Celebrations of the 10th Anniversary of the Centre for Advanced Studies WUT - report

The idea of the Centre was born in 2000, with an initial offer of advanced lectures addressed to doctoral students. However, it was officially established as the Centre for Advanced Studies on 1 February 2008 by order of the Rector of the Warsaw University of Technology.

The basic objective of the Unit is multidisciplinarity and multidimensionality of the undertaken activities with a view to improving the level of scientific research and the quality of education at master's and doctoral level.

As an extra-faculty unit, the Centre within the structure of the University provides a unique space for organising a wide range of educational activities, based on interdisciplinary lectures, symposia, workshops and many other initiatives which, due to the structural and thematic constraints at the regular faculties, could not take place effectively elsewhere at the University.

The Centre creates a friendly space for the integration of the different faculties of WUT within their joint tasks. It consociates eminent professors, young academic staff and ambitious, most talented doctoral students of the University. The Centre's teaching staff is made up of scientists with a non-standard, interdisciplinary approach to the transfer of knowledge, with the aim of activating the potential of young minds. Thanks to this, creative intellectual exchange between generations and different academic environments is carried out, leading to innovative research solutions and learning about the complexity of scientific issues of an inter-area nature.

The program of the ceremony, which began at 15:15, included the following points:

• Director of the Centre - welcome speech
• Speech by the Rector of the Warsaw University of Technology, Prof. Jan Szmidt
• Speech by the former Rector of the Warsaw University of Technology, Prof. Włodzimierz Kurnik
• Director of the Centre - Presentation of the activities of the Centre over the course of the decade
• Announcement of the awarding of the Pythagorean Universe Distinction  to Professor Ian Stewart
• Laudation of the laureate of the Distinction - Dr. Krzysztof Ciesielski
• Award Ceremony
• Lecture by Prof. Ian Stewart
• Director of the CAS - final speech
• Concerto of the Polish Flute Quartet - performance of works by four well-known composers: J.S. Bach, W.A. Mozart, N. Paganini, E. Bozza
  

During the ceremony, the Distinction ‚Pythagorean Universe‘ was presented to Professor Ian Stewart. The motto of the award is Laus tibi, non tuleris qui vincula mente animoque - "Glory to you for not letting your mind and spirit be bound". Professor Ian Stewart is the fourth laureate next to Professor Krzysztof Maurin (2014), Professor Marek Abramowicz (2015) and Professor Henryk Skarżyński (2016).

The former Rector of the Warsaw University of Technology, Professor Włodzimierz Kurnik, during whose term the Centre was established, stressed the particular importance and need for such a unit to exist and operate within a technical university, placing particular emphasis on the results achieved and on the accompishing  of the missionary goals of the Centre. Prof. Jan Szmidt, Rector of the Warsaw University of Technology, congratulated on our achievements so far and wished us further success in developing innovative methods of education and scientific research.

The presentation was accompanied by invited guests: representatives of the University's authorities - Rector of the WUT - Prof. Jan Szmidt, Vice-Rector WUT for Science - Prof. Rajmund Bacewicz and Prof. Marianna Jacyna, Prof. Mirosław Karpierz, Prof. Zbigniew Brzózka, Prof. Franciszek Krok, Prof. Józef Lubacz, Prof. Jan Słyk, Deputy Director of the CAS Dr. Piotr Przybyłowicz, Prof of WUT; and external guests, among others: Agnieszka Slósarska (ATDI),Prof.  Zbigniew Marciniak, Prof. Michael Giersig, Prof. Ewa Bartnik, Prof. Jan Piela, Prof. Marek Demiański, Dr. Leszek Mellibruda, Prof. Kazimierz Stępień, Prof. Marek Trippenbach, Prof. Marek Kuś, as well as students and high school students from all over Poland.

After the main ceremonies, the invited guests went to the Centre's office to celebrate the anniversary and discuss the issues concerning the Centre. 

In addition, information sheets summarizing the most important achievements of the Centre were presented to the general public in the Main Building of the WUT.

On the occasion of the celebrations, a publication entitled "Ludzie, myśli, inspiracje i idee" (People, thoughts, inspirations and ideas) was published, which summarizes the long-term activities of the Centre, initiated, conducted and coordinated by the Director of the Centre, Prof. Stanisław Janeczko. The book is a compendium of knowledge and information about the numerous lectures, lectures, conferences, workshops and meetings held so far and about the professors visiting the Centre. The collected material proves a great variety of activities, people and ideas gathered within one institution - the Centre for Advanced Studies. It also testifies to the high involvement of the Centre's employees, chaired by Prof. S. Janeczko, in the organisation and implementation of initiatives that led to effective results of cooperation between eminent persons from the world of science for the benefit of the Centre and the entire academic community of the Warsaw University of Technology. For researchers, this publication is a valuable reference source for the scientific issues of individuals and research groups, where aspects of interest to them can be found.

As part of the celebrations, a symposium was held in Sterdyń, entitled "Recognition and Creation in Science and Technology" on April 13-15, 2018, with the participation of Prof. Ian Stewart and many prominent scientists, collaborators of the Centre for Advanced Studies.