Katowice named the official European City of Science 2024
On Saturday, July 16th, 2022, Katowice was officially awarded the title of European City of Science 2024. The ceremony, attended by the authorities of Katowice, representatives of Silesian universities, and local government officials, took place during the EuroScience Open Forum 2022 conference in the Dutch city of Leiden. During the ceremony, Katowice Mayor Marcin Krupa received the symbolic keys of the European City of Science 2024 from Leiden Mayor Henri Lenferink.
The day before, on July 15th, 2022, a Regional Conference was held in Katowice as part of the European Science City 2022 event in Leiden. The ESOF 2022 Regional Site took place at the International Congress Centre. It was attended by scientists from the Silesian University of Technology led by the Vice Rector for Science and Development, Prof. Marek Pawełczyk, as well as doctoral students of our University.
‘The Silesian University of Technology is present at the event because it is part of the academic community concentrated in the Silesian region. Katowice was awarded the title of European City of Science 2024 also with our participation thanks to the creation of consortium of seven universities that complement each other in terms of profile and that have EuroSciences approval. This is a tremendous opportunity for us to promote ourselves,’ said Vice Rector for Science and Development Prof. Marek Pawełczyk.
During the ESOF2022 Regional Conference in Katowice, scientific sessions were also held. The Silesian University of Technology participated in the opening session of the event, which was broadcast to Leiden. 'This allowed us to present ourselves with our potential, which is great and, complemented by the capabilities of the other universities, opens up a wide range of perspectives,' adds Vice Rector Pawełczyk.
The discussion on the UN Sustainable Development Goals was moderated by Prof. Sebastian Werle, Head of POB6 - Climate and Environmental Protection, Modern Energy - at the Silesian University of Technology.
‘Today's panel discussion dealt with very important aspects of sustainable development and we invited excellent guests. Panellists included the President of EuroScience Professor Michael Matlosz and the former Prime Minister of Poland Professor Jerzy Buzek. We discussed whether we were able to meet these UN targets and the discussion did not seem to end. We agreed that we have numerous challenges ahead of us. These include access to clean energy from renewable sources or so-called clean and safe production. We also discussed the role of universities, including the Silesian University of Technology, in meeting these goals,' said Prof Sebastian Werle.
The decision to award Katowice the title of the European City of Science 2024 was announced in December 2021, but the official presentation of the title took place on July 16th, 2022 in the Dutch city of Leiden during the EuroScience Open Forum 2022 conference. During the ceremony, Katowice Mayor Marcin Krupa received the symbolic keys of European City of Science 2024 from Leiden Mayor Henri Lenferink.
A side event of the EuroScience Open Forum 2022 was the ESOF 2022 Regional Site conference. This event was organised by the consortium of universities "Katowice - City of Science" together with EuroScience and the City of Katowice. The consortium of universities comprises: Silesian University of Technology, University of Silesia in Katowice, Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice, Academy of Fine Arts in Katowice, Jerzy Kukuczka Academy of Physical Education in Katowice, Medical University of Silesia, University of Economics in Katowice. During the ESOF 2022 Regional Site, in addition to the scientific sessions, there was also a Doctoral School Conference attended by doctoral students of the Silesian University of Technology.
