The Poznań University of Life Sciences is a leading university of life sciences in Poland. It may boast of rich traditions, as its beginnings date back to the year 1870 and are connected with the activity of an outstanding philosopher, a patron of agricultural science and education, August Cieszkowski.
When the University of Poznań was established in 1919 after Poland regained its independence following First World War, the university comprised also the Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, based partly on the traditions and scientific output of the Higher School of Agriculture in Żabikowo near Poznań.
The period of World War II was marked by the tragic loss of many scientists
killed then, but also by the continuing process of educating future specialists for agriculture within the framework of the Underground University of Western Poland. In 1951 the Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry separated from the Poznań University and the Higher School of Agriculture was established, which continued both education activities at the university level and conducted research. In 1972 the name was changed to the Agricultural University and from 1996 it was named the August Cieszkowski Agricultural University. On the power of article 3 of the Act of 7 February 2008 it was transformed into the Poznań University of Life Sciences.
In the course of all these years a total of 6 faculties have been established and 23 fields of regular studies have been developed, over 80 thousand graduates of different specialisations have been educated, at present working in numerous locations worldwide, hundreds of doctoral students and post-doctoral students have received their degrees, contacts have been established with numerous scientific centres in Europe and the other continents. At present over 800 academic teachers are involved in teaching and scientific activities, of which 95 are full professors. Together with scientific and technical workers, librarians and the administrative and service staff our University employs over 1 400 people.
THE FACULTY OF ECONOMICS AT THE POZNAŃ UNIVERSITY OF LIFE SCIENCES
The Faculty of Economics is the youngest of the six faculties of the Poznań University of Life Sciences. The idea of establishing a department with an economic profile at the University was born in the late 1990s, and the beginning of the 1990s should be considered a period of particularly dynamic development.
The Faculty of Economics was established in October 2006 as the Faculty of Economics and Social Affairs by merging the Departments of Economics, Food Economics, Economics and Organization of Woodworking, Pedagogy and Social Sciences. All economic departments of the University of Life Sciences originate from the Department of Agricultural Economics, which has operated at the University of Poznań since its establishment in 1919. The Department of Pedagogy is the successor of the Pedagogical Section at the Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry of the University of Poznań, established in the academic year 1936/37, and the Department of Social Sciences was established in 1991 at the Faculty of Horticulture as a result of the transformation of the former inter-faculty Institute of Social Sciences into independent faculty research and teaching units.
The Faculty of Economics has the authority to award doctoral and post-doctoral degrees in economic sciences in the discipline of economics.
The Faculty employs over 90 people, including 24 independent researchers. Employees of the Faculty of Economics conduct original and unique research on issues focused on economic and social issues in the agri-food sector and rural areas. Faculty employees teach classes infirst- and second-cycle studies in Economics, Finance and Accounting, and Agri-Food Economics and Trade (in English). Other faculties at the Poznań University of Life Sciences also benefit from the Faculty’s teaching offer in economic, legal, and socio-humanistic knowledge.
The teaching process focuses on transferring knowledge and equipping students with skills related to economic and social issues. Their knowledge, which cannot be obtained at non-specific universities, provides them with the knowledge and competences necessary in the labor market, mainly in the agri-food sector. The study programs are consistent with the applicable guidelines regarding educational outcomes in economic sciences.
The Faculty of Economics publishes two scientific journals – Journal of Agribusiness and Rural Development and Intercathedra, which publish research on economic and social issues in the agri-food sector and in rural areas, as well as in the field of wood economics.