200 years of WUT

We are celebrating the 200th Anniversary of the Warsaw University of Technology!

The 4th of January 1826 – the day the Preparatory School for the Polytechnic Institute was opened – is considered the founding date of technical education in Warsaw and the beginning of the Warsaw University of Technology.

The "father" – the visionary and initiator behind the establishment of the School – was Stanisław Staszic, a Polish Enlightenment activist, pioneer of the cooperative movement, writer and publicist, philosopher and translator, naturalist, and Catholic priest.

The School offered two-year introductory courses followed by two-year advanced courses. The lower-level courses were divided into Class I and Class II, roughly equivalent to secondary school level. The higher-level courses focused on theoretical studies in mathematics and natural sciences and were organized into four faculties: Civil Engineering, Chemistry, Mechanical Engineering, and Trade.

The teaching system was modelled on the French system.

The language of instruction was Polish.

The director of the Preparatory School was Kajetan Garbiński, a graduate of the Collège de France, the Sorbonne, and the École Polytechnique in Paris.

In 1826, 44 students were admitted to the first year of studies.

Although the School’s development plans were ambitious, they could not be fully realized. As a result of repression following the November Uprising, the School was closed in 1831.

However, the idea of establishing a higher technical education institution on Polish soil never disappeared. Despite numerous historical and political challenges, the vision remained alive. The Warsaw University of Technology is the realization of that dream.

We will begin celebrating the origins of our University with the inauguration of the 2025/2026 academic year. The jubilee celebrations will continue until the end of 2026. The program includes concerts and theatrical performances, exhibitions, a jubilee gala, an alumni reunion, and a range of events that commemorate the history of WUT, honour its present, and look toward its future.