Rector Mr. Krzysztof Wawryn, Professor said the following about the Magna Charter Universitatum signed and the significance of this fact for the University:

• It is of the same importance to the European academic circles as the Declaration of the Human Rights is to all of us.

• For us, this document is first of all of a moral value. The fact that we belong to the European world of science has thus been confirmed. The Charter also puts an obligation on us to observe the rules as recorded in it.

Just like the citizens of the Republic of Poland, like any its institution, organization, or company, also the Technical University is a participant to the community which is the European Union. This is so as for a dozen or so years, it has been actively participating in international research and educational programmes, in exchanges of students and the didactic staff between university, it has been successfully implementing EU programmes: Socrates/Erasmus, Leonardo da Vinci, or recently its 5th, and now 6th Framework Programme. It is also an active member of international academic organizations, who are partners of the EU authorities. Our University belongs to the European University Association (EUA), the European Graduate Studies Group (EGSG), the European Society for Engineering Education (SEFI), as well as AIESEC (a students association). After the Minister of National Education and Sports signed on the day of 19 June 1999 the Bologna Declaration, the Koszalin University of Technology joined the process of building the European Educational Space and joint efforts, whose aim is a mutual recognition of diplomas by universities and a unification of the criteria of academic teaching.

1 May 2004, which marks a historic event for Poland, is also a great day for the Koszalin University of Technology, which was then already not only an active participant in the scientific and academic life of the Old Continent, but also a signatory to the basic document for European universities: Magna Charter Universitatum, i.e. the Great Charter of European Universities. This document, which is recognized by 600 universities, defines the ethical principles which they follow, defines the autonomies of universities and academic freedom. On behalf of the academic community of the Koszalin University of Technology, I had the honour to sign the Charter on the day of 18 September 2002 in Bologna: in the oldest university in the world, which has existed for 900 years now. I did this while being convinced that the future of societies depends not only of the scientific and technological development but also the development of culture, which constitutes the basis for people to come together and coexist in a harmonious way.

Mr Krzysztof Wawryn, Prof. Doctor Habilitated, M.Sc., Rector     

Rectors at a ceremony at the University of Bologna, on the first anniversary of the proclamation of Magna Charter Universitatum. The Koszalin University of Technology joined the circle of the signatories of this document: Rector Mr. Krzysztof Wawryn, Professor, participated in the ceremony of signing this document (the first person from the right, in the second row).