University at a glance
The University at a glance
University of Warsaw (UW, 1816) – Poland’s largest and finest University; a public HEI, research-oriented and mobility friendly. From its beginning UW has played a major role in the intellectual, political, economic, social, and cultural life of Poland.
UW belongs to the top 3% of universities in the world according to the global rankings such as ARWU, QS, THE; was given the Erasmus Charter for Higher Education and the HR Excellence in Research awards by the European Commission; is ranked No.1 university in Poland, continuously since 2014 (source: PERSPEKTYWY ranking published every year since 2000, including 29 indicators).
21 faculties, 30 independent teaching & research units; 48,500 students (incl. 3,000 PhD), 3,000 post-diploma learners, 7,300 staff, incl. 3,750 researchers/teachers; over 100 study fields in Humanities, Earth, Social, Natural, and Exact Sciences at first/second/third cycles (Bachelor/Master/Doctoral levels), 5-year Master Studies in Law, Psychology; Executive MBA; 25 degree programmes in English; 26 Joint/Dual Master programmes; over 1,500 courses in foreign languages; vocational training; e-learning; summer education.
UW is the most active and efficient university in Poland in terms of participation in EU programmes which is demonstrated by the following selected data:
- leader of the Erasmus programme in Poland and most active Polish HEI in terms of student and staff mobility: e.g. over 2.500 outgoing & incoming students and staff by Learning Mobility of Individuals (KA103) project in 2016-2018; 7 Strategic Partnerships projects in 2018 and 1 Capacity Building project;
- within Erasmus Mundus in 2007-2018: e.g. as a partner university in Joint Master Programme NOHA, ADVANCES; as a partner university in 28 Action 2 projects with HEIs from Asia, Russia, Middle East, Latin America; as a coordinating institution in 4 Action 2 projects: SIGMA/SIGMA Agile – Western Balkans, SALAM/SALAM2 – Iran, Iraq, Yemen;
- within Horizon 2020 – ca. 55 ongoing projects; winner of consecutive editions of „Crystal Brussels Sprout” awarded by the college of experts from sectors headed by the Polish Minister of Science and Higher Education;
- 14 ERC – European Research Council grants received in a wide range of areas: algorithms, anthropology, archaeology, astronomy, cryptography, cultural sciences, linguistics, logic, mathemathical physics, sociology.
UW is constantly developing the University Study-Oriented System (called USOS – https://www.usos.edu.pl/about-usos; a student management information system used in 50 Polish HEIs) as well as its software system (USOS-IRO and Mobility-IRO modules).
UW is one of the 15 project partners in the EWP 2.0 consortium (2018-2019). UW was also
a very active member of important projects such as: EWP1 (2015-2017), EMREX, EGRACONS. It is worth stressing that the EWP 2.0 project is linked to other European digital initiatives and tools: the Online Learning Agreement (OLA), the Erasmus+ App, the European Student Card (ESC).
UW’s faculties obtained national and international accreditations, such as EQUIS, AMBA, AASBI. The University is a member of multiple international and Polish associations and networks, for instance: European University Association (EUA), European University Foundation (EUF), EUNIS (European University Information Systems), UNICA, EMT, NOHA, HUMANE, ASAIHL, MUCI (University Centre for Informatization), IROs Forum.
UW holds excellent positions in the comparative evaluations of quality of education, in particular study programmes, such as the Quacquarelli Symonds World University Ranking and Eduniversal Best Masters and MBA Worldwide. 17 programmes provided by UW have been listed in QS World University Rankings by Subject 2018. 15 programmes offered by UW have been listed in Eduniversal Best Masters & MBA Ranking 2017.
The quality of education assurance and enhancement system at UW is built with strict observance of autonomy and specific character of UW units and with the support and popularisation of the best and most effective solutions. The quality of education is also confirmed by research conducted amongst the University’s graduates. UW conducts the largest research enterprise of its kind in Europe by monitoring the careers of its former students. Results demonstrate that having a diploma from the University of Warsaw is
a definite asset on the job market: 94% of respondents have found employment within one year of graduation.
IRO, January 2019
Did you know?
UW is holding 96th place worldwide in Nature Index of Rising Stars.
UW is involved in many international parterships in research and education, i.a:
- University of Oxford – partner in the joint unit called International Research Agenda in Quantum Optical Technologies;
- University of Cambridge – joint programme in Polish Studies/Slavonic Studies);
- University of Chengdu – joint programme 2+1+2 in Polish studies, double diploma (in Polish language and literature from Chengdu University, and in Economics or International Relations from UW).
Basic information on research at UW
New, but already well-established interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary research centres (Digital Humanities Laboratory, Centre for New Technologies, Centre for Forensic Sciences, Biological and Chemical Research Centre, and the centres mentioned below) offer modern infrastructure to Polish and international research teams.
Digital Economy Lab for innovation and digital transformation – initiated by Google in 2014, serves as a platform for cooperation and the exchange of ideas between academia, business and public institutions; it provides analyses and expertise to support innovation, increase efficiency, and optimise organisational processes; it runs its own entrepreneurship lab and conducts research in 5 main areas: Smart Economy & Innovation, Society in digital age, Jobs & skills for the future, Data science, Entrepreneurship & academia.
UW Heavy Ion Laboratory (HIL) is equipped with Warsaw K=160 cyclotron carrying the status of European infrastructure.
Interdisciplinary Centre for Mathematical and Computational Modelling (ICM), created in 1993, is the main high-performance computational centre in Poland. It serves as a big data analysis centre and as a platform offering access to more than a dozen of scientific databases. ICM conducts an open data academy for students and is also involved in the OpenAIRE initiative.
UW is partner in two partnerships KICs – EIT Food and Climate-KIC, conducted under the European Institute of Innovation and Technology activities.
Within International Research Agenda Units two of them have to be mentioned: ReMedy (Regenerative Mechanisms for Health – a joint unit of UW and the University Medical Center Göttingen), and the Centre of Quantum Optical Technologies (a joint unit of UW and the University of Oxford).
UW Entrepreneurship Incubator, supported by Microsoft, offers communications, marketing, and legal expert support, individual mentoring, workshops and training (free of charge for students and doctoral candidates for the period of 1,5 years).
University of Warsaw Innovation Club is a university platform where science meets business.
Warsaw Genomics spin-off developed within the University (one out of six) was recognised by the Central European Startup Awards as the best start-up in Poland.
UW was granted “HR Excellence in Research” award given by the European Commission, in recognition of its progress in implementing the European Charter for Researchers.
For detailed information on research please contact the Office for International Research and Liaison.
IRO, January 2019
Based on information provided by UW’s units.
