At the Silesian University of Technology, the future of Polish science was discussed
On February 24th, a series of meetings entitled “Let’s talk about Polish science” was launched at the Silesian University of Technology. In the near future, such meetings will be held throughout Poland with the participation of the Deputy Minister of Science and Higher Education Prof. Marek Gzik and Director of the National Centre for Research and Development, Prof. Jerzy Małachowski. The first meeting gathered a lot of people interested in discussing the future of Polish science.
The first meeting of the series “Let’s talk about Polish science” was held at the Silesian University of Technology with the participation of the Deputy Minister of Science and Higher Education Prof. Marek Gzik and Director of the National Centre for Research and Development, Prof. Jerzy Małachowski.
The meetings are to be an opportunity to listen to the voice of the academic community about the functioning of the Polish higher education and science system. The main reason for the debate is to discuss the planned reforms.
-” At the moment, we are discussing changes and amendments to the Law on Higher Education and Science in the Ministry. We are also talking about the Polish Academy of Sciences. One of the most important topics is evaluation” -, said Prof. Gzik. Among the proposed changes in this area, there is leaving the evaluation period at the level of 4 years, but a change in the evaluation criteria, or a modification of the list of scored journals.
-” Prime Minister Donald Tusk pointed to science and innovation as pillars of the development of the Polish economy. That is why we need to talk about what Polish science is supposed to look like in 5 or 10 years and how it should develop, what role it can play in social and economic development” – added Prof. Gzik.
Among the important topics for discussion with the scientific community of the Silesian University of Technology was also the activity of the National Centre for Research and Development.
“We are aware that after years of poor management, we need to rebuild the image of this institution. We present a new offer under the slogan “Knowledge-based economy,” which concerns a new approach to supporting cooperation between science and business. I want this to be reflected in the projects, what is already happening and that it will contribute to the scientific development of Polish universities and scientists” – said the director of the National Centre for Research and Development, Prof. Jerzy Małachowski. In his presentation, he presented a number of programs, which in the near future will be able to benefit scientists and universities from all over Poland and thus raise funds for research. These will include programs focused on the implementation of projects in the field of defence, energy transformation or the development of artificial intelligence. All information about calls and projects is available on the NCBiR website.
The guests were listened to by the academic community – among them students, PhD students, administrative and scientific staff, and the Rector of the Silesian University of Technology Prof. Marek Pawełczyk.
“We, as a Research University, implement many projects, including those financed by the National Centre for Research and Development, so we can share our own experiences and comments. In our opinion, administrative procedures concerning the settlement of the projects themselves should be improved, including shortening the time of settlement of projects, which currently takes up to 10 years” – said the Rector Pawełczyk. "We also propose that each project be assigned a project officer, as is the case in European projects, which helps in the implementation and quick decision-making resulting during the implementation of grants."
The Rector of the Silesian University of Technology also drew attention to the concerns of scientists who, although they would like to implement joint projects with business, due to difficult procedures, simply fear that during or after its duration, a number of additional problems will arise.
“As the Silesian University of Technology, we also want to draw attention today to certain aspects that should be included in the amendment to the Act on Higher Education and Science, which is why we are glad that this first consultation meeting with Deputy Minister Gzik took place in our walls,” added the Rector.
The researchers themselves also joined the discussion, drawing attention to problems with financing scientific projects and the shortage of substantive experts assessing projects and difficulties in obtaining money for financing research from EU funds.
-After hearing all these comments, we will draw constructive conclusions and take them to Warsaw, present them to decision-makers, so that these important voices will be taken into account when introducing further changes in higher education and science - concluded Prof. Gzik.
fot. Maciej Mutwil
