Beginnings
In 1364, after many years of endeavour, King Casimir the Great received permission from the Pope to establish a university in Krakow, the capital of the Kingdom of Poland. It was the second university to be founded in Central Europe, after Prague in 1348. Soon afterwards other universities were established in the area: in Vienna (1365), Pécs (1367), Erfurt (1379) and Heidelberg (1386).
However, the Studium Generale in Krakow, as the school was then called, started functioning practically only in 1367. It consisted of three faculties only: liberal arts, medicine and law, as Pope Urban V did not grant permission to establish a faculty of theology, regarded as the highest ranking discipline. Similarly, he refused to grant such a permission to the Universities of Vienna, Pécs and Erfurt.
Following the pattern adopted at the Universities of Bologna and Padua, the students had the right to elect the Rector. The University was most probably given accommodation at the Royal Castle on Wawel Hill. King Casimir's premature death in 1370 and the total lack of interest in the University demonstrated by his successor, King Louis of Anjou (King of Poland and Hungary), led to its gradual collapse.
The University (or the Academy, as it was called then) was restored owing to the endeavours of Queen Jadwiga, who pleaded its case with the Pope in Avignon and later bequeathed her personal effects to the University, which was re-established in 1400, after its benefactress's death. Henceforth it was a full medieval university, consisting of four faculties. As it followed the pattern of the University of Paris, its Rector was elected by the professors only. Colleges with accommodation for the professors and dormitories for students were founded.
The entire medieval world was based on a hierarchical system, with religious matters considered most crucial. Therefore the medieval university mirrored it in its structure, and thus liberals arts, that is philosophy, held the humblest position. A student began his studies at the liberal arts faculty, and only when he had completed the course he could continue at one of the other faculties, of which the faculty of theology was considered the highest one. Similarly, a university professor's career started at the arts faculty and could be crowned with a professorship in theology. This hierarchy also meant that that the remuneration of a professor of theology was considerably higher than that of other professors.
The Golden Age
The restored Krakow University soon established itself in the world of learning. Its first Rector, Stanislaw of Skarbimierz (d. 1431), the author of the famous work De bello iusto, is today regarded as one of the founders of international law. Another Rector, Pawel Wlodkowic (ca. 1370 - ca. 1435), argued successfully at the Council of Constance that it was inadmissible to convert heathens by force.
In the second half of the fifteenth century the Krakow schools of mathematics and astrology flourished. Their most eminent representatives were: Marcin Krol of zurawica (1422 - before 1460); Marcin Bylica of Olkusz (1433 - 1493), who later became the chief astrologer to King Matthias Corvinus in Buda; Marcin Biem (ca. 1470 - 1540), who devised a reform of the Julian calendar; Jan of Glogow (1445 - 1507), the author of numerous mathematical and astronomical tracts, known all over Europe; Wojciech of Brudzewo (ca. 1446 - 1495), the master to many students who later became eminent scholars in other European universities. In that period, in the years 1491 - 1495, Mikolaj Kopernik (Nicolaus Copernicus) studied liberal arts in Krakow. In his later years he made it clear that he was greatly indebted to Krakow University. The high academic status of the University was reflected in the fact that in the years 1433 - 1510 as many as 44 per cent of the students came from other countries than Poland.
Among those who studied in Krakow were such renowned scholars as Jan Virdung of Hassfurt (a professor at Heidelberg University), Johann Vollmar (a professor at Wittenberg), and the leading lights of the astronomical school in Vienna - Konrad Celtis, Erasmus Horitz and Stefan Roslein. Krakow, together with Seville and Toledo, was a major centre for the study of alchemy, in which mainly professors of medicine were involved, such as Maciej Miechowita (1457 - 1523) and Adam of Bochen (? - 1514). The renown of Krakow in the field of alchemy most probably contributed to the legend that Doctor Faustus sojourned in the city.
