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Campus life
Inauguration of the Academic Year
The inauguration of the 2025/2026 academic year at the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń will take place on 1st October at 11:00 a.m. in the NCU Auditorium Aula. The ceremony will be streamed live on the NCU TV website. There will also be accompanying events.
The first event related to the inauguration of the academic year will be the ceremony of naming the NCU Auditorium after Prof. Witold Łukaszewicz, historian and rector of our university in 1965–1975, scheduled for 30th September at 12:00 noon. As a member of the Honorary Committee and the Preparatory Committee for the celebrations of the 500th anniversary of the birth of Nicolaus Copernicus, Rector Łukaszewicz led the development of the academic campus in Bielany.
On 1st October, at 10:15 a.m., before the main celebrations begin, the members of the Nicolaus Copernicus University Senate will lay flowers at the Nicolaus Copernicus monument in Toruń's Old Town Square, accompanied by the Military Orchestra.
The events in the Auditorium will be held at 11:00 a.m. They will be opened with an inaugural address by His Magnificence Rector Prof. dr. habil. Andrzej Tretyn, followed by matriculation, i.e. the symbolic introduction of first-year students into the academic community. Students starting their education at the University High School will also join our community.
The beginning of the academic year will also be an opportunity to award the titles of Best Graduate, Best Student, Best Student-Athlete, and Best University High School Student. On this day, the winners of the inter-faculty student competition 'Copernicada' will also be awarded a cup.
The ceremony will be accompanied by an opening lecture entitled 'The Black Death – a selective killer? Different scenarios of the greatest plague pandemic in Europe', delivered by prof.dr habil. Adam Izdebski from the Interdisciplinary Centre for Modern Technologies. It is worth noting that the start of the academic year marks the launch of an international research project entitled 'Re-understanding the role of pandemics (1300-1800): history, natural sciences and machine learning', funded by the prestigious ERC Synergy grant. Prof. Izdebski is the leader of the project.
At 3 p.m., the Fine Arts Section of the Academic Relaxation Zone at the University Library will host the opening of the exhibition 'Dialog z Knappem' (Dialogue with Knapp) by dr habil. Aleksandra Sojak-Borodo, NCU Prof. from the Faculty of Fine Arts. The exhibition will consist of drawings, puzzles and spatial forms, some of which allow for interaction with viewers. The series was born out of the artist's fascination with Knapp and is a conscious dialogue with his works, as well as a confrontation with personal memories of when the artist, as a little girl, was enchanted by the colourful composition on the façade of the Nicolaus Copernicus University Auditorium, which contrasted with the grey reality of communist Poland.
On 1 October at 7:00 p.m., a church service will be held at the Church of the Holy Spirit for the new academic year.
