The International Conference on New Building Technologies and Architectural Design - NBTAD 2016 organised by the Cracow University of Technology’s Faculty of Architecture in collaboration with the World Institute for Engineering and Technology Education (WIETE) commenced on 13 October in Kraków, Poland.

The Conference Chairman, Professor Wacław Celadyn of the Faculty of Architecture, welcomed the delegates, guests and the University officials, and introduced Rector Magnificus of the University, Professor Jan Kazior, who officially opened the Conference. The Dean of the Faculty of Architecture, Professor Jacek Gyurkovich, also welcomed the participants and guests on behalf of the organising Faculty.

The Conference comprised three panels: Architecture and Construction; Landscape Design; and Education of Architects and Engineers, with the WIETE involved in the organisation and publication effort relating to the latter. More than 50 papers were included in the Conference programme and presented at the Conference proceedings over two days. More than 20 papers were assigned to the education panel, most of which will be included in the Global Journal of Engineering Education (GJEE), Vol.18, No.3.

The addition of the panel on Education of Architects and Engineers was to broaden the Conference’s scope, and has brought a new dimension to the work of the Conference. This idea was conceived by Professor Sabina Kuc of the CUT Faculty of Architecture, Chair of the Organising Committee, and has resulted in the popularisation of this topic amongst the local and international architects, and academics involved in this speciality.

The top picture shows Professor J. Kazior, Rector of Cracow University of Technology opening the Conference.

The day concluded with a gala dinner at which the entertainment was provided by folk music and dance performed by the assembly of young girls and boys called Little Slavic Girls (Małe Słowianki), under the management of Ms Władysława Maria Francuz, Professor of Culture.

During the dinner, the Dean of the Faculty of Architecture at Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava (STU), Slovakia, Professor Ľubica Vitková, presented the WIETE Director, Professor Zenon J. Pudlowski, with the Emil Belluš Medal for the …significant contribution to education and research at the Faculty of Architecture STU in an international context. Emil Belluš (1899-1979), an international functionalist, became a founding member of the Association of Slovak Artists, later known as the Slovak Architects Society.

The bottom picture shows Professor Ľubica Vitková presenting Professor Zenon J. Pudlowski with the Emil Belluš Medal.