Together, we are writing the next chapter in WUT’s history

The new academic year now beginning is a special one for our University. It marks a moment when we are celebrating the 200^th anniversary of the Warsaw University of Technology. Throughout 2026, we are looking back with respect and admiration at the University’s history, its achievements, and the people who have shaped it over the years, while at the same time looking to the future with courage and curiosity.

In keeping with tradition, the ceremony was opened by the WUT Rector, who warmly welcomed all the guests. At the beginning of his address, Professor Krzysztof Zaremba explained the symbolism behind the photograph displayed on the backdrop behind the stage.

“Those of you who have attended our opening ceremonies before may be somewhat surprised by today’s visual setting. Usually, the graphic design on the backdrop is much more understated, symbolically referring to the key themes of the speeches. Last year, at the beginning of Warsaw University of Technology’s bicentennial celebrations, the symbol was a portrait of Stanisław Staszic, a pioneer and founder of our University. It represented our beginnings,” Professor Krzysztof Zaremba explained. “Today, we wanted to focus on the other end of the vector of our history – on the present and the future. Those familiar with our research areas will recognize our flagship CEZAMAT laboratory in the photograph, as well as microelectronics research conducted in its clean rooms.”

Great Hall during the inauguration ceremony of the 2026/2027 academic year

“For 200 years, we have been shaping the future”

In his speech, the Rector referred to the motto guiding the University’s bicentennial celebrations, emphasizing that we do not merely educate engineers – we also shape the world around us.

“We shape it by researching, discovering and teaching – in every era in which our University has operated. Successive generations of scientists and graduates, and their achievements not only in science but also in their everyday work for the development of Poland, Europe and the world, demonstrate how the Warsaw University of Technology has been and continues to be able to consistently fulfil its mission,” said Professor Zaremba. “Today, in an era of the erosion of authority and ethical principles, we regard the role of academia as a source of genuine knowledge as one of the foundations of our mission, and we are taking up the fight against disinformation.”

Inauguration ceremony of the 2026/2027 academic year

Professor Krzysztof Zaremba also highlighted the University’s achievements in recent years. WUT is among the beneficiaries of the Excellence Initiative – Research University (IDUB) programme and is a member of the ENHANCE European Universities Alliance. Our researchers have achieved numerous successes, including research projects, grants, patent applications and publications, including papers in leading scientific journals. In 2025 alone, approximately 560 research projects with a total value of around PLN 1 billion were carried out at the University, while our researchers authored or co-authored more than 5,700 scientific publications. The Rector also pointed to two areas that have become particularly important in recent years: security, including energy security, and defence. In both fields, WUT is successfully carrying out numerous projects, including, as Professor Zaremba mentioned, dual-use technologies, missiles, drones, radar systems, microelectronic systems and a quantum computer. The Rector also emphasized the University’s long-standing cooperation with the Medical University of Warsaw, which was further strengthened several weeks ago through the signing of an agreement on multifaceted cooperation.

The Rector of Warsaw University of Technology also addressed important words to the newly admitted students.

“Today you are beginning one of the most important adventures of your lives. You have been admitted to a University with a 200-year tradition, which means that you are becoming heirs to its achievements, but you are also gaining the opportunity to become creators of our future. The world you are entering is changing faster than ever before in history. Your future – both during your studies and throughout your professional careers – will be filled with challenges that we do not yet know about and cannot even imagine today.”

Professor Zaremba stressed that, alongside the knowledge acquired in lectures, the ability to think independently and critically is equally important. He also warned students about the pitfalls associated with AI – an uncritical and thoughtless approach to the technology, intellectual laziness, and the loss of one’s own identity. AI should be treated as an “advanced and extremely effective assistant, but not a substitute for your own brain.”

“A Warsaw University of Technology diploma will have value not because you know how to efficiently enter a prompt into a chat window, but because you are able to solve genuinely complex problems independently and creatively. So make the most of your time as students, ask questions, challenge explanations, seek the truth, and experiment. Build your future with an open mind,” the Rector said in his message to the students.

“Science and progress begin with curiosity and the courage to think differently”

The ceremonial opening of a new academic year is always a special occasion, bringing together not only the University community but also representatives of the academic world, institutions and Warsaw University of Technology’s partners. On this particular day, numerous guests also addressed our University community, sharing their reflections, wishes and words of appreciation.

