Politechnika Gdańska | |
 | |
| Latin:Polytechnica Gedanensis | |
| Motto | "Historia mądrością – przyszłość wyzwaniem"[1] |
|---|---|
Motto in English | "History is wisdom – the future is a challenge"[1] |
| Type | Public |
| Established | |
| Accreditation | EUA-IEP (European University Association-Institutional Evaluation Programme) |
| Rector | Krzysztof Wilde |
| Students | 15,622 (2023)[4] |
| Undergraduates | 11,490 (2023)[4] |
| Postgraduates | 3,644 (2023)[4] |
| 488 (2023)[4] | |
| Address | Narutowicza 11/12 ,,,80–233 Gdańsk Wrzeszcz |
| Campus | 80 hectares (200 acres)[5] |
| Affiliations | CESAER,Erasmus+,EUA |
| Website | www.pg.edu.pl |
 | |
 | |
| University rankings | |
|---|---|
| Global – Overall | |
| ARWU World[6] |  801-900 (2024) |
| QS World[7] | 801-850 (2026) |
| THE World[8] |  1001-1200 (2025) |
| USNWR Global[9] | 989 (2025) |
| Regional – Overall | |
| QS Emerging Europe and Central Asia[10] | 78 (2022) |
| QS Europe[11] | 302 (2025) |
| THE Europe[12] | 404 (2025) |
| USNWR Europe[9] | 352 (2025) |
| National – Overall | |
| ARWU National[6] | 3 (2024) |
| QS National[7] | 5 (2026) |
| THE National[8] | 5 (2025) |
| USNWR National[9] | 6 (2025) |
TheGdańsk University of Technology (Gdańsk Tech, formerly GUT;Polish:Politechnika Gdańska) is a publicresearch university inGdańsk, Poland.[13] Founded in 1904[2] and re-established in 1945,[3] it is the oldestuniversity of technology in modern-day Poland. It is consistently ranked among the leading universities in the country.[14]
The university comprises eight academic faculties that provide higher education in 40 fields of study across 14 scientific disciplines. Its campus, located in theWrzeszcz borough of Gdańsk, covers an area of 80 hectares (200 acres).[5] As of 2023, the university had 15,622 students, including 11,490 undergraduates, 3,644 postgraduates and 488 doctoral students.[4]
The Gdańsk University of Technology has an international institutional accreditation, EUA-IEP (European University Association-Institutional Evaluation Programme).
On 16 March 1899, following a decision byWilhelm II, deputies of theKingdom of Prussia approved the establishment of a technical university inGdańsk, then part ofGerman Empire.Albert Carsten [pl] was appointed as the chief designer of the university. Construction commenced in 1900 and was completed in four years. The university buildings were designed in theNorthern Renaissance style with elements ofArt Nouveau.[2]
The ceremonial inauguration took place on 6 October 1904, when the institution was named theRoyal Institute of Technology in Gdańsk (German:Königliche Technische Hochschule zu Danzig). In that same year, 189 students enrolled. By 1914, the number of regular students had grown to 675. The university remained operational duringWorld War I.[2]
After the end of World War I, the university became part of theFree City of Danzig. In 1918, it was renamed theTechnical University of the Free City of Danzig (German:Technische Hochschule der Freien Stadt Danzig). In agreement with the newly establishedSecond Polish Republic, Free City authorities introduced aPolish language course and lectures on Polish economic geography, and provided the necessary textbooks and teaching aids to the Polish students. All foreign students, exceptPoles, were required to present a passport.[2]
This period saw a considerable increase in the number of students: in the winter semester of 1922, their number reached 1,651; by 1929, it was 1,630; and in 1933, it was 1,548. While German students constituted the majority, there was a significant minority of Polish students, along with Ukrainian, Russian, Bulgarian, Yugoslav, Estonian, and Jewish students.[2]
The takeover of power in the Free City of Danzig by theNazis in 1933 resulted in the forced retirement of older professors and the dismissal or suspension of Jewish students. Nearly all student organisations were dissolved and replaced by the obligatoryNational Socialist German Students' League.[2] In 1934,Ernst Pohlhausen [pl], a member of theNSDAP, was appointed as the rector of the university. By 1939, Pohlhausen had dismissed all Polish and Jewish students and staff.[15]
At the outbreak ofWorld War II, the city of Gdańsk had been annexed into theNazi Germany. The university was subjected toBerlin authorities in 1941, resulting in the introduction of stricter regulations. The number of students and staff decreased significantly during the war, and by 1944, the university had been converted into a 3000-bed hospital, with much of its valuable equipment and documents evacuated to Germany.[2]
