Often described as the "oldest and most prestigious engineering school in Romania", Politehnica University of Bucharest was founded in 1818.
It started off as the School of Philosophy, Mathematical Science and Surveying Engineering. After a number of name changes the designation "Polytechnic" appeared for the first time in 1920. After becoming the Polytechnic Institute of Bucharest in 1948, it took its current title in 1992.
With more than 30,000 students it is the largest technical university in the Romanian capital, with a mission to "Produce knowledge through scientific research and to apply theoretical and practical knowledge in the professional training of students, with the aim of initiating them into their chosen field".
The largest of the 15 faculties in terms of student intake are electrical, telecommunications and information technology; automotive and computer engineering and industrial and robotic engineering. The faculties are spread across three campuses.
Located in a district increasingly occupied by technology-led corporations, the main campus hosts 11 faculties, has its own metro station and from 2020 will have an Ibis Hotel next to the main entrance. There are also plans for a new building for the faculties of applied chemical and materials engineering; aerospace engineering and medical engineering enabled by a €25million grant from the European Investment Bank. This is the first such award by the bank to a Romanian university and a triumph for the university's "European Funds Department" set up in 2015.
Notable alumni include the former Olympic gymnast Nadia Comaneci and Romania’s first democratically-elected president following the overthrow of the Ceaucescu regime, Ion Ilhiescu.
