AGH University of Science and Technology

AGH University of Science and Technology (Polish

Polish language

Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...

Akademia Górniczo-Hutnicza im. Stanisława Staszica ) is the second largest technical university in Poland

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

, located in Kraków

Kraków

Kraków also Krakow, or Cracow , is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life...

. The university was established in 1919, and was formerly known as the University of Mining and Metallurgy. It has 15 faculties and one school, which will become new faculty in the near future.

History

At the conference of the Polish miners and metallurgists held in Kraków on 24 February 1912, a resolution was passed indicating the need for the university of mining. A campaign of support was started in the Parliament of Austria-Hungary

Austria-Hungary

Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...

. The Ministry of Public Works agreed to the founding of the Academy in 1912, in April 1913 the Organizing Committee was appointed and on 31 May 1913 the Academy of Mining was officially established. The building site was chosen and the competition for the architectural designs announced.

The Academy opened on 1 October 1919 in the sovereign Polish Second Republic. Initially 80 students began their education at the newly formed Faculty. The Faculty of Metallurgy was added in 1922. In 1939 the Academy had approximately 600 students and 30 professors.

Between 1919 and 1939 a total of 797 mining and metallurgy engineers graduated from the Academy, and about 100 foreign diplomas were officially recognized. The graduates took up senior posts in the Polish industry, particularly in Upper Silesia

Upper Silesia

Upper Silesia is the southeastern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia. Since the 9th century, Upper Silesia has been part of Greater Moravia, the Duchy of Bohemia, the Piast Kingdom of Poland, again of the Lands of the Bohemian Crown and the Holy Roman Empire, as well as of...

and other industrial centres.

At the onset of World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, during Operation Sonderaktion Krakau, 22 Academy professors and assistant professors were arrested by the Nazis and sent to the Sachsenhausen concentration camp

Sachsenhausen concentration camp

Sachsenhausen or Sachsenhausen-Oranienburg was a Nazi concentration camp in Oranienburg, Germany, used primarily for political prisoners from 1936 to the end of the Third Reich in May, 1945. After World War II, when Oranienburg was in the Soviet Occupation Zone, the structure was used as an NKVD...

. The main building was used by the German government of the occupied Polish territory

General Government

The General Government was an area of Second Republic of Poland under Nazi German rule during World War II; designated as a separate region of the Third Reich between 1939–1945...

. Part of the Academy however, retained its status and became the centre for underground teaching, vital for the Academy's future.

After the war, a group of professors, staff members and students reclaimed the ruined main building of the Academy and more than 500 students began their courses. In 1946 new faculties were opened: the Faculty of Geology and Surveying, and the Faculty of Ceramics, broadening the Academy's programme. In 1949 the Academy was renamed as the Academy (later University) of Mining and Metallurgy.

Under Stalinism

Stalinism

Stalinism refers to the ideology that Joseph Stalin conceived and implemented in the Soviet Union, and is generally considered a branch of Marxist–Leninist ideology but considered by some historians to be a significant deviation from this philosophy...

and until 1956 the Academy enjoyed certain freedoms with its authorities still elected. Afterwards, the autonomy and elections were suspended for more than 10 years. In 1969 the university was named the Stanisław Staszic Academy of Mining and Metallurgy. The number of students went up from 2,000 to 13,000 in the period from 1950 to 1979.

During the 80-year period (except for the war years), 73,085 students graduated from the University with master's or engineer's degrees. 3,607 persons were granted the degree of Doctor of Science, 896 successfully completed postdoctoral qualifications of Habilitated Doctor

Habilitation

Habilitation is the highest academic qualification a scholar can achieve by his or her own pursuit in several European and Asian countries. Earned after obtaining a research doctorate, such as a PhD, habilitation requires the candidate to write a professorial thesis based on independent...

. The AGH-UST researchers published nearly 60,000 papers and books.

Faculties

School of Biomedical Engineering

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