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ABOUT THE FACULTY

The Faculty of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Biotechnology (FBBB) at the Jagiellonian University, is one of the sixteen faculties of the Jagiellonian University, the oldest Polish university that was founded in 1364 and is the second largest University in Poland. The Faculty is a leading research and teaching institution in Poland well recognized internationally in the field of modern biology. Historically the former Institute of Molecular Biology that was established in 1970 was transformed into the Faculty of Biotechnology in 2002 and since 2006 bears the present name.

The Faculty consists of sixteen Departments and three Laboratories and employs 234 people, including 143 members of the academic staff (22 full professors, 27 associate professors as well as assistant professors, assistants and lecturers). The rest is a very important group of people working behind-the-scenes that includes 56 members of laboratory staff, 15 of technical support staff, and 19 of administrative and service staff.

Since 2001 the Faculty occupies a modern "intelligent building" located on the Campus of the 600th Anniversary of the Restoration of the Jagiellonian University, shortly called the Third Campus. This is the first university building in Poland that obtained the European quality certificate BQS-03/2001 from TÜV SÜDDEUTSCHLAND. The total area of the building is over 14 thousand square meters.

Research
Research conducted at the Faculty includes contemporary biochemical, biophysical and biotechnological aspects of biological objects ranging from the molecular level through the cellular and up to the level of whole animal and plant organisms. Many modern experimental and computational methods are used by researchers of the Faculty in standard and specialized laboratories that are well equipped with modern scientific instruments.

The Faculty has established broad international collaboration. Many scientists from all over the world visit Faculty each year giving lectures and participating in joint research programmes.

The inter-faculty library collection includes hundreds of books and manuals (also in English) and 44 journal titles in print and provides an electronic access to a few hundred international scientific journals. The library is a branch of the Jagiellonian Library that contains one of the biggest collections of scientific literature in Poland.

Education
The Faculty offers six batchelor's and master's programmes conducted in Polish language and one master's programme in molecular biotechnology taught in English. We also offers Ph.D. studies in biochemistry, biophysics and molecular biology and one programme for postgraduates students (Molecular Biology,  in Polish).

All together about 450 new students can start studies every year at the Faculty of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Biotechnology. According to the ranking of higher educational institutions in Poland conducted by the educational monthly magazine PERSPEKTYWY the undergraduate biotechnology programme was the top rated programme in Poland in the last nine years 2014-2022.

Awards
In 2000, the Institute of Molecular Biology, a predecessor to the Faculty of Biochemistry. Biophysics and Biotechnology was awarded the European Commision grant as the Centre of Excellence BIER, acronym of Biotechnology – Integration of Education and Research. The main emphasis was to develop the biotechnological and applied aspects of the research and to familiarize the students with the specificity of scientific investigations. This was a part of the 5th Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development of European Union.

In 2014, the Faculty as a part of the Jagiellonian Research and Business Consortium for Biomolecular and Cellular Sciences has won the competition for the prestigious status of the Leading National Research Centre (Polish acronym: KNOW). One of the reasons for granting such status was conduction of the unique, interdisciplinary research in biochemistry, biophysics, biotechnology and molecular and cellular biology.

According to the rating of scientific units in Poland conducted in 2013 and 2017 by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education the Faculty belongs to the elite research units of category A+.