Inauguration of the Academic Year at the Silesian University of Technology
For the 78th time the Silesian University of Technology will inaugurate the academic year. The ceremony will take place on October 3rd at the Education and Congress Centre at 11.00 a.m.
- “It will be a year of new challenges. On the one hand, COVID-19, which does not leave us, but also the war across our eastern border, and thus the issue of refugees and the organization of an appropriate education process. It is also an economic crisis related to the increase in energy prices and the resulting increase in education costs. The declining total number of candidates for studies is also an important issue. We must make the offer for young people more attractive, encourage them to study, provide them with the opportunity to develop their interests and ensure that our promises are fulfilled during their studies” - said the Rector of the Silesian University of Technology, prof. Arkadiusz Mężyk.
The event will begin with the inaugural speech of the Rector of the Silesian University of Technology, followed by the matriculation of first-year students.
The guest of honour at this year's inauguration will be prof. Krzysztof Składowski - director of the Maria Skłodowska-Curie National Institute of Oncology in Gliwice. The professor will give a lecture on "Illusions and Myths About Cancer in the 21st Century." The inauguration ceremony will end with a concert performed by the Academic Music Group of the Silesian University of Technology.
The Silesian University of Technology is the oldest technical university in Upper Silesia and one of the largest in the country. It was established in 1945 as a research and teaching base for the most industrialized district in Poland - Upper Silesia. It is an important institution of public life and plays a special opinion-forming role in the region.
In October 2019, the Silesian University of Technology obtained the status of a Research University in the "Initiative of Excellence - Research University" program. The aim of this project was to select and support universities that will be able to successfully compete with the best academic centres in Europe and in the world. Out of twenty universities in Poland eligible to participate in the competition, an international team of experts has selected 10 that will receive a subsidy increased by 10% in the years 2020-2026. Our University was in this group.
Moreover, the Silesian University of Technology and seven European universities form the EURECA PRO (European University Alliance on Responsible Consumption and Production) consortium. They are the nucleus of the future European University. The consortium focuses on broad issues related to UN Sustainable Development Goals 4 and 12: Quality Education for All and Sustainable Consumption and Production. The consortium, apart from our University, includes: University of Leoben (Austria), Technical University Freiberg (Germany), University of Petrosani (Romania), University of Leon (Spain), Technical University of Crete (Greece), Mittweida University of Applied Sciences (Germany), Hasselt University (Belgium).
