“Co-operation Pays” – this was the motto behind the grand opening of one of the most modern teaching and research buildings in Poland – the University of Gdańsk’s Institute of Biotechnology.
The ceremony took place on 14th April 2016 in the company of invited guests and members of the academic community, especially the Intercollegiate Faculty of Biotechnology of the University of Gdańsk and Gdańsk Medical University.
The University of Gdańsk’s new Institute of Biotechnology building was created to meet the needs of the Intercollegiate Faculty of Biotechnology of the University of Gdańsk and Gdańsk Medical University, the leading teaching and research institution in Poland and unique in being the only unit in the country co-formed by two universities, which in turn leads to the interdisciplinary nature of the academic research and instruction.
The Dean of the Intercollegiate Faculty of Biotechnology of the University of Gdańsk and Gdańsk Medical University, Professor Igor Konieczny, recalled the history of biotechnology in Gdańsk remembering the founding figures of Prof. Anna Podhajska, Prof. Wacław Szybalski and Prof. Karol Taylor, as well as Prof. Stefan Angielski, Prof. Zbigniew Grzonka, Prof. Wiesław Makarewicz and Prof. Maciej Żylicz, without whom the new faculty would not exist.
The Rector of the University of Gdańsk, Prof. Bernard Lammek, and the Rector of Gdańsk Medical University, Prof. Janusz Moryś, stressed that co-operation between the institutions is the strength behind the interdisciplinary faculty, which is the pride of both students and staff.
The Intercollegiate Faculty of Biotechnology was created in June 1993, initially housed in the building of the old Viktoriaschule at 23, Kładki St. and from 1998 in a then newly constructed extension at 24, Kładki St. The University of Gdańsk’s new Institute of Biotechnology building was built as part of the Infrastructure and Environment Operational Programme and the total cost of the investment was in excess of 60.5 million złoty. Construction began in 2014 and finished in December 2015. Students were able to start the winter semester of the 2015-2016 academic year in the edifice of the new Institute of Biotechnology. This teaching and research building, one of the most cutting-edge in Poland, with a surface area of 7,868.18 m², currently occupies four storeys and one underground level. It holds modern, high quality research equipment, specialist laboratories, including the only BSL 3 laboratory in Poland for work on the most virulent pathogens (with exceptionally clean and airtight conditions), and also scientific and research and teaching laboratories, an auditorium for 200 people, seminar rooms, computer rooms, a reading room and the Faculty Council Chamber.
During the ceremony, the Rector of the University of Gdańsk, Prof. Bernard Lammek, and the Faculty Dean, Prof. Igor Konieczny, thanked the regional and state authorities, staff at the University of Gdańsk and Gdańsk Medical University who worked to raise the investment and who supported the university authorities during this period. “I would also like to thank the European Union, the National Information Processing Institute and the National Centre for Research and Development. These may be institutions, but behind them there are people without whom the construction of such a cutting-edge building would not have been possible,” Prof. Igor Konieczny added.
The ceremony culminated in the symbolic putting away of a builder’s hard-hat by the Faculty Dean and the cutting of a ribbon. After the ceremony, guests had the unique opportunity to view the building, including laboratories normally closed to unauthorised persons.
More on the investment and the UG/GUMed’s Intercollegiate Faculty of Biotechnology
The project to construct the University of Gdańsk’s Institute of Biotechnology was part of the Infrastructure and Environment Operational Programme. The total cost of the investment was more than 60.5 million zł, of which funding from the Programme amounted to 60.4 million.
The project was designed by Krzysztof Kozłowski’s Architectural Design Company in Sopot, and building was carried out, after an open tender, by the construction consortium Block Spółka z o.o. Warsaw and Block Spółka z o.o. Prague, represented by Block Spółka z o.o. Warsaw.
Work began in 2014, and ended in December 2015. The opening ceremony took place on 14th April 2016.
The University of Gdańsk’s Institute of Biotechnology building was created, complete with modern furnishings, to meet the academic and teaching needs of the University of Gdańsk. The building covers an area of 7868,18 m² and has four storeys and one underground level.
The new Institute of Biotechnology is home to specialised laboratories: Biomolecular Analysis, Genetic Analysis, Data Screening and Analysis, Plant Growth (fitotron complex), Isotopic and Bioinformatic laboratories and a unique BSL 3 laboratory for work on the most virulent pathogens (with exceptionally clean and airtight conditions). There are also modern classrooms for undergraduate and doctorate students – teaching, research and teaching laboratories, seminar rooms, computer rooms and an auditorium for 200 people which can be subdivided into two smaller rooms, rooms for student circles, a reading room and the Faculty Council Chamber.
A so-called computational cluster (a set of specialist computers) will be opened in a specialist Bioinformatics Laboratory for the use of research and teaching staff, as well as undergraduates and doctoral students as part of their classes. The building has been divided into three functional zones – general access (teaching, teaching laboratories, office and communal space), restricted (academic and research laboratories, specialist laboratories, support rooms, academic offices) and technical and communal.
The University of Gdańsk’s new Institute of Biotechnology building was created to meet the needs of the Intercollegiate Faculty of Biotechnology of the University of Gdańsk and Gdańsk Medical University. It is the the leading teaching and research institution in Poland and unique in being the only unit in the country co-formed by two universities, which in turn leads to the interdisciplinary nature of the academic research and instruction, linking biomedical and biomolecular issues and their application in biotechnology for health and improved quality of life. The faculty has been recognised with a quality education rating, given to the most outstanding units in the country by the Polish Accreditation Commission, and the Ministry of Science and Higher Education has conferred the title ‘Best Course of Study’. The faculty is in the top positions in a Ministry of Science and Higher Education ranking and has reached the highest category in a parametric assessment. Graduates of the faculty are employed in leading academic centres at home and abroad (Karolinska Institute, Harvard University, Cambridge, Royal College, MIBMiK, PAN Institutes) and in life-science industries (Procter & Gamble, Novartis, Crucell, Polpharma).
Three hundred and forty students are currently studying at the faculty at BA., MSc and doctorate level. Students participate in research work even during their studies, and a significant part of the research funding comes from the winning of grants financed, amongst others, by European Union resources. The faculty has seventeen research teams and is currently leading sixty projects.
Dr Beata Czechowska-Derkacz, University of Gdańsk spokesperson
