Poznan is one of the biggest academic centres in Poland. 120,000 young people study in 26 state-owned and private higher education institutions. The group includes many students from abroad.

The biggest Poznan higher education institution is the Adam Mickiewicz University. The university was established in 1919, right after the end of the First World War and regaining of independence by Poland.

Today the University gathers around almost 1/3 of Poznan research personnel and almost half of its students. The University is also one of the biggest employers in Wielkopolska, engaging around 6,000 people. Almost half of them are members of the research personnel, including 750 professors and people with post-doctoral degrees. The University develops all the time ? within the last 10 years the number of its students have almost doubled. Today in this biggest Poznan higher education institution almost 54,000 people study in 170 fields of study and specialities. The most popular major is psychology, there are almost 20 applications per one admission every year.

Almost 200 foreign students have chosen Poznan. Most of them come from Belarus, Ukraine and Kazakhstan and study mainly Polish, History and Theology. Bigger number of students means bigger teaching base ? thanks to, among other sources, EU funds a new academic campus in Morasko is being built.

The Poznan University of Medical Sciences is another important institution on the academic map of Poznan. The Poznan University is usually classified very high in the rankings of Polish medical higher education institutions.

The University of Medical Sciences was established 80 years ago. It has been educating doctors, dentists, pharmacists and nurses. Over 6,000 students, including foreign ones, study at the University. Studies in English are one of the showpieces of the Poznan University of Medical Sciences. Future doctors and dentists, mainly from the USA, Great Britain and Scandinavia attend classes in English.

The University expands its teaching base every year. A couple of years ago a modern building of the Faculty of Dentistry was put into use. The construction was partly financed from the EU funds.

Over a hundred students, mainly from Germany, study at the Poznan University of Technology. Foreigners usually choose IT and Automation studies. The Poznan University of Technology is also one of the oldest higher education institutions in the capital of Wielkopolska. Recently, it has celebrated its 80^th anniversary. 19,000 students study at the University employing over a thousand academic teachers.

The University also belongs to the group of institutes whose development is co-financed by the EU. The new Lecture Centre in Piotrowo was built with the use of EU funds.

The biggest and best Poznan higher education institutions include the Poznan University of Economics and the University of Life Sciences.

The University of Life Sciences was established in the 1950?s. The University, apart from agriculturists, has also educated foresters and food technologists.

Many foreigners from Belarus, Ukraine or Norway choose the University for their Ama Mater.

Moreover, there are artistic higher education institutions in Poznan such as the Ignacy Jan Paderewski Academy of Music and the Academy of Fine Arts educating future painters, sculptors and interior designers. Studies at the University School of Physical Education, where future coaches, physical education teachers as well as physiotherapists and employees of the tourist trade are educated, are also very popular