where research is conducted into protection of the marine environment, and the Faculty of Law and Administration, which carries out important research into maritime law, international maritime law, the laws and systems of towns in Pomerania and maritime criminology.

The Faculty of Economics includes the Institute of Maritime Transport and Trade, the members of whose staff conduct research into the economic aspects of the functioning of transport and trade at sea. They also offer the speciality of International Maritime Transport and Trade, educating specialists in this field.

The interests of the University’s literary scholars are focussed on the city and the region. Long-term research is being conducted into the connections between the literatures of various epochs and maritime issues in Pomerania. Works are also being prepared on the folklore of north-eastern Poland and on Balto-Slavic mythology. In their research, historians concentrate on the problems of the Baltic Sea region and the history of Gdańsk and Pomerania.

The University of Gdańsk implements its motto of in mari via tua, and serves the development of the Pomerania region, whose wealth is the very sea itself.

Foreign cooperation 

The University of Gdańsk cooperates with universities, tertiary colleges and scientific and research institutions in almost every country around the world. This allows us to broaden our range of courses and the knowledge of our academic staff, and to expand the University of Gdańsk. An important aspect of our mutual activities is the implementation of projects within the European Union’s Framework Programmes. From 2002 to the end of 2011, the University of Gdańsk participated in over 190 European and international projects. The largest number of projects was realised within the Framework Programmes – a total of 54. Among our greatest successes can be counted the recognition of three European centres of excellence in the 5^th Framework Programme: the Research and Education Centre for Urban Socio-Economic Development (RECOURSE), the Centre of Excellence for Baltic Development, Education and Research (BALTDER) and the Centre of Excellence in Bio-safety and Molecular Biomedicine (BioMoBil); the networks of excellence in the 6^th Framework Programme: Marine Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning (MARBEF) and the European Vigilance Network for the Management of Antiviral Drug Resistance (VIRGIL); and the large-scale integration projects in the 7^th Framework Programme: Exploring Marine Resources for Bioactive Compounds: From Discovery to Sustainable Production and Industrial Applications (MAREX) and Quantum Interfaces, Sensors and Communication based on Entanglement (Q-ESSENCE).

The membership of Poland in the European Union has opened up new possibilities for Polish science and scholarship in the area of financing activities, including the exploitation of structural funds, such as the European Social Fund, the European Regional Development Fund and community initiatives. During the 2007-2013 programme period, the University is implementing a total of 45 projects within the framework of the following Operational Programmes: 22 – the Operational Programme Innovative Economy, 9 – the Regional Operational Programme of Pomorskie Voivodeship, 2 – the Operational Programme Infrastructure and Environment, 1 – the Technical Assistance Operational Programme, 10 – the Human Capital Operational Programme, including 2 projects which are intended to strengthen and develop the teaching potential of the University within the framework of Priority IV – Tertiary education and science.

Scientists and scholars at the University of Gdańsk also obtain other European and international grants, for example within the framework of the European Economic Area Financial Mechanism and the Norwegian Financial Mechanism, the Swiss-Polish Cooperation Programme, the European Territorial Cooperation and the Lifelong Learning Programme.

Participation in European programmes also allows for the expansion of the University and a broadening of its research and teaching base.

A significant element of international cooperation is the joint organisation by the University of Gdańsk and other research centres of conferences and symposia, and also the participation of the University in consortia realising broad-ranging research programmes.

The university’s foreign cooperation activities are also developing within the framework of over one hundred bilateral cooperation agreements with foreign partners, and also on the basis of almost two hundred and eighty agreements which the University of Gdańsk has signed with European institutions within the framework of the LLP-Erasmus Programme. The University of Gdańsk has, from the very beginning, joined in those European programmes connected with the possibility of arranging foreign placements for students, such as Europraca and Erasmus – Work Placement Mobility. Also, Erasmus Programme enables university employees to visit partner institutions and give lectures to its students. University of Gdańsk’s community shows great interest in all types of mobility offered by Erasmus Programme.

