Riga Technical University (RTU) ( lv, Rīgas Tehniskā universitāte) is the oldest

technical university An institute of technology (also referred to as: technological university, technical university, university of technology, technological educational institute, technical college, polytechnic university or just polytechnic) is an institution of te ...

in the

Baltic countries The Baltic states, et, Balti riigid or the Baltic countries is a geopolitical term, which currently is used to group three countries: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. All three countries are members of NATO, the European Union, the Eurozone ...

established on October 14, 1862. It is located in Riga, Latvia and was previously known as 'Riga Polytechnical Institute' and 'Riga Polytechnicum'.

History

Riga Polytechnical Institute (1862–1918)

Riga Polytechnicum was first established in 1862 and was the first poly technical institute in Imperial Russia. It offered degrees in agriculture, chemistry, engineering, mechanics, trade and architecture, with education in

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

. In addition to four technical faculties (architecture, engineering, mechanical engineering, chemistry), the polytechnic also included an agricultural and a commercial faculty. The first lecturers came from Germany, Switzerland and Austria-Hungary. The language of instruction was German. Between 1863 and 1869, the number of students grew from sixteen to ninety. In 1869 the polytechnic moved into a new building. Since there was a lack of technical universities in Russia, many students - especially from the Baltic Sea governments - had gone to study at ETH Zurich, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology,

TU Dresden TU Dresden (for german: Technische Universität Dresden, abbreviated as TUD and often wrongly translated as "Dresden University of Technology") is a public research university, the largest institute of higher education in the city of Dresden, th ...

and Leibniz University Hannover. That should be changed. On January 1, 1874, Alexander II of Russia introduced general conscription. Now all men from the age of 21 had to serve fifteen years, six in Imperial Russian Army and nine in the reserve. For graduates of the Russian university who wanted to study, the period of service was only six months. This difference led to a significant increase in student numbers. At the beginning of the academic year 1874/75, 59 students enrolled, the total student body comprised 201 members. In the course of Russification,

Nicholas II of Russia Nicholas II or Nikolai II Alexandrovich Romanov; spelled in pre-revolutionary script. ( 186817 July 1918), known in the Russian Orthodox Church as Saint Nicholas the Passion-Bearer,. was the last Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Polan ...

nationalized the university by decree of May 6, 1896. From 1896 to 1918 it was called the Riga Polytechnic Institute (Rīgas Politehniskais institūts - RPI). The number of students continued to increase, reaching 2088 students in 1913/14. In 1918/19 the Polytechnic was called the Baltic Technical University (Baltijas Tehniskā augstskola). In 1896, it was renamed Riga Polytechnical Institute and the language of instruction was changed to

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

. The establishment of a faculty of architecture at the Polytechnicum in 1869 was instrumental in providing Riga with a group of locally trained architects, with consequences for the development of the characteristic

Art Nouveau architecture in Riga The Art Nouveau architecture in Riga makes up roughly one third of all the buildings in the centre of Riga, making Latvia's capital the city with the highest concentration of Art Nouveau architecture anywhere in the world. Built during a period ...

. When

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

started in 1914, the Riga Polytechnical Institute was evacuated to

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

and worked there until 1918. After that, part of the faculty returned to Latvia and joined the newly established

University of Latvia University of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Universitāte, shortened ''LU'') is a state-run university located in Riga, Latvia established in 1919. The ''QS World University Rankings'' places the university between 801st and 1000th globally, seventh ...

. In 1919, the university was incorporated as a technical faculty of the Latvian University of Applied Sciences (Latvijas Augstskola, since 1923: University of Latvia), which was founded after independence. On September 1, 1958, their technical faculties were spun off again and raised to an independent university. From 1958 to 1983 it was called the Riga Polytechnic Institute, and then renamed the Arvīds Pelše Institute of Technology in Riga (Arvīda Pelšes vārdā nosauktais Rīgas politehniskais institūts). In the mid-1970s, the university became the largest university in the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic. It has been called the Riga Technical University since March 1990. On April 23, 1992, a student parliament was founded. It is the oldest student self-government in Latvia.

Riga Technical University, 1958–present

Riga Polytechnical Institute was re-established in 1958 by splitting off the engineering departments from the State University of Latvia. In 1990, it was renamed to Riga Technical University. The university currently consists of 9 faculties: * Faculty of

Architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing building ...

and

Urban planning Urban planning, also known as town planning, city planning, regional planning, or rural planning, is a technical and political process that is focused on the development and design of land use and the built environment, including air, water, ...

