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The final of the European City of Science celebrations
The celebrations of the European City of Science Katowice 2024 officially ended on Friday, December 20th in two places – the Silesian University of Technology summed up its annual activities in Mrowisko, and representatives of all universities met in the Silesian Philharmonic.
It was a very active year in terms of activities promoting and popularizing science for the Silesian University of Technology.
- “I undertook the coordination of eleven out of 50 weeks of Science organized within the EMNK (European City of Science Katowice). It was successful thanks to the people I worked with. Curators, scientists, students, and PhD students involved in the activities - all of them deserve respect and great applause for they managed to do” - said Dr Hab. Eng. Kamil Barczak, coordinator of EMNK weeks at the Silesian University of Technology.
The Silesian University of Technology took care of 11 weeks. These were: Week of Treasures, Architecture, Flying, Transport of the future, Micro-World, Eco, Industry 4.0, Witches, Energy and Materials. Besides that, Dr Hab. Eng. Grzegorz Wojnar, Prof. SUT took care of the Katowice Week.
- “A total of four hundred events in sixty locations, attended by fifteen thousand participants. 10 Faculties of Silesian University of Technology were included in the activities” – said Kamil Barczak.
During the 50 weeks of Science, the scientific and research potential of all universities was presented, all the universities of the Consortium cooperated with each other, regardless of the discipline they represented. It is already known that this cooperation will not end there, and joint initiatives of Silesian universities will continue. To confirm this, during the 8th Silesian Science Festival Katowice, the Declaration of the City of Science was signed.

- “It was an amazing cooperation, which resulted in activities in the field of popularization of science. Many benefits can come from this. We can disenchant the Silesian Voivodeship by showing that our showcase is not only heavy industry, but we also have a huge scientific potential” – added Prof. Dr Hab Eng. Arkadiusz Mężyk, former Rector of the Silesian University of Technology, who inaugurated the EMNK celebrations at the Silesian University of Technology.
- “We are tired, but we feel satisfied that we managed to implement so many activities and thus show many advantages of the Silesian University of Technology. We have shown in an accessible and friendly way that learning can be attractive, that it affects our lives. I would like to thank all those who have been actively involved in the organization of the weeks this year “– added Prof. Dr Hab. Eng. Bożena Skołud, Vice-Rector for General Affairs.

The curators themselves put the most work in organizing the weeks, they could not hide that it was a real challenge.
- “The Microworld Week was a time of intense work for me, but it brought great fulfilment. It was a period full of new experiences, inspiring meetings, and acquaintances, and at the same time a nice change from everyday professional duties”” – admitted Dr Eng. Anna Nida, one of the curators of the MicroWorld Week. – “I found the greatest sense of this work in the reactions of the participants – their curiosity, surprise, as well as visible satisfaction. It was their activity and commitment that was the biggest reward for me” – she added.
The researchers involved in the activities during the Science weeks were surprised that they were able to interest the inhabitants with a topic to the point that they would come all week to all the events.
Dr Eng. Aldona Rosner, who was responsible for the organization of Robots Week, will remember this time as an intense but hopeful time for new projects.
“Events such as the Robots Festival or Family Workshops have made it possible for whole families to participate in our activities, bringing the subject of robots closer to the modern world. The events were very popular and met with positive reception” – said the curator of the Robots Week. – “The week was also an excellent opportunity to show cooperation on the line of Schools-Universities-Local Government-Business, which resulted in positive thoughts and gave the opportunity to create new ideas and inspiration” – she added.
The ceremonial completion of the activities within the European City of Science took place yesterday not only in Mrowisko, but also in the Katowice Philharmonic, where representatives of all universities met. At this event, the Silesian University of Technology was represented by the Rector Prof. Dr Hab. Eng. Marek Pawełczyk.

During the ceremony, prizes and thanks were given to those involved in the organization of EMNK activities in all universities of the Academic Consortium Katowice City of Science.
photo Przemyslaw Bratkowski