The Krakow Alma Mater was also a leading centre for the study of geography. Its most outstanding geographer was Maciej Miechowita, also a prominent physician and historian. He was the author of the notable and widely translated Tractatus de duabus Sarmatiis (1517), which provided the first systematic description of the lands between the Vistula, the Don and the Caspian Sea. In the early sixteenth century Krakow University was the first in Europe to teach Greek, and Hebrew soon afterwards.
From the Dawn of Grandeur to Kollataj Reform
In the first half of the sixteenth century the Krakow Academy rejected the ideas of the Reformation. Censorship by both the Bishop and the Rector effectively eliminated from Krakow all printed matter regarded as heretical. A small group of professors who supported the Reformation left the city, and the University, which adopted a strictly scholastic approach, gradually ceased to attract large numbers of students. Consequently, dormitory halls for German and Hungarian students were closed, and only Polish and Lithuanian students continued to study in Krakow. Also, the number of young noblemen at the University steadily declined, as the Polish nobility had gained the rights to hold important offices irrespective of academic requirements. Young noblemen interested in learning began to study abroad, particularly in Bologna and Padua. The Krakow Academy still boasted a number of eminent scholars, both Polish and foreign, it introduced lectures on Copernicus' fundamental work De Revolutionibus in the years 1578 - 1580, and among its graduates in that period were the famous writers Jan Kochanowski, Andrzej Frycz Modrzewski, Marcin Kromer and Mikolaj Rej, yet the golden age of the University was coming to a close.
In the seventeenth century the Academy - involved in a violent conflict with the Jesuits who, supported by King Sigismund III, attempted to control it - increasingly conservative and scholastic, lost international academic status. It shared the nation's declining position on the European stage. However, in spite of adversity, the Academy managed to establish a wide network of associated schools, known as "Academic Colonies". The first of them was its own secondary school, Nowodworski College, founded after the reform of the teaching system in 1586. But the Academy also experienced the siege of Krakow by the Swedes in 1655 and was plundered after the surrender of the city. The few notable academics at the Academy were only locally known. Among them were Jan Brozek (1585 - 1652), an outstanding mathematician and propagator of Copernicus' theory, and Stanislaw Pudlowski (1597 - 1645), who devised an universal measurement of length. In the late seventeenth century the University was rightly proud as its former student became King of Poland as John III Sobieski.
In the eighteenth century the University continued to decline, yet some symptoms of change became gradually apparent. The systematic teaching of German and French was introduced, as well as lectures in Polish law, geography and military engineering. In 1748 the Chair of Natural Science was established, yet attempts to attract foreign lecturers failed. It was only the National Education Commission, and particularly its inspector, Hugo Kollataj, later the University Rector, who managed to accomplish fundamental reforms at the University, which was then renamed the Main Crown School. A new organisational structure was introduced and a number of academic facilities were founded, such as the astronomical observatory, the botanical gardens, clinics and laboratories. All lectures were in Polish, and scholars educated at foreign universities in the spirit of the Enlightenment were appointed professors, to disseminate Enlightenment ideas among students.
The University community was actively involved in the Kosciuszko Insurrection of 1794, while the University authorities donated virtually all its valuables to the national cause.
The Struggle for Survival
The third and final Partition of Poland posed a serious threat to the very existence of the University, but fortunately it was saved by the intervention of Professors Jan sniadecki and Jozef Bogucki in Vienna. However, the University was subjected to the process of obliterating its Polish character and to its gradual reduction to the secondary school status. This threat disappeared after Austria's defeat in the war with France in 1809, when Krakow was incorporated into the Duchy of Warsaw. Yet the city was subjected to centralising policies within the Duchy, and later, when it had the status of the Free City of Krakow (1825 - 1846), to a number of restrictive and harassing acts from the 'protector' powers. In 1848 Krakow was again incorporated into the Austrian Empire, but after long years when the University had been regarded by the government in Vienna as a 'hotbed of revolution and anti-government political activities', it gradually became a self-governing body and regained the right to teach in Polish. This was certainly achieved in the result of the process of political liberalisation within Austria and followed the granting of autonomy to Galicia, the part of Poland under Austrian rule. It was the beginning of another golden age for the University, which had been renamed the Jagiellonian University in 1817.
