Dear Students!

Many people who enter this website ask themselves – is it worthy to start studies at the Faculty of Mechanical and Power Engineering? Are fields of studies offered here prospective, widening perspectives and giving opportunities; will I be able to get a good, well-paid and satisfactory job; will I develop intellectually, scientifically, will it establish my social status?

Is there anything more important in today’s dynamically evolving world than unrestricted, unlimited access to energy? Development of technology, which improves quality of our lives, is bound up with a significant increase in demand for energy. Comfort, which we have already become accustomed to, like electricity, central heating, air-conditioning, food preservation, automation, transport – all require more and more energy. One can definitely say that one of the biggest challenges of modern world is the demand for stable energy management and balanced systems of generating it. This is the core of security of countries and nations. It is the possibility of generating, exploitation, conversion of energy that defines societies’ standard of living as well as level of economic growth, and its shortages become the cause of variety of crises.

We stand before a landmark of civilisation. We are aware of the finiteness of fossil fuels resources and the destabilizing influence of excess emission of carbon dioxide. This is the moment in which the whole world starts to economise, apply clean energy technologies; decidedly reaches out for energy from renewable sources and turns to new, unconventional ways of generating it.

Wrocław University of Science and Technology and the Faculty of Mechanical and Power Engineering is the place in which one can get in touch with the most up-to-date problems of modern conventional, nuclear and renewable energy.

At our Faculty students can investigate research, technical, operational issues which have no equivalent in prevailing technology and as such require an interdisciplinary approach to the use of energy as well as bold innovations. They can become acquired with the construction of energy systems, machines and devices from every stage of the energy chain – for production, transmission and consumption of electricity, heat and cold. They can also learn how cryogenic installations or a thermonuclear reactor work. Literally and figuratively reach out for the sun and stars thanks to studies on fields aviation and astronautics. All that under the supervision of experienced scientists and didacticians, science-lovers and passionates.

All together we face an enormous but fascinating challenge, an alteration of global energy system and most of all a change in the approach to energy and its usage. We will not be able to perform this change without the cooperation of all generations; knowledge and experience of professors, creativity of doctors and doctoral students as well as visions and unlimited, unbound ideas of students.

I would like to encourage everyone to set their goals bravely, to create ideas and bravely bring them to life. To cooperate and respect other people’s way of development so that – as it appears from the 70-years long tradition of this Faculty, we will be able to meet current problems of energetics and in the same time be satisfied with our own contribution made for its development.

Piotr Szulc, BEng, PhD, DSc, Assoc. Prof.
Dean of the Faculty of Mechanical and Power Engineering