News
Start of the academic year
Information about the start of the academic year and class schedule for Urban Sustainability Studies is available at https://www.geo.umk.pl/en/yufe-uss/for-current-students/. We invite all USS students to an organisational meeting(Thursday 2nd October, 13:30, and gala inauguration of the academic year (Friday 3rd October, 9:15). Classes start on the 6th of October (language classes start on 2nd October).
For Erasmus students: the schedule of the University-wide courses offered by our Faculty is available at https://www.geo.umk.pl/en/students-candidates/courses-in-english/. University-wide courses start on the 13th of October.
Prof. Gheorghe Şerban and Dr. Răzvan Bătinaş from Babeș-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, visited the Faculty of Earth Sciences and Spatial Management between September 1–5, 2025.
The guests met with the Dean of the Faculty, Prof. Marcin Świtoniak, to discuss study programs offered by both institutions and possibilities for further research and teaching collaboration. Student exchange opportunities and broader international cooperation were also discussed with Prof. Przemysław Charzyński, Erasmus+ Program Coordinator.
During their stay, the Romanian colleagues delivered lectures for members of the Hydrology Student Research Group and held meetings with faculty members, including Dr. Eng. Izabela Jamorska, Dr. Marcin Nowak, and Dr. Przemysław Wyszyński, who guided them through the meteorological observatory.
The program also included visits to hydraulic engineering facilities managed by the Bydgoszcz Water Authority, the Regional Water Management Authority in Gdańsk, and the Polish Water Management Authority. Thanks to the hospitality of Dr. Jarosław Pająkowski, Director of the Lower Vistula Landscape Parks Complex, the Romanian colleagues also became acquainted with the traditions and culture of our region.
The visit was coordinated by Dr. Katarzyna Kubiak-Wójcicka.
Student of environmental geoinformation Bartłomiej Zawadzki Among the Top Participants at the 1st European Soil Classification Contest
From September 1st to 6th, the first European Soil Classification Contest was held in Alcoi, Spain. Eight four-person teams from France, Spain, Latvia, Germany, Poland, Portugal, Hungary, and Italy competed in the event.
Poland was represented by:
-
Marzena Kaźmierczak (University of Agriculture in Kraków)
-
Damian Murach (Warsaw University of Life Sciences – SGGW)
-
Maria Różak (Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences)
-
Bartłomiej Zawadzki (student of environmental geoinformation, Faculty of Earth Sciences and Spatial Management, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń)
The team coach was Prof. Cezary Kabała (Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences).
The participants’ task was to classify soils using two systems: WRB (World Reference Base for Soil Resources) and Soil Taxonomy. Each profile had to be described within 70 minutes. Competitors had to demonstrate precise identification of soil parameters such as texture, color, presence of secondary carbonates, clay illuviation, or slickenslides. Additionally, they were required to provide information about the surrounding environment, land use, and the site’s suitability for cereal production, forestry, and camping tourism.
The first days of the contest included lectures on Spanish soils and landscapes, followed by afternoon classification training on specially prepared soil profiles.
The main competition began on Thursday, September 4th, with teams classifying two soil profiles. On Friday, September 5th, the individual part took place, where each participant described another two profiles.
Contest Results
Team classification (2 profiles classified on Thursday):
-
Germany
-
Poland
-
Hungary
Individual classification (2 profiles classified on Friday):
-
Damian Murach (Poland)
-
Madara Brasava (Latvia)
-
João Francisco dos Santos (Portugal)
-
Bartłomiej Zawadzki (student of environmental geoinformation from our faculty)
-
Simon Stalin (France)
Additionally, Maria Różak placed in the top ten, taking 9th place.
However, the most important ranking was the overall classification, combining both team and individual results. Thanks to their second place in the team competition and outstanding individual performances—especially Bartłomiej Zawadzki’s 4th place—Poland made up for the initial gap to Germany and took the lead, winning the inaugural edition of the contest!
Final standings:
-
Poland
-
Portugal
-
Germany
Bartosz Zawadzki became interested in soil science and soil classification during his second year of a Bachelor's degree in Geography, when he had the opportunity to participate in lectures, exercises, and field classes during the spring semester. A pivotal moment was his participation in the international workshop “In The Name of Soil” in Toruń in June 2023, coordinated by Dr. hab. M. Świtoniak and Dr. hab. P. Charzyński, where he was first introduced to the World Reference Base for Soil Resources (WRB) classification. The opportunity to work in the field, develop his language skills, and interact with people from across Poland and Europe proved very inspiring for him. Since then, his interest in this subject has grown steadily.
