Campus life [2026-01-15]

The New Year's meeting

— Editors

A summary of last year's achievements and plans for the future of the Nicolaus Copernicus University were presented by His Magnificence Rector prof. dr habil. Andrzej Tretyn during a January meeting with the university community and city and regional authorities. The ceremony was also an opportunity to present robes to new full professors and letters of congratulations to researchers who were promoted to university professors.

The meeting of the authorities, representatives of employees, doctoral students and students of the Nicolaus Copernicus University, organised at Collegium Maximum, was also attended by representatives of the regional and city authorities: Michał Koniuch, Deputy Voivode of the Kujawsko-Pomorskie voivodeship, Piotr Całbecki, Marshal of the Voivodeship, and Paweł Gulewski, Mayor of Toruń.

In his opening speech at the annual ceremony, the rector summarised the past year, which was special for the Nicolaus Copernicus University due to the celebration of three anniversaries: the 80th anniversary of the NCU, the 40th anniversary of the establishment of the Medical Academy in Bydgoszcz, and the 20th anniversary of its merger with the NCU and the establishment of the Collegium Medicum. The events accompanying these celebrations became part of the landscape of the city and the region, involving not only the academic community, but also supporters of our university.

The Rector also emphasised that it had been a year of dynamic development in many areas for our community. In 2025, the Nicolaus Copernicus University launched an international project analysing pandemics in pre-industrial Europe. The research is funded by a Synergy ERC grant and led by Prof. Adam Izdebski from the Interdisciplinary Centre for Modern Technologies. Efforts to obtain external funding to support the development of research equipment, including the maintenance of the RT-4 'Kopernik' radio telescope, which allows Toruń astronomers to observe space, also proved fruitful. It is worth noting that the radio telescope is part of the European and global VLBI interferometric network, and the participation of Polish astronomers in international cooperation has resulted in a boom in research in the field of radio astronomy.

Last year, significant organisational changes also took place in the university-wide administration at the Nicolaus Copernicus University. These changes involved the elimination of so-called single-person management positions and the merging of some of the existing departments into larger units with related areas of responsibility. The implementation of the changes began at the start of last year, and the initiator of the new structure was dr habil. Radosław Sojak, NCU prof. and Vice-Rector for Human Resources and Financial Policy.

In his speech, the Rector also referred to the dynamic development of international cooperation. the NCU signed 26 agreements with partners from around the world, confirming our university's position as an important partner in research development and demonstrating its readiness to cooperate with foreign universities, including in the field of academic exchanges. The university's prestige in the field of international education has also been strengthened by the Erasmus Mundus Joint Master's programme: interCultural Leadership In the Digital Era (CLIDE). The project involves the implementation of a new international master's programme in cooperation with universities in Spain, Austria, Ukraine and Morocco.

Speaking about plans for the coming year, the rector presented ideas for relocating the Faculty of Political Science and Security Studies, currently housed in a building on Batorego Street, the University IT Center (currently in Collegium Maximum on Rapackiego Square), and the Investment Department (39 Gagarina Street), and announced the start of construction of the Collegium Medicum dormitory in Bydgoszcz. In addition, talks are underway regarding the sale of Collegium Minus, known as the harmonica. Currently, the building is the seat of the Faculty of Philosophy and Social Sciences.

In terms of education, the launch of a medical and dentistry programme at the Collegium Medicum was also significant. The first enrolment attracted record interest, with over 31 applicants competing for each place. With a view to strengthening the research potential of students in this field and scientists, the construction of the Centre for Dentistry began last year. The building is scheduled to be ready in March, and scientists and students will move into the fully equipped building in October 2026.

The Centre for Dentistry is not the only major investment in our university's infrastructure. The Rector reminded us that in 2026, modernisation work would begin on two historic buildings on the campus: the Rectorate, which houses almost the entire university administration and the University Centre for Foreign Languages, and the University Main Library, which is used not only by the academic community but also by many residents of Toruń.

Concluding his speech, Prof. Andrzej Tretyn thanked the authorities of the Nicolaus Copernicus University and the local government for their contribution to the development of the university and offered his best wishes to the academic community and the residents of the city.

I wish you and myself peace in the world, international and intergenerational harmony, and I wish the academic community good health, the fulfilment of their dreams and pride in their work at the Nicolaus Copernicus University.

After a series of speeches by the representatives of the voivodeship and the city, personalised robes were presented to professors recently nominated by the President of Poland. This is a continuation of the tradition of honouring full professors, which began during a ceremonial meeting of the Senate at the Old Town Square in 2025. The robes were received by:

• prof. dr habil. Andrzej Kałucki from the Faculty of Fine Arts,
• prof. dr habil. Anna Sinkiewicz from the Faculty of Medicine,
• prof. dr habil. Elżbieta Szmit-Naud from the Faculty of Fine Arts,
• prof. dr habil. Jacek Wantoch-Rekowski from the Faculty of Law and Administration,
• prof. dr habil. Daniel Załuski from the Faculty of Pharmacy.

Congratulatory letters were also awarded to scientists who were promoted to the position of Nicolaus Copernicus University professors: dr habil. Małgorzata Fopka-Kowalczyk from the Faculty of Philosophy and Social Sciences, dr habil. Beata Kaczmarek-Szczepańska from the Faculty of Chemistry, and dr habil. Grzegorz Trykowski from the Faculty of Chemistry.