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University Day in the year of jubilees
The University Day, which the Nicolaus Copernicus University celebrates on 19 February - the anniversary of the birth of its patron - will be the culmination of the University's 80th anniversary celebrations. The main celebrations in the NCU Main Hall Aula will be marked, among others, by the conferment of the honoris causa doctorate to Prof Oded Galor, and will be preceded by a series of accompanying events.
This year's University Day celebrations will be particularly festive. Let us recall that in 2025 the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń is celebrating its 80th anniversary, and the whole academic year is marked by three anniversaries: in addition to the round anniversary of the establishment of the NCU, we are celebrating the 40th anniversary of the establishment of the Medical Academy in Bydgoszcz, as well as the 20th anniversary of its merger with the NCU and the establishment of the Collegium Medicum.
Three days of celebrations
The first act of the NCU's celebrations will take place on 17 February with the presentation of state awards and medals of the National Education Commission to the distinguished employees of the NCU. The event is scheduled for 10:00 in the Collegium Maximum. On the same day, the RE Gallery will be opened on the ground floor of the rectorate at 2 p.m., and at 4.30 p.m. there will be a meeting with Jacek Yerka, an internationally renowned artist, alumnus of the Faculty of Fine Arts and ambassador of the NCU, in Od Nova. Free invitations to this event are no longer available, but the artist's works can be seen on display at the Dworzec Zachodni Gallery until 7 March.
Andrzej Romański
A day later, the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń will host a meeting of the Conference of Rectors of the Polish Universities. There will be a university concert in the evening entitled 'Earth - the Planet of Music'. Damian Ukeje, Łukasz Drapała, Monika Pilarczyk, Sylwia Lorens, Kamil Franczak and Kamil Skicki will perform together with the Toruń Symphony Orchestra and the NCU Choir. Everything will be overseen by arranger, artistic director and conductor Mikołaj Blajda.
Honours and awards
The celebrations on 19 February will begin at 9 a.m. with the laying of flowers at the monument to the first rector of the NCU, Professor Ludwik Kolankowski, and - at 9.45 a.m. - at the Nicolaus Copernicus monument. This time, the academic procession will set off for the Old Town Market Square from the Jordanki Cultural and Congress Centre, and all interested persons will be able to join it.
From 11:00, the celebrations will continue in the NCU Main Hall Aula. The event will also be streamed on the NCU TV YouTube channel.
A particularly grand highlight of the programme will be the conferral of an honorary doctorate to Professor Oded Galor, a distinguished economist from Brown University in Providence. One of his most important achievements is the creation and development of a unified theory of growth that integrates insights from history, biology and economics and explains the transition of societies from millennial stagnation to sustainable economic growth. His groundbreaking book entitled. 'Unified Growth Theory' (2011) is widely regarded as a cornerstone in the field.
During the University Day, the 'Ratio et Spes' award will also be presented, which this year will be given to dr Paweł Kaszuba from the Pontifical University of John Paul II in Kraków. This distinction is awarded jointly since 2020 by the Nicolaus Copernicus University and the Vatican's Joseph Ratzinger-Benedetto XVI Foundation for an outstanding interdisciplinary scientific publication or a series of publications falling within an annually defined subject area.
Traditionally, the event will also be accompanied by the presentation of the Medal for services to the development of the University and the titles: Honorary Professor of the NCU, awarded to professors of outstanding academic achievements who retired in the last academic year, and Ambassador of the NCU - a distinction for alumni with significant success in science, culture, art, politics or business, who promote the University in their daily activities.
On 19 February, the ceremony in the NCU Aula will also include the awarding of diplomas to new habilitated doctors and doctors.
