| Gdańsk University of Technology | |
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| Motto | "Patriae Marique Fidelis" |
| Established | October 6, 1945 (1904) |
| Type | Public |
| Rector | prof. dr hab. inż. Henryk Krawczyk |
| Students | 20 000 |
| Location | Gdańsk, Poland |
| Polish name | Politechnika Gdańska |
| Website | www.pg.gda.pl |
The Gdańsk University of Technology (pol. Politechnika Gdańska) is a technical university in Gdańsk-Wrzeszcz, and one of the oldest universities in Poland. It has nine faculties and more than 24 thousand undergraduate, as well as about 400 doctoral students. In 2004 it employed 2500 people, including 1200 academics.
The rector of the university is Henryk Krawczyk.
In 1995 Wirtualna Polska was founded here and the office of the company is still located in one of the former campus canteens.
The university was founded in 1904 as Königliche Technische Hochschule zu Danzig. At the time Gdansk, then known as Danzig, was part of the German Empire. The history of Gdansk is complex and the city itself belonged, at different times, to Germany, Poland and was a "free city". The names of the city's educational institutions were affected by the changes in the city status.
The university was known by different names:
In the late 1930s, Polish students were subject to discrimination by German teachers, many of whom had joined the NSDAP Nazi Party. Following the outbreak of World War II, Polish students were expelled from the university. Instructors who were members of the NSDP taught classes in uniforms of the Nazi party and began each class with a Hitler salute.
Toward the end of the war, the university was turned into a German army hospital. When the Soviet Red Army captured the university/hospital, Russian soldiers shot dead some of the Germans and then closed all exits to the main building and burned alive the remaining wounded German soldiers. The Russians arranged stables and barracks in other buildings. In 1945, all Germans were expelled from the city of Gdansk and the burned ruins were turned into a Polish university (24.05.1945). In light of tragic history of the university under Nazi rule, today's university officially does not continue traditions of pre-war schools and its history starts in 1945.[1]
The school was reorganized and rebuild under the supervision of Stanisław Turski, a Polish mathematician and former inmate of German concentration camps. Turski also served as the first post-war rector of the university.
Gdańsk University of Technology employs over 2500, including 1200 teachers:
The Gdańsk University of Technology takes part in the European ERASMUS programme.