The Golden Age Returns
Once again the University became a major academic centre. Scientific achievements of the time included the work of the following professors: the chemist Karol Olszewski (1846 - 1915) and the physicist Zygmunt Wroblewski (1845 - 1888), who were the first to liquefy oxygen and nitrogen from the air in 1883, and later also other gases; the physiologist Napoleon Cybulski (1854 - 1919), who explained the functioning of adrenaline; the anatomopathologist Tadeusz Browicz (1847 - 1928), who identified the typhoid microbe; the physicist Marian Smoluchowski (1872 - 1917), the author of major works on the kinetic theory of matter; the chemist Leon Marchlewski (1869 - 1946), who conducted research on chlorophyll; Paulin Kazimierz zurawski (1866 - 1953) and Stanislaw Zaremba (1863 - 1942), whose outstanding research gave origin to a new school of mathematics; their work was further developed by their eminent disciples.
The awareness of Poles of their own history was largely shaped by the works of the illustrious Krakow historians, particularly by Michal Bobrzynski (1849 - 1935) and Jozef Szujski (1835 - 1883). Other famous scholars were Kazimierz Morawski (1852 - 1925), who specialised in classical studies, and Leon Sternbach (1864 - 1940), a specialist in Byzantine studies. The Law Faculty played an important role in developing legal procedures, and its most prominent members were: Edmund Krzymuski (1852 - 1928), professor of penal law; Fryderyk Zoll Jr (1865 - 1948), professor of civil law; Stanislaw Wroblewski (1868 - 1938), professor of Roman and civil law.
The above were only some of the many outstanding professors of the time. What is most important, the high academic achievement of the University was largely due to a considerable expansion of its infrastructure. The number of chairs increased threefold, so that by the last academic year before the First World War there were ninety seven of them, while the number of students in the same year was over three thousand. They were mostly male, but in 1897 first female students were admitted to study pharmacy. They were gradually accepted by other faculties; the last of them to admit women was the Law Faculty in 1918.
The Difficult Twentieth Century
After Poland achieved independence in 1918, the number of Polish universities increased from two (Krakow and Lvov) to five, as the Universities in Warsaw and Vilnius were restored, and the University in Poznan was founded. The academic staff of those schools was largely drawn from the resources of the Jagiellonian University. In the inter-war years Krakow University was considerably expanded. New clinical facilities for the Faculty of Medicine were built, and a modern building to house the Jagiellonian Library was completed. New departments were established, such as the Department of Pedagogy and the Slavic Department in the Philosophy Faculty, and the Physical Education Department in the Faculty of Medicine. However, the University was also affected by the deep political divides within the Polish society of the time and by the overwhelming economic depression. Many political conflicts between students of widely different political views often resulted in violence. The Senate of the Jagiellonian University repeatedly protested against the authoritarian rule of the government, particularly against the trial of opposition politicians at Brest in 1931, as well as against limiting the Universities' autonomy. The Great Depression in the years 1930 - 1934 severely affected the finances of the young Polish state, which resulted in drastic cuts in expenditure on education. Financial strictures meant that the University lost five chairs in 1933. However, the decision concerning the chairs to be abolished was of a political nature, and affected the chairs headed by professors who supported the opposition political parties, like Professor Stanislaw Kot, whose Chair in History of Culture was abolished.