UG’s development strategy 

The current development strategy of the University of Gdańsk is concentrated on the expansion of the university on three campuses: Oliwa (the Baltic Campus of the University of Gdańsk), Sopot, and Gdynia. On 1 October 2012, on the Oliwa Campus, the new building of the Faculty of Biology was officially inaugurated. The new premises of the Faculty of Biology with its specialised laboratories, workrooms and teaching rooms, have been completed within the Operational Programme Infrastructure and Environment co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund. Earlier in 2008, on the Oliwa Campus, the university took possession of the new building of the Faculty of Social Sciences and the Institute of Geography, which contains modern multi-media lecture halls, dedicated rooms for sociology, observation, therapeutics, art, music and photography, as well as radio studio designed and also a spacious hall for exhibitions and concerts. In 2006, also on the Oliwa Campus, the university took possession of the Main Library of the University of Gdańsk, the most modern in the Pomerania region and designed as a centre of academic information for the whole community. Fully computerised, it offers free access to over five hundred thousand volumes. The reading rooms and special rooms for individual study meet all the demands of the 21^st century and serve the needs of students and the academic community of the whole region.

Since 2005, Gdynia has been able to boast the elegant building of the Institute of Oceanography with its modern laboratories and workrooms, lecture hall and exhibition room. The building of the Institute of Oceanography was recognized by the Chairperson of Gdynia City Council as the best investment in 2006 in the “Gdynia Time” competition.

On the Sopot Campus, in 2006, the new Teaching and Conference Centre of the University of Gdańsk was opened. In October 2010 the project for the extension of the Faculty of Management was completed. As part of this project, a research and teaching Computer Centre has been constructed. The project was subsidised by the European Regional Development Fund within the framework of the Pomorskie Voivodeship Regional Operational Programme for 2007-2013. In 2012 the extension of the Faculty of Economics has been commenced. The project will comprise teaching rooms, lecture hall, computer laboratories and the new faculty Board Room.

The Baltic Campus of the University of Gdańsk 

Among the plans for the development of the University of Gdańsk in the years 2011-2020 is the extension of the Baltic Campus of the University of Gdańsk. The conception of the Baltic Campus of the University of Gdańsk involves the construction alongside existing buildings of the University administrative building, the Faculties of Law and Administration, Languages, History, Mathematics, Physics and Informatics, the Main Library of the University of Gdańsk, a new building dedicated to the Social Sciences and the Institute of Geography (already constructed within framework of the Baltic Campus of the University of Gdańsk), and the Faculty of Biology which was competed in 2012. Plans call for the construction of a series of new buildings: the Faculty of Chemistry, a new building for Modern Languages, the Institute of Computer Sciences, the Institute of Biotechnology, and also a University Center for Sport and Recreation, as well as a students’ hostel with about 250 places.

Part of the programme for the Baltic Campus of the University of Gdańsk, a project entitled “The Construction of Buildings for the Faculties of Chemistry and Biology of the University of Gdańsk”, is on the List of Key Individual Projects for the Operational Programme “Infrastructure and Environment” in Priority XIII of the Higher Education Infrastructure Plan (for the years 2007-2013). It is co-financed by the European Union. The cost of the project covered by the funds from the Operational Program “Infrastructure and the Environment” amounts to 235,578,820.01 PLN. (This applies to the cost of both faculty buildings.)

On 1 October 2012, the new building of the Faculty of Biology was officially opened. Each wing of the building has been tailor-made to meet the sophisticated needs of some of our most innovative research areas: that is, molecular, environmental and experimental biology. The new building includes 2 auditoriums, 3 lecture halls, 16 teaching rooms, 74 laboratories, and 38 specialized laboratories. The building is equipped with audio-visual equipment, access control and monitoring systems, and telecommunication networks.

The modern buildings for the Faculty of Chemistry and Faculty of Biology will allow graduates to acquire key competences in the fields of ICT, foreign languages and vocational qualifications, and also to conduct world-class research. The University of Gdańsk’s Faculties of Biology and Chemistry already train high-class specialists in pure sciences. The new modern study and work conditions for scientists will in the future influence the development of personnel in the administration and economy of the Pomerania region and of the whole Baltic Sea region.

