History
The University of Economics in Katowice was founded in December 1936 (by the Decree of the Minister of Religious Affairs and Public Education of the Republic of Poland of 1936) as a private School of Social and Economic Sciences. On January 11, 1937 the institution opened its doors to students and began teaching at the Faculty of Industrial Organization – the School’s only faculty at the time. This date marks the beginning of the University’s operation. In 1938 the Faculty of Public Administration was opened. Studies at both faculties lasted three years and were aimed at educating professionals for the growing industry sector. Dr. Józef Lisak was the founder and the first Rector of the University. In the beginning the School of Social and Economic Sciences was located in a few rooms rented from a renowned secondary school – Silesian School of Technology.
On September 1, 1939, the School was closed due to the war and occupation. Its activity was resumed in February 1945, when teaching at both Faculties was reactivated. Moreover, the educational offer, in particular in the area of economics, was expanded thanks to the establishment of the Central School of Accounting and Finance. The teaching staff has also increased. In the post-war years, a large migration of population was a common phenomenon in Poland. During that time many academic teachers and scientists from other academic centers decided to stay temporarily or permanently in Katowice. They contribution greatly influenced the School’s development and helped to ensure a high level of education. The graduates of the School of Social and Economic Sciences were professionals sought after by not only industrial enterprises, but also the government and local administration. The curriculum in place until 1948 was designed to include the needs of the local community and economic conditions characteristic to the region.
The number of students increased systematically. In response to the growing academic community, the School received two buildings in Katowice, situated in vicinity of ul. 1 Maja and ul. Bogucicka: a classical former town hall of the Zawodzie commune (now the Rector's Office) and a school building, which was adapted to serve as a facility for academic teaching (now the building "A"). The academic year 1946/1947 was inaugurated in the new building, after the rooms have been renovated following the war damage. In the 70’s and 80’s a whole complex of new buildings was erected around the two mentioned buildings, creating the School’s campus. At the same time the status and position of the School were changing. In 1950, Polish government decided to standardize economic education across the country. Like all economic schools, the School in Katowice was nationalized and transformed into the School of Economy. Legal education at the Faculty of Public Administration was discontinued, and the Faculty of Commerce was established in its place. The well-developed and autonomous Central School of Accounting and Finance was transformed in 1950 into the Faculty of Finance and Accounting, which functioned until 1958. In addition, the Faculty of Industrial Organization was renamed the Faculty of Industrial Planning. In the academic year 1952/1953 the School was granted the right to award the academic degree of ‘magister’ to its graduates. In 1950s, the education focused on issues related to central planning, accounting and finance.
Between 1958 and 1968, the School had only one faculty and provided education to students in full-time, evening, extension and extramural modes. A network of consultation points was established in Opole, Bielsko, Częstochowa and Rybnik.
The 60's were marked by the development of education in the field of industrial economics and enterprises. In 1968, the Faculty of Trade and Food Economics was established. In 1974 it was transformed into the Faculty of Trade, Transport and Services, thus significantly expanding the scope of School’s scientific and teaching activities. Gradually, the reputation of the School of Economy in Katowice as a prominent research center grew. In 1960 the Faculty of Industry was granted the right to confer the degree of doctor, and in 1969 the right to confer the degree of doctor of economic sciences. The other Faculty was granted analogous rights: in 1979 to confer the degree of doctor of economic sciences, and in 1991 to confer the degree of doctor habilitatus of economic sciences.
In 1972, the School was named in honor of Karol Adamiecki - an outstanding engineer, economist, scholar and activist, co-founder of the science of organization and management in Poland. In 1974, together with economic schools in Kraków, Poznań and Wrocław, the institution’s status was changed to the Academy of Economics.
In 1992, the Faculty of Industry was replaced by the Faculty of Management, and the Faculty of Commerce, Transport and Services by the Faculty of Economics. In 1999, a new building "P" was officially opened at ul. Pułaskiego 25. Major organizational changes in the Academy took place in 2002, when the third Faculty was established - the Faculty of Finance and Insurance. At the same time the Rybnik Science and Teaching Center was opened, which together with the Silesian University of Technology and University of Silesia formed a Complex of Higher Education Schools in Rybnik. In 2005, the State Treasury has handed over to the University the building located at ul. ks. bsp Stanisława Adamskiego 7 - building "N".
In 2009, a fourth faculty was created - the Faculty of Informatics and Communication. In January 2010 it obtained the right to confer the degree of doctor in the discipline of management sciences, and in June 2016 the right to confer the degree of doctor habilitatus in the same discipline.
Since October 1, 2010, by virtue of the Act of August 5, 2010 (Journal of Laws of 2010, no. 165, item 1117), the Academy was transformed into the "University of Economics in Katowice". [1]
In 2014, the building of the Center for Modern Information Technologies (CNTI) was opened and the fifth faculty - Faculty of Business, Finance and Administration - was established in Rybnik. Since the 2015/2016 academic year, the faculty in Rybnik started to provide education in the Finance and Accounting program with a practical profile.
Since 2016, the Faculty of Finance and Insurance has been granted the authority to confer the degree of doctor of economic sciences in the discipline of finance, and the Faculty of Informatics and Communication, together with the Faculty of Economics, received the right to confer the degree of doctor of economic sciences in the discipline of management sciences.
In 2018, the Palace and Park Complex in Młoszowa was handed over to the State Treasury.
In 2019, the University introduced changes imposed by the Act of July 20, 2018 – Law of Higher Education and Science. [2] Those changes included: liquidation of faculties; establishment of two scientific committees - the Scientific Committee for Economics and Finance and the Scientific Committee for Management Science and Quality; introduction of four colleges - the College of Economics, the College of Finance, the College of Informatics and Communication and the College of Management; establishment of the Doctoral School and the School of Undergraduate and Graduate Studies; transformation of the Faculty of Business, Finance and Administration in Rybnik into a Branch of the School of Undergraduate and Graduate Studies of the University of Economics in Katowice. In that year the building "D" at ul. Bogucicka 14 in Katowice was also demolished.
In 2020, UE Katowice became the first university in Silesia to receive CEEMAN International Quality Accreditation. [3]
In 2021, the Colleges were transformed into Faculties: College of Economics into Faculty of Economics, College of Finance into Faculty of Finance, College of Informatics and Communication into Faculty of Informatics and Communication, and College of Management into Faculty of Management.
International cooperation
The University of Economics in Katowice maintains international partnerships with numerous higher education institutions. The cooperation includes such initiatives as: ERASMUS program, business trips of academic and administrative staff, organization of scientific conferences and promotional events, as well as joint international programs and projects. UE Katowice has signed partnership agreements with selected universities located in: Albania, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Belarus, Brazil, Bulgaria, Chile, China, Croatia, Cyprus, Montenegro, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Spain, the Netherlands, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Israel, Japan, Kazakhstan, Colombia, South Korea, Lebanon, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Mauritius, Norway, Palestine, Paraguay, Portugal, Russia, Romania, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Turkey, Ukraine, USA, and the United Kingdom. [6]