:* Department of Architectural Design :* Department of History and Theory of Architecture :* Department of Fine Arts * Faculty of

Electronics The field of electronics is a branch of physics and electrical engineering that deals with the emission, behaviour and effects of electrons using electronic devices. Electronics uses active devices to control electron flow by amplification ...

and

Telecommunication Telecommunication is the transmission of information by various types of technologies over wire, radio, optical, or other electromagnetic systems. It has its origin in the desire of humans for communication over a distance greater than that fe ...

s :* Department of Telecommunications Networks :* Department of Transmission Systems :* Department of Transport Electronics and Telematics :* Department of Radiosystems :* Department of Electronics Equipment :* Department of Fundamentals of Electronics * Faculty of E-Learning Technologies and Humanities :* Department of Sport :* Department of Social Sciences :* Department of Engineering pedagogy and Psychology :* Department of Languages for Special Purposes :* Department of Technical Translation * Faculty of Electrical and

Environmental Engineering Environmental engineering is a professional engineering discipline that encompasses broad scientific topics like chemistry, biology, ecology, geology, hydraulics, hydrology, microbiology, and mathematics to create solutions that will protect and ...

:* Department of Electrical Engineering and Electronics :* Department of Industrial Electronics and Electrical Technologies :* Department of Power System Control and Automation :* Department of Electrical Machines and Apparatus :* Department of Electric Power Supply :* Department of Environment and Energy Systems * Faculty of Computer Science and Information Technology :* Department of Modelling and Simulation :* Department of Management Information Technology :* Department of Image Processing and Computer Graphics :* Department of Computer Networks and Systems Technology :* Department of Computer Control Systems :* Department of Applied Computer Science :* Department of Software Engineering :* Department of Artificial Intelligence and Systems Engineering :* Department of Engineering Mathematics :* Department of Probability Theory and Mathematical Statistics * Faculty of Building and

Civil engineering Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads, bridges, canals, dams, airports, sewa ...

:* Department of Roads and Bridges :* Department of Geomatics :* Department of Structural Analysis :* Department of Structural Engineering :* Department of Computer Aided Engineering Graphics :* Department of Heat and Gas Technology :* Department of Water Engineering and Technology :* Department of Civil Building Construction :* Department of Construction Technology :* Department of Composite Materials and Structure :* Department of Building Materials and Products * Faculty of

Engineering economics ''For the application of engineering economics in the practice of civil engineering see Engineering economics (Civil Engineering).'' Engineering economics, previously known as engineering economy, is a subset of economics concerned with the us ...

:* Department of Occupational Safety and Civil Defence :* Department of International Business, Transport Economics and Logistics :* Department of Customs and Taxes :* Department of Civil Engineering and Real Estate Economics and Management :* Department of the Territorial Development Management and Urban Economics :* Department of Quality Technology :* Department of Innovation and Business Management :* Department of Corporate Finance and Economics * Faculty of Materials Science and Applied Chemistry :* Department of Silicate, High Temperature and Inorganic Nanomaterials Technology :* Department of Polymer Materials Technology :* Department of General Chemical Engineering :* Department of Materials Physics :* Department of Semiconductor Physics :* Department of Optics :* Department of Chemistry :* Department of Chemical Technology of Biologically Active Compounds :* Department of Design and Materials Technologies :* Department of Clothing and Textile Technologies * Faculty of Transport and

Mechanical engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and mathematics principles with materials science, to design, analyze, manufacture, an ...

:* Department of Aeronautical Technologies :* Department of Avionics :* Department of Aircraft Theory and Design :* Department of Transport Systems and Logistics :* Department of Medical Physics and Engineering :* Department of Nanoengineering :* Department of Instrument Engineering :* Department of Material Processing Technology :* Department of Theoretical Mechanics and Strength of Materials :* Department of Mechanical Engineering and Industrial Design :* Department of Heat and Power Engineering Systems :* Department of Railway Transport :* Department of Automotive Engineering :* Department of Railway Automatics and Telematics , it had 14,006 students. 3,525 out of these students were foreign students and 514 doctoral students.

Riga Business School

The Riga Business School is a management–education institution within Riga Technical University. It was founded in 1991, in close cooperation with the

State University of New York at Buffalo The State University of New York at Buffalo, commonly called the University at Buffalo (UB) and sometimes called SUNY Buffalo, is a public research university with campuses in Buffalo and Amherst, New York. The university was founded in 1846 ...

(USA) and the

University of Ottawa The University of Ottawa (french: Université d'Ottawa), often referred to as uOttawa or U of O, is a bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on directly to the northeast of Downtown Ottaw ...

(Canada), and it was the first

higher education Higher education is tertiary education leading to award of an academic degree. Higher education, also called post-secondary education, third-level or tertiary education, is an optional final stage of formal learning that occurs after comple ...

institution in the Baltic states that offered

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accoun ...

