‘The coming academic year will be extremely difficult due to recent extensive legal changes concerning higher education. However, I am more than sure that we will not descend into idle talk, unnecessary conflicts, and fruitless debates. I believe the Jagiellonian University will overcome all difficulties’, said JU Rector Prof. Wojciech Nowak during the official opening of the 655th academic year at the Jagiellonian University.
The ceremony was attended by the Kraków academic community, representatives of local government, members of the diplomatic corps as well as renown researchers and artists. As per tradition, it was preceded by an academic procession, during which gowned professors marched from Collegium Maius, the oldest University building, to the JU Auditorium Maximum.
The academic year 2018/2019 is an exceptional one for a few reasons. Firstly, it coincides with the 100th anniversary of regaining independence by Poland after the partitions. The Jagiellonian University hosted several events which commemorated students and academics who devoted their lives to the fight for a free Poland.
Secondly, it is the year of a general reform of higher education, a process that has been broadly and animatedly discussed by researchers, teachers and students in the country. As emphasised by Prof. Nowak, currently the most pressing issue is to draw up an updated university charter. ‘I would like the entire academic community to work together in developing the new charter. It will be a great, collective effort of all staff and students. I trust in your commitment and I count on your support’, the Rector said.
The Jagiellonian University is an active participant in the European Universities Initiative. It involves establishing a network of several universities which will closely collaborate in the areas of research, teaching, innovation, students and staff mobility, and management. ‘Our presence in European research is evidenced by two European Research Commission grants received by our scholars’, Prof. Nowak added. These grants were awarded in July to Dr Tomasz Żuradzki from the Faculty of Philosophy and Dr Michał Németh from the Faculty of Philology.
In the later part of the ceremony, JU Vice Rector for Research and Structural Funds Prof. Stanisław Kistryn presented a list of awards and prizes given to the University staff, including the Jagiellonian Laurel bestowed for extraordinary scientific accomplishments in the 5 preceding years. This year, it was presented to Prof. Tomasz Guzik (medical sciences) and Prof. Jerzy Jurkiewicz (exact and natural sciences).
Next, JU Vice Rector for Educational Affairs Prof. Armen Edigarian conducted the official matriculation of selected representatives of the sixteen University faculties, after which Jakub Bakonyi, President of the JU Student Government, delivered a speech welcoming the new students and described the role which student organisations will play in the coming changes in higher education.
The ceremony concluded with a lecture entitled Artificial intelligence and intellectual property delivered by Prof. Ryszard Markiewicz from the JU Faculty of Law and Administration.