Piotr Głowacki, Adviser to the President of the Republic of Poland, read out a letter from President Karol Nawrocki. The President referred to the difficult history of our University over the past 200 years and outlined the challenges facing future generations of engineers.

“Today, Polish engineers face new tasks, but the essence of their mission remains much the same. A state that wants to be secure and sovereign must possess its own technologies and highly qualified professionals. It needs people who not only use solutions developed elsewhere, but also create them independently,” Karol Nawrocki wrote in his letter. “I am convinced that Poland’s ambition must be to join the group of countries that build their strength and security on their own technological expertise. This applies to industry, energy, infrastructure, digitalization, new technologies and defence. In each of these areas, we need well-educated Polish engineers, courageous researchers, and entrepreneurs capable of turning knowledge into real-world solutions. We also need technical universities that will serve as places where these competencies can be developed. (…) I wish you courage in asking questions, perseverance in seeking answers, and pride in belonging to an academic community that for two centuries has served the development of Polish science and the Polish state.”

Piotr Głowacki, Adviser to the President of the Republic of Poland

Minister of Science and Higher Education Marcin Kulasek noted the unique energy surrounding the beginning of a new academic year – a day when all hopes, ambitions and challenges come together with the academic tradition from which we all emerge. The Minister also highlighted the achievements of our University, referring to this year’s bicentennial.

“Warsaw University of Technology has educated generations of engineers, designers and inventors. All of them are architects of modern Poland and creators of its scientific, economic and technological potential. Our development would not have been possible without the work of generations of Warsaw University of Technology graduates,” said Minister Kulasek. “Dear students, in a few years it will be you who take responsibility for the future of our country. I believe in you and in your readiness for this responsibility, and I believe that the Warsaw University of Technology will prepare you exceptionally well. A university is not only a place where knowledge is acquired; it is a community of people, experiences and different perspectives. Be curious about the world, open to people, new experiences and personal development. Ask questions, verify, seek answers. Do not simply accept reality as it is; challenge it, because science and progress begin precisely with curiosity and the courage to think differently.”

Marcin Kulasek, Minister of Science and Higher Education

Minister of National Education Barbara Nowacka also addressed the audience. She emphasized how important the inauguration is for newly admitted students – a moment when young people fully assume responsibility for their own education.

“For you, this is a transition into a completely new world. A world in which a significant responsibility for your education rests in your own hands. The academic staff are wonderful and competent guides, but ultimately, how you shape your own future and the future of our country is now in your hands,” said Minister Nowacka. “I hope that you will remember your time at the Warsaw University of Technology as fondly as you remember your time at school, and that the effort you put into your studies will be even greater.”

Minister Nowacka also emphasized the role of technical universities in building the country’s economic and social potential.

“Today, Poland is the world’s 20^th-largest economy. We are developing wonderfully – you can see it everywhere, and you can see how successfully we are combining the experience of a difficult history with building a strong and resilient future. (…) We are developing very boldly, strongly and dynamically because we care about our future. Poland’s potential is due in large part to the achievements of the Warsaw University of Technology and many other universities that emphasize technical education, education in the exact sciences and excellence in these fields. History shapes a nation, but the future is built through development in the exact and technical sciences,” said Minister Barbara Nowacka.

Barbara Nowacka, Minister of National Education

Minister of State Assets Wojciech Balczun referred to the remarks made by the previous speakers.

“What matters most to us is not only building potential, but above all transferring technology and developing expertise here, in our own country. We have enormous potential in this regard,” said Minister Balczun, citing South Korea as an example. “We need to build expertise here, strengthen our domestic entities, integrate companies into supply chains here in Poland, and enable Polish companies to build and develop their potential in such a way that they can become international companies (…) This is our absolute goal.”

Wojciech Balczun, Minister of State Assets

The Minister also referred to the “Poland trend” that has recently emerged, also on the Internet.

“We would like this trend that is now emerging around Poland to also become a symbol that our professionals and graduates will not leave the country, as happened for many years,” Minister Balczun explained. “We proudly point out that the team that created ChatGPT was to a large extent made up of Poles – some of our most talented young people, capable of working in the most advanced technologies that are currently changing the world. We want young and talented people to stay, so that we have the potential to absorb their talent here in Poland.”