(MBA) programs in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

. The school currently has more than 800 MBA graduates, mostly middle- and upper-level managers both in Latvia and abroad. The education standards and structure are adopted from the North-American style MBA, which contains case studies, working in groups, and active participation in classrooms.

Rankings

In March 2017, RTU announced that it had won the first place among universities in Latvia in the international U-Multirank rating. The employment of RTU graduates is rated the highest (at the A level). The same evaluation was given to the university for bachelor's programs in English, for self-created or spin-off companies, for the post-doctoral study process and creativity in science. RTU is also the highest rated Latvian higher education institution «Times Higher Education Rating» in the 2020 Sustainability Assessment, which evaluates the performance of universities in sustainable development. place in the group of the highest rated universities. RTU was rated the highest in the category "Planet protection" - in 2020 RTU was recognized as the 14th best in the world in this field RTU is also included in other European and world-class university rankings such as "QS World University Rating", "Eduniversal" and "GreenMetric".

Notable faculty and alumni

Some of its most notable graduates are the Latvian-born Nobel Prize laureate Wilhelm Ostwald, the legendary Mayor of Riga George Armitstead, the former President of Latvia Andris Bērziņš, Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis and many others who have earned distinction in science and society. Wilhelm Ostwald by Nicola Perscheid

Wilhelm Ostwald Friedrich Wilhelm Ostwald (; 4 April 1932) was a Baltic German chemist and philosopher. Ostwald is credited with being one of the founders of the field of physical chemistry, with Jacobus Henricus van 't Hoff, Walther Nernst, and Svante Arrhen ...

–

Nobel Prize in Chemistry ) , image = Nobel Prize.png , alt = A golden medallion with an embossed image of a bearded man facing left in profile. To the left of the man is the text "ALFR•" then "NOBEL", and on the right, the text (smaller) "NAT•" then "M ...

, faculty 1881–1887 *

Alfred Rosenberg Alfred Ernst Rosenberg ( – 16 October 1946) was a Baltic German Nazi theorist and ideologue. Rosenberg was first introduced to Adolf Hitler by Dietrich Eckart and he held several important posts in the Nazi government. He was the head o ...

– German politician, Nazi Minister of Occupied Eastern Territories, executed for war crimes, alumnus * Paul Walden – chemist, invented

ethylammonium nitrate Ethylammonium nitrate or ethylamine nitrate (EAN) is a salt with formula or ()·. It is an odorless and colorless to slightly yellowish liquid with a melting point of 12 °C. This compound was described by Paul Walden in 1914, and is belie ...

as the first example of an

ionic liquid An ionic liquid (IL) is a salt in the liquid state. In some contexts, the term has been restricted to salts whose melting point is below a specific temperature, such as . While ordinary liquids such as water and gasoline are predominantly made of ...

, alumnus *

Friedrich Zander Georg Arthur Constantin Friedrich Zander (also Tsander, russian: Фридрих Артурович Цандер, tr. ; lv, Frīdrihs Canders, – 28 March 1933), was a Baltic German pioneer of rocketry and spaceflight in the Russian Empire ...

–

rocket A rocket (from it, rocchetto, , bobbin/spool) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using the surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entirely fr ...

ry and

spaceflight Spaceflight (or space flight) is an application of astronautics to fly spacecraft into or through outer space, either with or without humans on board. Most spaceflight is uncrewed and conducted mainly with spacecraft such as satellites in o ...

pioneer, alumnus * Ignacy Mościcki – president of

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

(1922–1939), alumnus *

Bruno Abakanowicz Bruno Abdank-Abakanowicz (6 October 1852 – 29 August 1900) was a Polish mathematician, inventor, and electrical engineer. Life Abakanowicz was born in 1852 in the Russian Empire (now Lithuania). After graduating from the Riga Technical Univ ...

– Polish mathematical and electrical engineer, alumnus *

Władysław Anders ) , birth_name = Władysław Albert Anders , birth_date = , birth_place = Krośniewice-Błonie, Warsaw Governorate, Congress Poland, Russian Empire , death_date = , death_place = London, England, United Kingdom , serviceyear ...

– a general in the Polish army and a politician with the Polish government-in-exile * Zbigņevs Stankevičs – Roman Catholic metropolitan archbishop of Riga (2010–), alumnus *

Moisei Ginzburg Moisei Yakovlevich Ginzburg ( be, Майсей Якаўлевіч Гінзбург, russian: Моисей Яковлевич Гинзбург; , Minsk – 7 January 1946, Moscow) was a Soviet constructivist architect, best known for his 1929 ...

