History
At the conference of the Polish miners and metallurgists held in Kraków on 24 February 1912, a resolution was passed indicating the need for the university of mining. A campaign of support was started in the Parliament of Austria-Hungary. The Ministry of Public Works agreed to the founding of the Academy in 1912, in April 1913 the Organizing Committee was appointed and on 31 May 1913 the Academy of Mining was officially established. The building site was chosen and the competition for the architectural designs announced.
The Academy opened on 1 October 1919 in the sovereign Polish Second Republic. Initially 80 students began their education at the newly formed Faculty. The Faculty of Metallurgy was added in 1922. In 1939 the Academy had approximately 600 students and 30 professors.
Between 1919 and 1939 a total of 797 mining and metallurgy engineers graduated from the Academy, and about 100 foreign diplomas were officially recognized. The graduates took up senior posts in the Polish industry, particularly in Upper Silesia and other industrial centres.
At the onset of World War II, during Operation Sonderaktion Krakau, 22 Academy professors and assistant professors were arrested by the Nazis and sent to the Sachsenhausen concentration camp. The main building was used by the German government of the occupied Polish territory. Part of the Academy however, retained its status and became the centre for underground teaching, vital for the Academy's future.
After the war, a group of professors, staff members and students reclaimed the ruined main building of the Academy and more than 500 students began their courses. In 1946 new faculties were opened: the Faculty of Geology and Surveying, and the Faculty of Ceramics, broadening the Academy's programme. In 1949 the Academy was renamed as the Academy (later University) of Mining and Metallurgy.
Under Stalinism and until 1956 the Academy enjoyed certain freedoms with its authorities still elected. Afterwards, the autonomy and elections were suspended for more than 10 years. In 1969 the university was named the Stanisław Staszic Academy of Mining and Metallurgy. The number of students went up from 2,000 to 13,000 in the period from 1950 to 1979.
During the 80-year period (except for the war years), 73,085 students graduated from the University with master's or engineer's degrees. 3,607 persons were granted the degree of Doctor of Science, 896 successfully completed postdoctoral qualifications of Habilitated Doctor. The AGH-UST researchers published nearly 60,000 papers and books.
Read more about this topic: AGH University Of Science And Technology
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