Nonetheless, in spite of difficulties, the Jagiellonian University maintained its high academic reputation. Professor Tadeusz Banachiewicz (1882 - 1954), mathematician, astronomer and geodesist, devised a new method of mathematical calculation, known as Cracovian calculation. The Krakow School of Linguistic boasted such outstanding scholars as: Jan Rozwadowski (1867 - 1935), Jan los (1860 - 1928), Kazimierz Nitsch (1874 - 1958) and Tadeusz Lehr-Splawinski (1891 - 1965). Other major academic achievements were the School of Differential Equations, developed by Tadeusz Wazewski (1896 - 1972), a disciple of Stanislaw Zaremba, which became internationally recognised after the Second World War, and the School of Analytical Functions, developed by Franciszek Leja (1885 - 1979). Other notable academics were: Konstanty Michalski (1879 - 1947), specialist in medieval philosophy; Rafal Taubenschlag (1881 - 1958), professor of Roman law; Adam Krzyzanowski (1873 - 1963), professor of political economics; Tadeusz Sinko (1877 - 1963), professor of Classics and writer on classical culture; Roman Dyboski (1883 - 1945), professor of English literature; Wladyslaw Konopczynski (1880 - 1952), historian, a great expert on the eighteenth century period.
The Jagiellonian University was dramatically affected by the German occupation of Poland. On 6th November the Nazis ostensibly invited the University professors and other teachers to a lecture by Obersturmbannführer Müller. The lecture turned out to be a trap. 144 University staff were arrested by the Gestapo, together with some students, 21 professors of the Academy of Mining and others, and sent to a concentration camp. In total 183 persons were imprisoned. The University was closed, its property dismantled, destroyed, looted or sent to Germany. The University suffered losses also from the Soviets. Among the Polish POWs murdered at Katyn and Kharkov were fourteen Reserve Officers - University teachers and graduates. Yet the other university staff resolved to persevere in the face of adversity. University courses were taught in a clandestine way, flaunting the strict Nazi ban on all but the most basic education. During the war period this underground university had about 800 students.
The years 1939 - 1945 had a devastating effect on the University. 34 University professors and other staff died in the concentration camps of Sachsenhausen, Dachau and Auschwitz, as well as in Kharkov, Katyn and other death camps, the victims of both the Nazis and the Soviets. By 18th January 1945, which marked the end of the Nazi occupation of Krakow, the University laboratories, libraries and teaching facilities had been largely destroyed or taken away to Germany, research had ceased, and academic contacts had been severed. However, lectures began in February 1945, with over 5000 students registered. It seemed that this was the period of both reconstruction and rapid expansion. The first three post-war years were promising. Many academics who had been forced to leave Lvov and Vilnius or those who could not returned to Warsaw, virtually flattened by the war, found employment at the Jagiellonian University. Krakow professors were actively involved in the settlement of Western Poland and in preparing materials for the post-war peace conference, which, however, never took place. The University opened new departments, among them the Co-operative Department and the Institute of Zootechnics, and decided to build the new Collegium Chemicum.
However, the year 1948 marked the beginning of the worst period in the University post-war history. Stalinism cast its ominous shadow also on higher education. The Polish United Workers' Party was in full control of every aspect of University life. Some professors were dismissed, among them the world-famous philosopher Roman Ingarden (1893 - 1970), the historian Wladyslaw Konopczynski and the economist Adam Krzyzanowski. The University was forced to part with its printing house and with a number of its Faculties - of Medicine, Pharmacy, Agriculture, Forestry, and Theology, as well as with the Department of Physical Education and the Co-operative Department. Those faculties were either transformed into new self-contained schools of higher education or incorporated into other schools. In the effect of those changes the University was stripped of all autonomy and research was severely inhibited. Nonetheless, even in that gloomy period the University boasted a number of outstanding professors such as: Stanislaw Pigon (1885 - 1968) and Juliusz Kleiner (1886 - 1957), professors of Polish literature; Henryk Niewodniczanski (1900 - 1968), professor of physics, who founded the study of atomic physics in Krakow; Jan Dabrowski (1890 - 1965), professor of history; the botanist Wladyslaw Szafer (1886 - 1970); Wladyslaw Wolter (1897 - 1986), the founder of the Krakow School of Penal Studies; Jan Gwiazdomorski (1899 - 1977), excellent expert in civil law; Stefan Szuman (1889 - 1972), one of the most outstanding Polish psychologists. Already at that period Karol Wojtyla, the last Associate Professor appointed at the Faculty of Theology, and later Pope John Paul II, began to establish his reputation as a philosopher and theologian.
