INFORMATION PORTAL OF THE MARSHAL'S OFFICE OF THE KUJAWSKO-POMORSKIE Region IN TORUŃ

Vice-Marshal Zbigniew Ostrowski and the President of the Regional Parliament Elżbieta Piniewska took part in the annual celebration of Toruń’s Alma Mater, traditionally held on Nicolaus Copernicus’ birthday (19 February). The ceremony, which is the culmination of the university’s 80th anniversary celebrations, was highlighted by the conferment of an honoris causa title on Professor Oded Galor.

– The University of Toruń is particularly close to my heart. I proudly bear the title of its ambassador,’ Zbigniew Ostrowski, vice-marshal, stressed in his speech. – For me it is a space that has shaped me as a person. It is here that I learned respect for other people’s opinions, openness to new ideas and dialogue as a tool for communication. (…) Let today’s celebration be a tribute to science, researchers and teachers who, through their actions, make it possible to better understand the processes concerning the past, present and future of our civilisation.

– For eight decades, the University of Nicolaus Copernicus University (UMK) has established itself as one of the largest and best Polish universities, a research university, an ever-growing centre of science of international significance, a place of openness and innovation,’ wrote Marshall Piotr Całbecki in a letter addressed to the academic community. ’In accordance with the motto of the University and in the spirit of its great patron, may your daily work, full of dedication and humility, lead you towards the truth and its better understanding, contributing to building a better world for us and future generations.

The celebrations began with the traditional ceremonial laying of flowers at the monument to the university’s patron in Toruń’s Old Town Square.

Later, in the UMK auditorium, the title of Doctor Honoris Causa was awarded to Prof Oded Galor, a prominent economist from Brown University in Providence. The Ratio et Spes Prize, awarded by UMK and the Fondazione Vaticana Joseph Ratzinger – Benedetto XVI for outstanding interdisciplinary scientific publications, was received by Rev. Dr Paweł Kaszuba of the Pontifical University of John Paul II in Kraków.

The university’s 80th anniversary coincides with the 40th anniversary of the establishment of the medical school in Bydgoszcz (Ludwik Rydygier Medical University) and the 20th anniversary of its merger with the University of Toruń to form the UMK Collegium Medicum.

Nicolaus Copernicus University is one of the largest and most important scientific centres in Poland. The university educates 17,841 students (12,586 at the Toruń campus and 5,255 at the Bydgoszcz campus) at 16 faculties in 115 fields of study. UMK employs 4 498 people, including 2 435 academic teachers. In 2024, 4 246 graduates will leave the walls of the university.

Beata Krzemińska

Spokesperson of the Marshal’s Office

19 February 2025.