Academy of Steel and Mining Industry (AGH), as the first technical higher education institution in Poland and possibly worldwide, came to the conclusion that teaching technology should also include environmental studies. This notion was first expressed by prof. Walery Goetel, Rector of AGH, long before the Second World War. This idea was first developed by the Geology Department, in a seminar on environment and resources, and then taken up by the Institute of Environmental Management and Protection, at the Mining Geodesy Department which began interdisciplinary studies in 1989.