The result achieved in Spain is the outcome of knowledge and skills he gained during numerous field trips and camps he participated in while studying at the Faculty of Earth Sciences & Spatial Management (WNoZiGP) at Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń:
- International workshop “In The Name of Soil” – Toruń, 2023
- Soil camp SKNG UMK and KGUJ “Glebory” – Wdecki Landscape Park, 2023
- Soil camp SKNG UMK and KGUJ “Gleboczady” – Bieszczady National Park, 2024
- International workshop “Know Your Landscape, Know Your Soil” – Slovenia, 2025
- Soil camp SKNG UMK and KGUJ “Glebolin” – Woliński National Park, 2025
More information about camp can be found: https://www.facebook.com/SKNGUMK
Photos: Organizers, B. Zawadzki, C. Kabała, Ł. Uzarowicz
Fifth edition of the TSSP NatSci programme
Between July 1 and 28, 2025, five students are completing internships at our Faculty as part of the fifth edition of the TSSP NatSci programme. The internship programme is developed and coordinated by Professor Wojciech Kujawski from the Faculty of Chemistry and Dr. hab. Przemysław Charzyński, NCU Professor, supported by dr habil. Beata Kaczmarek-Szczepańska with financial matters handled by Ms. Karolina Rasak from our Dean's Office.
A total of 16 students are participating in the programme, including 15 from foreign universities and 1 from NCU. Altogether, 15 scientific projects in the fields of chemistry, geography, and biology are being carried out, 6 of which are hosted at the Faculty of Earth Sciences and Spatial Management:
-
Veronika Suslovets, a student from Zhytomyr Polytechnic (Ukraine), is conducting a project in the Department of Soil Science and Landscape Ecology entitled: Transport heritage: exploring architecture, design, and tourism potential. The project supervisor is Dr. hab. Przemysław Charzyński, NCU Professor.
-
In the Department of Geoinformation and Environmental Remote Sensing, two interns are working on scientific projects:
-
Ciara Heaney, a third-year undergraduate student in GeoSciences from Trinity College Dublin (Ireland), is working on the project Changes in land use/cover in national parks in Poland.
-
Sara Melgarelo, a first-year master's student in Geoinformation from the University of Twente (Netherlands), is conducting a project entitled Analysis of light pollution in Toruń, with particular attention to the NCU Campus.
The academic supervisor for both projects is Dr. hab. Mieczysław Kunz, NCU Professor, and Dr. Eng. Dominika Daab additionally supervises the second project.
-
-
In the Department of Hydrology, Cryology and Water Management, two students from the University of Bucharest (Romania) are conducting research projects:
-
The first, entitled Assessment of the quantitative and qualitative resources of small water reservoirs in the city of Toruń in the context of climate change, is being carried out by Anastasia Nicea. The project was prepared by Dr. Katarzyna Kubiak-Wójcicka in cooperation with Dr. Adam Solarczyk from the Environmental Analysis Laboratory. Anastasia collects water samples from selected reservoirs in Toruń and performs analyses of selected physicochemical parameters under the scientific supervision of Dr. Adam Solarczyk.
-
The second project, Revitalisation of riverside areas and their impact on tourism development, is conducted by Miruna-Maria Cristea under the supervision of Dr. Katarzyna Kubiak-Wójcicka. Miruna-Maria focuses on revitalisation processes and their impact on tourism development, with a particular emphasis on water tourism. The research is being carried out in Toruń and Bydgoszcz, with an initial focus on assessing the needs of water-based tourism and the condition of inland waterways.
-
-
Kateryna Shykhnenko, a student from Zhytomyr Polytechnic (Ukraine), is conducting a project in the Department of Geomorphology and Paleogeography on geotourism in salt-rich areas under the working title Stepping on the salt. The project is supervised by Dr. habil. Tomasz Karasiewicz, NCU Professor.
As part of the programme, the interns attend Thursday lectures delivered by faculty from three departments, held in the Prof. Rajmund Galon Auditorium. Presentations from our Faculty include:
-
World Cultural Map by P. Charzyński
-
How humans scalp the Earth – the impact of soil degradation on migrations by M. Świtoniak
As part of the cultural programme, the interns have visited Toruń, including the Museum of Gingerbread, and will take part in a workshop titled: Environmental, biological, chemical and enotouristic aspects of viticulture at the ‘Przy Talerzyku’ vineyard in Topolno, Lower Vistula Valley.
Know Your Landscape, Know Your Soils – Geopedological Workshop
From 30 June to 4 July 2025, the field component of the international intensive course “Know Your Landscape, Know Your Soils – Geopedological Workshop” took place in Slovenia. The event was organized as part of the Erasmus+ Blended Intensive Programme (BIP) by the University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Arts.