The University of Gdansk Institute of Informatics new building opening ceremony took place in the presence of the invited guests, students and employees of the Faculty of Mathematics, Physics and Informatics. The building is the state-of-the-art facility, one of the few such in Poland. It houses lecture halls, workrooms and science labs that meet teaching and research challenges of the XXI century. The new building started operation in October, this year. The investment was financed  by the Regional Operational Program for Pomorskie Voivodeship for the period 2014-2020, in response to job market demand for IT specialists.

The ceremony started with the ribbon cutting by the Rector of the University of Gdańsk prof. dr hab. Jerzy Piotr Gwizdała, together with the Director of the Department of Regional Programs at the Office of the Marshal of the Pomorskie Voivodeship, Jan Szymański and the President of the Management Board of DORACO Development Corporation, Karol Zduńczyk.

Pomeranian members of the parliament, diplomatic corps, representatives of local authorities, rectors and vice-rectors of Tricity universities, academic community, students and employees of the Informatics Institute all attended the ceremony.

The Rector of the University of Gdańsk prof. dr hab. Jerzy Piotr Gwizdała thanked all the individuals and institutions involved in creation of this facility and also highlighted its importance to the whole Pomorskie region. Locating the project in the Gdańsk University Oliwa Campus and equipping the facility with the cutting edge IT hardware that would allow for world-class IT education, was a joined initiative of the University’s management and the Marshal of the Pomorskie Voivodeship. Launching of applied informatics study course was the project’s objective, achieved by development and purchase of equipment and software. It is a direct response to the job market demand, Pomorskie region needs around four thousand new IT specialists.

The Director of the Department of Regional Programs at the Office of the Marshal of the Pomorskie Voivodeship, Jan Szymański spoke of Pomorskie development possibilities and lauded the opportunities  that regional programs funds could create for Pomorskie region. Mr. Szymański also emphasized that investing in the University of Gdansk Institute of Informatics facility was an excellent decision.

The Dean of the Faculty of Mathematics, Physics and Informatics prof. dr hab. Piotr Bojarski, on behalf of the University of Gdansk Institute of Informatics, thanked everybody involved in the project. He also expressed his gratitude to companies and institutions that work with the Institute on everyday basis contributing to the quality of education improvement and overall progress of the Institute.

The President of the Management Board of DORACO Development Corporation, Karol Zduńczyk (the University of Gdańsk alumnus) mentioned the excellent cooperation with the Investor and well-coordinated Contractor’s efforts as factors that allowed for the completion of the project one month before the deadline. Mr. Zduńczyk emphasized that providing students with a fully equipped facility and creating favorable conditions for students to start the academic year was crucial to them.

Aleksander Wardyn represented the freshmen students of the applied informatics, the inaugural course that launched at the University of Gdańsk in the academic year 2019/2020. He spoke about his IT related interests and his impression of the new course so far.

The creator and the first Head of the Institute of Informatics at the University of Gdańsk, Professor Andrzej Mostowski was awarded during the opening ceremony. The Rector of The University of Gdańsk, together with the Dean of the Faculty of Mathematics, Physics and Informatics presented Professor Mostowski with the University of Gdańsk Silver Medal, DOCTRINAE SAPIENTIAE HONESTATI. In recognition of his long-standing, fully-committed research and educational work to the benefit of the Faculty of Mathematics, Physics and Informatics of the University of Gdańsk.

The guests had the opportunity to tour the building after the conclusion of the official part that took place in the biggest lecture hall (capacity 170 people) at the Institute.