The great change which came with the end of Stalinism in 1956 affected the University, as it did the whole country. The professors who had been dismissed were allowed to resume their jobs, and the University self-government was restored, the government, however, reserving the right to extensive control, particularly concerning academic promotion.
In 1964 the Jagiellonian University celebrated its 600th anniversary. The occasion was marked by a major expansion programme in its infrastructure, which included new buildings for the Institutes of Physics (where a section was provided - temporarily, as it was then intended - for the Institute of Mathematics), Biology and Zoology, Geology and Modern Languages. The Jagiellonian Library and the Botanical Gardens were extended, a new Astronomical Observatory was built as well as the new facilities for the Department of Physical Education, and a number of minor projects.
In 1968 students at the University were actively involved in political protests against the regime, which was followed by repressive measures against the most active protesters and some of the staff, particularly those of Jewish origin. Some academics decided to emigrate from Poland, among them Professor Stefan Ritterman and Associate Professor Jan Gorecki, both eminent specialist in civil law. Still, when compared with the situation at other universities, repressive measures at the Jagiellonian University were considerably limited. This was certainly due both to the University authorities, who firmly defended the fundamental principles of academic ethics and co-operation, and to virtually all the staff.
In later periods the University also took actions to defend academic freedom and human rights and firmly maintained its academic standards. In 1981 the Senate commission, chaired by Rector Jozef A. Gierowski, prepared a draft of a new University Bill. Eventually, it provided the basis for the democratic and liberal University Act of 1982.
As in the past six centuries, in the more recent times the Jagiellonian University also abounded in eminent academics. Among them were the professors who died in the last three decades: Adam Vetulani (1901 - 1976) law historian; Stanislaw Nahlik (1911 - 1991), professor of international law, well known in Europe; Jerzy Kurylowicz (1895 - 1978), internationally known linguist; Karol Estreicher Jr (1906 - 1984) and Tadeusz Dobrowolski (1899 - 1984), art historians; Kazimierz Wyka (1910 - 1975), brilliant literary critic and professor of Polish literature; Kazimierz Kordylewski (1903 - 1981), discoverer of the dust moons of Earth; Jan Zurzycki (1925 - 1984), molecular biologist; Kazimierz Guminski (1908 - 1983), the 'father' of the Polish School of Theoretical Chemistry; the above mentioned mathematicians Tadeusz Wazewski and Franciszek Leja, as well as the mathematicians Stanislaw Golab (1902 - 1980) and Jacek Szarski (1921 - 1980).
Modern University
The structure of the Jagiellonian University is unique in Poland. Among the 15 faculties, there are three which comprise the Collegium Medicum: The Faculties of Medicine and Dentistry, Pharmacy, and Health Protection. These three were separated from the University in 1950, following the Soviet model, and reincorporated in the Alma Mater in1993. Until recently, the Jagiellonian was the only Polish university with medical faculties, although currently the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń also has them.
The Jagiellonian University educates on the three levels: Ordinary, Masters, and Doctoral, following the principles of the Bologna Process. There are well over a hundred degrees and specialties available in Polish, as well as over a dozen in English. The European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) has been implemented in all courses and specialties, enabling trouble-free linking of studies at UJ with studies in other European countries. Together with the development of co-operation with a number of universities worldwide, this has enabled a great increase in student mobility.
Ever more frequently there are foreign-language lectures, in addition to lectures given by foreign academics included in study programmes, for instance in the sphere of mathematics at the Faculty of Physics, Astronomy, and Applied Computer Science, within the framework of the School of Foreign Law (German, American, and French) at the Faculty of Law and Administration, or the School of Medicine in English at the Jagiellonian University. The teaching of foreign languages has been reformed with the creation of the Jagiellonian Language Centre. Students of the Jagiellonian University must complete their studies with knowledge of two foreign languages at intermediate level at least. It is worth pointing out at this juncture that a course in English for Blind and Partially-sighted Students has been set up. These lectures, led by a lecturer trained in the UK, include the specifics of work with disabled students.
The process of accreditation for particular courses of study proceeds without difficulty through the State Accreditation Committee and the University Accreditation Committee. The university also has accreditation from the USA Department of Education. The high level of studies at the Jagiellonian University is reflected by the fact that, in the annual all-Poland competition, its students win over 10% of ministerial grants, in addition to winning international competitions. Arkadiusz Pawlik, Bartłomiej Walczak and Paweł Walter, students at the Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science, under the supervision of Professors Paweł Idziak and Maciej Żenczykowski took second place in the 30th International Collegiate Programming Contest. The Final of the Championships took place on April 12th 2006 in San Antonio, Texas. Furthermore, at a mathematical competition for Central European students in Ostrava (15th Annual Vojtech Jarnik International Mathematical Competition), the Jagiellonian Universitys representative, Paweł Januszewski, took first place in the younger students category, while in the senior students category the Universitys representative, Jakub Byszewski, took third place. Jagiellonian University mathematics students team, comprising Mateusz Michałek, Tomasz Warszawski, Paweł Januszewski and Michał Lasoń, won the 13th International Mathematics Competition for Students. The Competition was organised this year in Odessa in the Ukraine, and representatives of higher education institutions from all over the world participated. Individually, the best of the Jagiellonian University students, Mateusz Michałek, took fifth place. This resulted in his being awarded the Grand First Prize. Five participants in the Competition received this award. All the remaining representatives of the Jagiellonian University were awarded First Prize. Graduates of the School of Medicine in English, most of whom come from Norway, annually take the top places in the exams which allow medical graduates to practise their profession. It is no surprise that University graduates do well in the job market, abroad as well as at home. They are assisted in their preparations for work by the Career Offices, supported by, among others, the Centre of Innovation, Technology Transfer and University Development. Within the training offered by these units, students are not only prepared for competition for the jobs offered by employers, but they also learn the principles and opportunities of developing their own private companies.
The academic level of the University is indicated by the fact that almost every faculty has received category 1, the highest, in the official rankings of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education. Junior academics and doctors from the Jagiellonian annually receive over 10% of the prestigious grants awarded by the Foundation for Polish Science in recognition of the level of their scientific research. Academics from the University are effective in their competition for grants from European research programmes, and the University has several European Centres of Excellence. The medical sciences also have their triumphs, in particular cardiology and cardiac surgery. Professor Edward Malec was awarded the top prize by the European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgeons. He received the honour for the operating and post-operative treatment in paediatric cardiac surgery developed by his team. In 2005, at the Faculty of Medicine Institute of Cardiology CM UJ, Department of Cardiovascular Surgery and Transplantology, the worlds first biological valve transplant from an equine pericardium (an operation devised by two cardiac surgeons from Los Angeles) was undertaken by a team led by Professor Jerzy Sadowski, the head of the department. The respect in which the university cardiologists are held is witnessed by the fact that the Second Cardiology Clinic UJ is frequently requested to arrange live transmissions of its operations at international cardiological conferences. On December 15th , 2005, a new (for Poland) operation took place at the University Children's Hospital in Cracow which involved the reconstruction of facial skin on 9-year-old Angelika, who had suffered severe burns in March of that year. As a result of her accident, 70% of the childs body was burned. A team of doctors supervised by Doctor Jacek Puchała of the Paediatric Surgery Department CM UJ transplanted to Angelika a so-called Integra artificial skin, which will be partially replaced later by transplants of healthy tissue taken from the girl.
Biotechnology, Biophysics and Biochemistry are also developing successfully. Among the most frequently cited Polish researchers during the past five years are: Professor Jan Potempa (Microbiology Research Group), Professor Tadeusz Sarna (Biophysics Research Group), Doctor habilitated Józef Dulak (Medical Biotechnology Research Group), and Doctor habilitated Alicja Józkowicz (Medical Biotechnology Research Group). Doctor Józef Dulaks team discovered new mechanisms responsible for the formation of blood vessels and cell resistance to stress. The recognition of these phenomena enables the search for new ways of treating tumours to be developed. In addition, in the Zoological Institute, a method of applying autological stem cells in the treatment of pseudoarthrosis as well as poorly-healing fractures has been devised, which has given good results in terms of total and accelerated healing.