New buildings – the Institute of Modern Languages and the central administration building – will be built within the framework of the project entitled: "Construction of a teaching and administration building at the University of Gdansk in Gdansk, divided into two tasks: Task 1: Construction of the Institute of Modern Languages ​​ for the Faculty of Languages on the Baltic Campus of the University of Gdansk, Task 2: Construction of the main administration building of the University of Gdansk in Gdansk". These are two separate investment projects. For the new building for the Institute of Modern Languages within the framework of "Construction of the Institute of Modern Languages ​​ for the Faculty of Languages in the Baltic Campus of the University of Gdansk”, the University of Gdańsk received funding to the sum of EUR 23 million from the Regional Operational Programme for the Pomorskie Voivodeship for the years 2007 to 2013, as part of the priority axis no 2, “Knowledge Society”. The rest of the expenditure will be financed from the Polish state budget reserve, as its own contribution to investments financed from EU funds.

Within the framework of the entire investment project, a building complex will be constructed with a total surface area of 23,544.30 m². This building complex will have two separate parts: one for the Faculty of Modern Languages and one for the central administration. The Faculty of Modern Languages building will house, among other institutes and departments, the Institute of English and American Studies, the Institute of German Studies, the Institute of Eastern Slavic Languages, the Institute of Romance Languages, the Institute of Scandanavian Studies, and the Institute of Slavic Studies. It will also contain state-of-the-art lecture rooms, specialist translation rooms, conference facilities, a language laboratory, computer facilities and e-learning center. . The adminstrative part of the building will hold the e-learning center, the archive for the whole university (maintained to Polish state mandated standards), and facilties for training workshops and conferences.

The construction of the Baltic Campus of the University of Gdańsk is an opportunity to create in Pomerania one of the strongest academic and scientific centres in the Baltic Sea region. The Baltic Campus, located in Gdańsk-Oliwa, will play the role of the scientific, teaching and student centre of the Pomerania region. The University of Gdańsk, aware of its potential, has come forward with an initiative for conducting joint activities in research and development by scientific centres and institutions located by the Baltic Sea.

The development of research activity, the introduction of new fields of study, giving the opportunity for comprehensive development, and the expansion of the teaching and research base, will allow the University of Gdańsk to reinforce further its position as the leader among the higher education institutions.

University of Gdańsk in The Three Cities

All buildings of the University of Gdańsk, together with its scientific research stations, are located at a range of sites from Gdańsk to the Hel Peninsula, thus covering a sizeable portion of the Polish coast. Most of the faculties are concentrated in the Three Cities of Gdańsk, Gdynia and Sopot. The Trójmiasto, or the Three Cities of Gdańsk, Gdynia and Sopot, is one of the most beautiful places in Poland. Together the three cities have over 800,000 inhabitants. The Three Cities conurbation possesses an efficient transport system, an international airport, and ferry connections with Scandanavia. Historic Gdańsk, modern Gdynia and Sopot, the pearl of the Baltic Sea on the very coast itself, each year attract thousands of tourists. The attractive location of the Three Cities on the coast and its many outstanding theatres, concert halls and museums constitute an additional asset and an attraction for students choosing to study here.

 

The Authorities of the University of Gdańsk 2012-2016

Rector of the University of Gdańsk, Prof. Dr hab. Bernard Lammek
tel.: +48 58 523 20 43, fax: +48 58 523 57 00, e-mail: rekug@ug.edu.pl

Pro-rector for Educational Affairs, Prof. UG, Dr hab. Anna Machnikowska
tel.: +48 58 523 20 36, fax: +48 58 523 25 36, e-mail: rekdsk@ug.edu.pl

Pro-rector for Scientific Affairs, Prof. Dr hab. Grzegorz Węgrzyn
tel..: +48 58 523 20 41, fax: +48 58 523 24 37, e-mail: rekdsn@ug.edu.pl

Pro-rector for Development and Financial Affairs, Prof. Dr hab. Mirosław Szreder
tel.: +48 58 523 20 18, fax: +48 58 523 24 37, e-mail: rekdsrf@ug.edu.pl

Pro-rector for Student Affairs, Prof. UG, Dr hab. Józef Arno Włodarski
tel.: +48 58 523 24 40, fax: +48 58 523 25 36, e-mail: rekdss@ug.edu .pl

Chief Financial Officer, Prof. UG, Dr Jerzy Gwizdała,
tel.: +48 58 523 20 08, fax: +48 58523 23 07, e-mail: kanclerz@ug.edu.pl

Editing and updates: David Malcolm