The Symposium Chromatographic Methods of Investigating Organic Compounds was held for the first time in 1976. Since its first edition, the Symposium has been organized by the staff of the Institute of Chemistry, the University of Silesia in Katowice, Poland, who have contributed to the development of chromatography considerably. Over the past 42 years, despite different circumstances, the Symposium has been organized on an annual basis with only two exceptions. The very high level of the determination of its organizers saw this event to be permanently scheduled into the calendar. The Symposium format supports the integration of individuals from different scientific communities including analytical chemists, chromatographists as well as the practitioners of separation and chromatographic methods. It also contributes to the development and popularization of chromatography in Poland, is considered to be an inspiring and friendly platform for acquiring and exchanging knowledge, assists in educating new generations of chromatographists, analytical chemists, Ph.D. students, students and facilitates forming close collaborations between local and international leaders in chromatography. The active participation of the leading companies that develop chromatographic instruments is an additional advantage and offers our guests a unique possibility to cooperate and to become familiar with state-of-the-art commercial offerings.
Over the last 40 editions, the Symposium and its format have evolved to address the expectations of the community and to adapt to new trends. The 25th anniversary in 2001 had ca. 300 participants. For many years, our Symposium has been considered to be one of the most significant events that were organized in Poland. It is devoted to chromatography and related techniques and hosts scientists from academia and industry as well as representatives of all of the leading companies that distribute chromatographic instruments.
To ensure the highest scientific standards, better integration of the chromatographic community and to enable more effective cooperation and more natural exchange of knowledge among local and international participants, English has been the official language of the Symposium since 2009. Due to the increasing number of conferences with a similar scope and the greater mobility of scientists, recently our target group usually has consisted of up to 100 participants including about 30% of international guests.