Among the numerous achievements in physics, it may be recalled that Professor Maciej A. Nowak, from the Institute of Physics, wrote articles with his foreign collaborators over 13 years ago predicting the existence and properties of a new family of hadrons consisting of a c quark and an s antiquark. His predictions were confirmed in April and May, 2003, when the particles were finally discovered. (they completed the theoretical interpretation of a new family of hadrons).
The strong position of the humanities and social sciences is also being upheld. Among numerous publications, there may be distinguished a new series devoted to the History of Poland, as well as successive tomes of the History of Cracow. In 2006, in the competition for professorial grants from the Foundation for Polish Science, there were twelve laureates, of whom five represented the Jagiellonian University. The research expedition mounted by junior Jagiellonian University archaeologists to Guatemala ended with resounding success. In 2006, in the territory of Nakum, a Mayan cultural centre, they discovered a chiefs grave, which had not been looted, and inside it, among other things, a jade breastplate. The success is even greater since this was the first fully independent Polish archaeological project carried out in the land of the Mayans.
The ancient Jagiellonian University, covered with the moss of centuries, is simultaneously a young, innovative place. A new, modern campus, called the Third Campus, between Zakrzówek and Pychowice, is being built barely 4km from the centre of Cracow. In 1999, the Research Centre for the Life Sciences was opened there, and in 2002 this was followed by the opening of the Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology building, with the most up-to-date scientific and technological infrastructure in Poland, and the Institute of Environmental Protection. In 2005, the new site for the Institute of Geography and Spatial Management was opened. The infrastructure in the very centre of Cracow is also being transformed and modernised - in 2005 the Auditorium Maximum was opened; a complex of lecture halls and the first real conference centre in Cracow. The construction was financed by the European Regional Development Fund (in the context of Measure 1.3.1) to the order of 29,323,200 PLN. Thanks to this, the Jagiellonian University has hosted a range of international conferences and congresses, including, for the first time in Poland and only the second time in Europe, the Annual Conference of the European Association for International Education (EAIE), which was held in Cracow in 2005. The Jagiellonian Centre of Innovation, Ltd., (JCI), founded by the Jagiellonian University, was granted 40 million PLN from the Structural Fund (SPO-WKP) to build the Technological and Academic Incubator of Technology Park specializing in the Life Sciences. The JCI plan is the first of its type in Central Europe, directed towards the creation and development of hi-tech companies in the biotechnology and biomedicine sectors, and the development and commercial roll-out of bioproducts in co-operation with industry. The Incubator was switched on in May 2006. The Cracow Technology Park, initiated by the Jagiellonian, has been developing systematically, and has already attracted a number of leading firms, among them Motorola. The construction of further buildings for the life science and hard science faculties continues, and also for the Faculty of Administration and Social Communication. In October 2006, the UJ CMs Faculty of Medicine opened its Lecture-Conference Centre, sited on ul. Łazarza. It is a modern building with a total surface area of 7 918 m2 and a usable surface area of 6 079 m2. The university is further developing its computerisation, including the setting up of the University Study-Oriented System, as well as the provision of electronic identity cards to students. The seat of the Rector and Deans is the Collegium Novum, built in 1887 and situated by the Planty, alongside other university buildings, creating a Cracovian Latin Quarter. The most valuable of these other buildings is the Collegium Maius, the professorial college (since 1400), and in the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries the site of the Jagiellonian Library. The unique Jagiellonian University Museum located there, with its exceptional collection of old scientific instruments, university memorabilia, and professors portrait gallery, Polands only permanent interactive exhibition, reminds us that the Jagiellonian University is Poland's oldest institution, its existence uninterrupted despite all of Poland's political turmoil.