Mazovian Voivode Mariusz Frankowski referred to the concept of “community”, which had also appeared in the speeches of other guests.

“There has been a lot of talk today about community, because student life is not only about learning, lectures and exams, but also about community. A community of goals, experiences and shared moments that inspires us, teaches cooperation and responsibility, and today is also a foundation of security. (…) For me, the university community is precisely such an anchor – one that provides support, encourages cooperation and helps us achieve common goals,” Mariusz Frankowski reflected. “Universities are also an anchor for society as a whole, but they are also partners for government administration, local government, business, industry and the defence sector. (…) The knowledge acquired here at the Warsaw University of Technology translates into concrete solutions that are already contributing to our security today. Dear students and doctoral students, I would like you to see your studies not merely as a path towards obtaining a particular profession. What you learn here will certainly have an impact on the security of other people. Security begins with the everyday decisions, behaviours and choices of each and every one of us.”

Mariusz Frankowski, Mazovian Voivode

The First Step on an Academic Journey

The inauguration is an important moment for new students. It is not only the beginning of another stage of education, but also a symbolic moment of joining the Warsaw University of Technology community. Its most important element was the matriculation ceremony, during which representatives of all WUT faculties and the WUT College took the solemn student oath and then received congratulations and diplomas from the Rector.

“University is a wonderful time for meeting new people, learning, making friends, but above all for rediscovering yourselves and your passions. (…) Some things never change. As students, we still believe that we can complete a semester project in one night; for some, the ‘academic quarter’ is part of everyday life; and one thing is certain – we know how to have a good time. It is precisely this initial student carefree spirit that later teaches us responsibility for the rest of our lives,” said Kamil Konieczny, President of the WUT Students’ Union.

“Live the coming years wisely and make use of the opportunities available to you. Student research clubs are waiting for innovators, the Students’ Union is waiting for leaders, our sports units are waiting for future Olympians, and our cultural units are waiting for artistic souls. And all of us here have been waiting for you, so that together we can shape the future of Polish science.”

Tomasz Murawski, President of the WUT Doctoral Students’ Council, also addressed the audience.

“Do not be afraid to be yourselves, because science does not develop by simply agreeing, by saying that the theories we have learned and the inventions we have encountered are already the best. It develops through a hunger for truth, through the need to improve everything, through the search for theories that describe reality better and inventions that solve our problems more effectively,” he told the doctoral students. “But do not be afraid to be yourselves in your private lives either. Do not be afraid to say what you believe, do not be afraid to discuss things, and do not be afraid to admit that perhaps you were wrong.”

Looking to the future with tradition as our foundation

During the inauguration, guests had the opportunity to attend the opening lecture for the new academic year. The inaugural lecture, entitled “Reflections of an Overseas Graduate on the 200^th Anniversary of the Warsaw University of Technology,” was delivered by Professor Andrzej S. Nowak of Auburn University, a Doctor Honoris Causa of WUT. Professor Nowak graduated from the WUT Faculty of Civil Engineering in 1970 and defended his doctoral dissertation at the same Faculty five years later.

In his lecture, Professor Nowak shared his observations on the differences between the way universities operate in the United States and Poland, while emphasizing the excellent preparation of our students – something he has had the opportunity to assess through his interactions with our doctoral students, including as a supervisor of numerous doctoral dissertations. He also highlighted the importance of cooperation between Polish universities and organizations in the United States.

Professor Andrzej S. Nowak

At the end of the ceremony, the sound of Gaudeamus igitur echoed through the Main Building, officially marking the opening of the new academic year. This year’s inauguration was another important moment in the celebrations of the 200^th anniversary of the Warsaw University of Technology – an opportunity for the entire academic community to come together with our friends and partners. We would like to thank everyone who joined us on this special day, both within the University and online, as well as for the many congratulations and good wishes we received. May these words, filled with kindness, appreciation and faith in the future, stay with us not only in the months ahead but also for many years to come, accompanying the Warsaw University of Technology as it continues to grow and write the next chapters of its history.