History of the Faculty
Warsaw University of Technology has been teaching legal, economic, social and humanistic subjects since the second decade of the twentieth century. According to archives, WUT was the first of the three existing academic technical colleges on the territory of the Second Republic of Poland (1918-1945) to introduce such topics into the curricula of future engineers. Until the end of the 1960s, however, all courses were conducted by lecturers employed directly by various WUT faculties – there was no independent organisational unit hosting them.
Institute of Economic and Social Sciences (1969-1991)
The breakthrough came in the academic year 1969/1970, when the authorities of WUT decided to establish the Institute of Economic and Social Sciences (INES) giving it the status of a non-departmental unit. The subjects taught at that time included economy, political science and philosophy. One of the early employees and authorities at INES, economics professor Stefan Marciniak, worked at WUT for the next 40 years.
Centre for Social Sciences at the Warsaw University of Technology (1992-1998)
On 30th October 1991, the Senate of Warsaw University of Technology passed a resolution to replace INES with The Centre for Social Sciences, a different legal entity. Upon necessary changes, all WUT students could choose from a much wider range of courses in social sciences and humanities. At the same time, public administration education was to become the leading area of training at the Centre.
The Centre also established a Pedagogical Seminar for all PhD students of WUT, as well as newly employed teaching assistants. The Centre, headed by Dr. Helena Kisilowska, had four independent scientific teams specializing in economic sciences, legal sciences, sociology, and philosophy.
College of Social Sciences and Administration (1998-2008) – towards the establishment of the Faculty
The dynamic development of the unit was noticed by the WUT Senate. On June 17, 1998, it decided to elevate the Centre. Thus, the College of Social Sciences and Administration was born. Employees of the College were tasked not only with teaching duties, but also with research in their respective fields. At the same time, WUT gave its blessing to the establishment of the Administration study program, which started as a first degree (BA) three-year curriculum, and since 2000 expanded with the second degree (MA) program.
The first director of the College was Dr. Elżbieta Przybyła-Piwko, who also headed the Department of Sociology; in 2002 the position of director was assumed by Dr. Helena Kisilowska. The College was divided into teaching and research teams specializing in: Law and Administration, Local Government Law, Local Government, Economics, Social and Economic Policy, History, Sociology, and Philosophy.
Faculty of Administration and Social Sciences (since 2008)
The development of College and the dedication of its staff did not go unnoticed by the WUT authorities. On January 23, 2008, the resolution of the Senate of the Warsaw University of Technology established the Faculty of Administration and Social Sciences (Polish Wydział Administracji I Nauk Społecznych, WAiNS). The Faculty – an highest level of intra-university organisation – was tasked with continuing to deliver excellent education in the field of administration while also taking on new responsibilities in the research area.
The Faculty formally started its activities on September 1, 2008. The role of the first Dean was assumed by Professor Helena Kisilowska, whose efforts led to the creation of the Faculty in the first place. Although academic specialties of the Faculty members remained unchanged, the internal structure underwent additional changes. Currently there are four departments at the Faculty: Department of Administrative Law and Public Policy Science, Department of Economic Law and Policy, Department of Administrative Sciences and Security in Administration, and Department of Philosophy and Ethics in Administration. In 2014, WAiNS welcomed the creation of its first research unit, the International Center for Formal Ontology (ICFO).