– Constructivist architect (1892–1946), alumnus * George Armitstead (Latvian: Georgs Armitsteds, 1847 – 1912) was an engineer, entrepreneur and the fourth Mayor of Riga. One of the most influential Rigans of his time, Mayor of Riga (1901–1912), graduate of Riga Polytechnicum (1869, with distinction). *

Mikhail Dolivo-Dobrovolsky Mikhail Osipovich Dolivo-Dobrovolsky (russian: Михаи́л О́сипович Доли́во-Доброво́льский; german: Michail von Dolivo-Dobrowolsky or ''Michail Ossipowitsch Doliwo-Dobrowolski''; – ) was a Russian Empire ...

(-1919) Engineer and inventor, creator of the three-phase alternating current power transmission system, RPI student (1878-1881). *

Ernst Enno Ernst Enno ( in Valguta – 7 March 1934 in Haapsalu) was an Estonian poet and writer.Aleksis Rubulis, ''Baltic Literature: a Survey of Finnish, Estonian, Latvian, and Lithuanian Literatures'', University of Notre Dame Press, 1970, p79 Life E ...

– Estonian poet and writer, RPI student (1896-1904). *

Juhan Kukk Juhan (Johann) Kukk VR III/1 ( in Käru, Salla Parish (now in Väike-Maarja Parish), Wierland County, Governorate of Estonia – 4 December 1942 in Kargopol, Arkhangelsk Oblast, Soviet Union) was an Estonian politician. Kukk finished the Tartu ...

– State Elder (head of government) of

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

(1922–1923), RPI graduate 1904–1910. *

Zigfrīds Anna Meierovics Zigfrīds Anna Meierovics (, Durbe – 22 August 1925, near Tukums) was a Latvian politician and diplomat who served as the first Foreign Minister of Latvia from its independence until 1924 and again from December of the same year until his death ...

– the first Minister of Foreign Affairs and the second Prime Minister of the Republic of Latvia, RPI graduate (1911) *

Hugo Celmiņš Hugo Celmiņš (October 30, 1877 – July 30, 1941) was a Latvian politician, a public employee, agronomist, twice the Prime Minister of Latvia (''19 January 1924 – 23 December 1925, 1 December 1928 – 26 March 1931''). Arrested and deported t ...

– Politician, social activist, agriculturist, twice held the office of Prime Minister of Latvia. RPI graduate (1903 * Andris Bērziņš – President of the Republic of Latvia, who won the presidential election held on 2 June 2011,RPI graduate (1971) *

Valdis Dombrovskis Valdis Dombrovskis (born 5 August 1971) is a Latvian politician serving as Executive Vice President of the European Commission for An Economy that Works for People since 2019 and European Commissioner for Trade since 2020. He previously serve ...

– Latvian politician who was Prime Minister of Latvia 2009 - 2014, RTU graduate (1995)

Affiliations and alliances

The Riga Technical University is one of the eight holders of the European University of Technology, EUt+, with the

Technical University of Sofia The Technical University of Sofia ( bg, Технически университет - София) is Bulgaria's largest and foremost academic establishment for higher engineering education. The university is a state-owned entity with academic self- ...

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

, the

Cyprus University of Technology tr, Kıbrıs Teknoloji Üniversitesi , image = Cyprus University of Technology official logo.png , established = 2004 , type = Public , city = Limassol , state = Limassol District , country = Cyprus , undergra ...

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ge ...

, the Hochschule Darmstadt, University of Applied Sciences,

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, the

Technological University Dublin Technological University Dublin ( ga, Ollscoil Teicneolaíochta Bhaile Átha Cliath) or TU Dublin is Ireland's first technological university, established on 1 January 2019, and with a history stretching back to 1887 through the amalgamated Du ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, Polytechnic University of Cartagena,

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, the University of Technology of Troyes,

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

, the

and the

Technical University of Cluj-Napoca The Technical University of Cluj-Napoca (UTCN short for ro, Universitatea Tehnică din Cluj-Napoca) is a public university located in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. It was founded in 1948, based on the older ''Industrial College'' (1920). The Technical U ...

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

. The European University of Technology, EUt+ is the result of the alliance of eight European partners who share in common : *the "Think Human First" vision towards a human-centred approach to technology *the ambition to establish a new type of institution on a confederal basis Through EUt+, the partners are committed to creating a sustainable future for students and learners in European countries, for the staff of each of the institutions and for the territories and regions where each campus is anchored.

Gallery

File:Rīgas tehniskās universitātes zinātniskā bibliotēka. Scientific library of Rīga Technical University. November, 2013 - panoramio.jpg, Scientific library. File:Riga Technical University Swimming Pool (2018).jpg, Aquatic centre on Ķīpsala.

References

External links

*
The English version of the web site of the RTU
{{Authority control Educational institutions established in 1862 Universities in Latvia 1862 establishments in the Russian Empire