In January 1945, as Gdańsk became part ofPoland, preparations began for the Polish re-establishment of the university. By a decree on 24 May 1945, the university was transformed into a Polish state academic institution, and the first staff, mainly fromLviv andWarsaw universities, began work. Despite difficult conditions, learning commenced on 22 October 1945, with the official inauguration taking place on 9 April 1946. The re-establishment was supervised byStanisław Turski [pl], a Polish mathematician and former inmate ofGerman Nazi concentration camps.[3]
In the 1960s and 1970s, the university expanded, adding new buildings and increasing its student population. By the late 1980s, the university had grown to include several faculties and thousands of students, continuing its development and contribution to higher education in Poland.[3]
The year 1989 markedan end of communism in Poland, with the creation ofSolidarity on the Gdańsk coast playing a crucial role. Employees, students and graduates of Gdańsk University of Technology such asAndrzej Gwiazda were actively involved in these transformative events, leading to the establishment of the Republic of Poland as a democratic state with a market economy.[16]
In response to the fall of communism in Poland, the Gdańsk University of Technology underwent significant organisational and infrastructural transformations between 1990 and 2010. Infrastructure expansions included new laboratories and facilities funded by theEuropean Union, such as the Nanotechnology Centre, the Pomerania Centre of Advanced Technologies, and modern educational spaces, alongside the introduction of three-cycle degree studies (BSc, MSc, PhD), theEuropean Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS), and a quality assurance system.[16]
The Gdańsk University of Technology (Gdańsk Tech) is located in Gdańsk, situated at the mouth of theVistula River on theBaltic Sea. The Main Campus is situated in the centre of old Wrzeszcz. The campus is located on Narutowicza Street.
The main building, designed byHermann Eggertt andAlbert Carsten [pl], was built between 1900 and 1904.[17] All the buildings were designed in the style of theNorthern Renaissance with elements ofArt Nouveau. The images above the eastern side gate are a lighthouse and the tower ofSt. 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 metres in height. The main building encloses inner courtyards that were covered by glass domes.
In 2012, the South Courtyard was officially renamed in honour ofJohannes 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 theFoucault pendulum show the design of a reflectivesundial (on the left) and a rotating map of the sky with asextant.[18]
The university's faculties are:
The Chemical Faculty was one of the four original faculties of the university[19] and one of five faculties that began operational research and teaching in 1945 as a result of the decree by the Polish government transforming technical universities active inGdańsk since 1904 into the Polish Gdańsk University of Technology.[20]
At the faculty, there are projects financed by theState Committee for Scientific Research and theEuropean Commission. TheCentre of Excellence in Environmental Analysis and Monitoring operates within the faculty.[21] Additionally, there are research programmes financed by the European Commission under the EU’s V and VI framework programmes.[22]
The Academic Computer Centre in Gdańsk (CI TASK) has operated since 1992 under an agreement between theTri-City’s chief higher education institutions. It was initially established to serve all higher education establishments and local branches of thePolish Academy of Sciences.[23]
The library holds over a million volumes,[24] including electronic publications. It features 16 reading rooms and has contributed to the development of the Universal Library.[25]
Dewiza Politechniki Gdańskiej brzmi: „Historia mądrością – przyszłość wyzwaniem".[The motto of the Gdańsk University of Technology is: "History is wisdom – the future is a challenge".]
54°22′17″N18°37′8″E / 54.37139°N 18.61889°E /54.37139; 18.61889
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Academics | |
| Other | |
