Dear Colleagues from YERUN universities,
The finishing year of 2024 has been extraordinarily significant for Nicolaus Copernicus University. It has been a year of transformation. Like all universities in Poland, ours also held elections for the position of Rector. Our team participated in the elections with a firm conviction that the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń can and should become a much stronger community of scholars, students, and support staff. It can and should better respond to the complex challenges of our times, and finally, it can and should become an internationally recognised university.
In this context, our membership in the YERUN network is crucial. We will consistently strive to ensure that member universities’ collaboration continues, develops, and adapts to emerging opportunities and evolving circumstances. The geographical location of Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń uniquely positions us to lead efforts in expanding the YERUN network to include academic and educational institutions from Central and Eastern Europe. In recent years, we have established numerous strong relationships with universities in Ukraine. Supporting Ukrainian academia is currently both a necessity and a crucial element of our strategy in countering Russian aggression. We have made changes at our University to ensure full compatibility with our YERUN membership and ambitions for collaboration within the network.
This year has been exceptional for us for another reason. In November, we celebrated the 20th anniversary of the merger of Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń with the Ludwik Rydygier Medical Academy in Bydgoszcz. This merger was a moment of historic significance for our University. The resulting unity has provided us with growth opportunities, improved the quality of research and teaching, and increased our prestige, including on the international stage. Additionally, in November, we celebrated the 40th anniversary of the Medical Academy in Bydgoszcz, and in 2025, we will commemorate the 80th anniversary of the founding of our University in Toruń. We are, therefore, in the midst of a triple Jubilee—20-40-80—with February 19 being a particularly significant date. On this day, we will combine our University Day with the celebration of its 80th anniversary and, at the request of the Polish Minister of Science, with the annual Polish Science Gala. On February 19, Toruń will host representatives of the entire Polish academic community. We invite all our dear friends from YERUN member universities to join us for this event. It would bring us great joy to celebrate this day with you.
Our community ends 2024 with renewed hope and enters 2025 with ambitious plans and a solid determination to realise them.
We wish all of you, our friends in YERUN, a prosperous New Year!
Professor Adam Kola, Vice-Rector for Research at Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń
