International Pi Day – Ministry of Science and Higher Education

International Pi Day

14.03.2024

Celebrated on March 14 (according to the American tradition of notation – 3.14), Pi Day since 2019 is also a celebration of the queen of sciences – mathematics. This is a good opportunity to present the most important “numbers” related to the education of future mathematicians at higher level.

Unique ludolfina

The number pi is a mathematical constant expressing the ratio of the circumference of a circle to the length of its diameter. It has fascinated humanity since ancient times, and its properties and importance in mathematics were first studied by Archimedes in the 3rd century BC, which is why it is sometimes called Archimedes’ constant. It owes its third name – ludolfina – to the German mathematician Ludolph van Ceulen, who in the 17th century gave it its expansion with an accuracy of 35 decimal places. Since the 18th century, it has been known as π – from the first letter of the Greek word meaning circumference. It is the only number that has its own holiday. It inspires scientists and artists who create poems to help remember the subsequent digits of its decimal expansion, and the Polish Nobel Prize winner Wisława Szymborska dedicated one of her poems to her. Ludolfina even has a roundregarding named following it.

Queen of mathematics in Poland

According to data from the POL-on system, in 2022 mathematics might be studied at first- and second-cycle studies in every Polish voivodeship. It was taught by over 1,300 academic teachers, mostly men, in 32 public universities. The only vocational university that educated students in mathematics in 2022 was the State Academy of Applied Sciences in Chełm.

At that time, over 5,600 enthusiasts of the queen of sciences were studying mathematics in Poland, and most of them (52%) were women. In 2023, the Polish scientific community gained 36 doctors, 12 habilitated doctors and 8 professors in the discipline of mathematics. At that time, over 8,000 candidates wanted to become adepts of the queen of sciences, of whom just over 2,700 were ultimately accepted.

Top math centers

The Perspektywy ranking from 2023 indicates that the best universities offering mathematics courses were:

• University of Warsaw,
• Warsaw University of Technology,
• AGH University of Science and Technology Stanisław Staszic in Krakow.

The best results in the last evaluation, i.e. category A+ in the mathematics discipline, were achieved by:

• Institute of Mathematics of the Polish Academy of Sciences,
• University of Warsaw,
• Warsaw University of Technology,
• University of Wroclaw.

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