The Copernicus Festival is one of Poland’s foremost science outreach events. This year’s edition will run from 19 to 24 May in Kraków and online. The National Science Centre is a festival partner for the third time.
The festival programme centres on complex systems in nature, society and human cognition – from human evolution and the physics of the cosmos to neuroscience and the emergence of consciousness. Speakers will include David Krakauer, President of the Santa Fe Institute and one of the world’s leading researchers of complex systems; Anil Seth of the University of Sussex, author of the theory of consciousness as a predictive process; cosmologist Hiranya Peiris, known for her analyses of the cosmic microwave background; and palaeoanthropologist John Hawks, co-discoverer of Homo naledi.
The festival is held at the Museum of Engineering and Technology in Kraków (ul. św. Wawrzyńca 15). The programme includes lectures, discussions and film screenings.
NCN patronage
This year, NCN’s involvement in the festival takes two forms. The first is the “Year in Science” strand, in which NCN grantees will present the key directions in research across six areas: climate, physics, complexity economics, genetics, neuroscience and palaeoanthropology. The second is the debate “Curiosity as a Method” – NCN’s first dedicated session at the Copernicus Festival, devoted to the role of basic research in the economy and social life. NCN grantees will also feature in the “Confrontations”, “Conversation” and “ERC Talks” sessions throughout all six days of the festival.
The “Year in Science” strand
Created in cooperation with NCN, the strand offers an overview of the key directions in research across six disciplines.
- 19 May – Szymon Malinowski (climate)
- 20 May – Jakub Zakrzewski (physics)
- 21 May – Karolina Safarzyńska (complexity economics)
- 22 May – Paweł Golik (genetics)
- 23 May – Leszek Kaczmarek (neuroscience)
- 24 May – Katarzyna Kaszycka (palaeoanthropology)
All talks begin at 3.45 pm on the main stage (Pavilion F).
NCN Stage: Basic research, real impact
This year, for the first time, NCN is also hosting a debate of its own. The speakers will be: Mateusz Hohol, Dominik Kaim, Kinga Kamieniarz-Gdula and Urszula Stachewicz.
Basic research describes phenomena and mechanisms whose practical significance often only becomes apparent years later – in new technologies, therapies, educational tools or ways of understanding the world.
During the session, we will discuss how curiosity-driven projects shape the economy and social life, why it is so hard to predict in advance where they will lead, and why it is worth funding science that does not promise a ready-made product. The panel will feature researchers working on projects funded by NCN and the European Research Council.
The debate will take place on 22 May, from 2.30 to 3.30 pm, on the small stage (Pavilion D).
ERC Stage
We also encourage you to attend the sessions of the European Research Council.
The ERC Stage programme comprises two days of discussions (19–20 May, Pavilion D) on building research projects, proposal evaluation criteria and the role of one’s research track record in applications. Speakers will include Professor Leszek Kaczmarek (ERC Scientific Council) and Dr Stylianos Lefkopoulos (“Nature Cell Biology”), as well as ERC grantees: Róża Szweda, Krzysztof Szade, Michał Tomza, Ewa Chrostek, Paweł Nowakowski, Artur Obłuski, Anna Siekierka, Sławomir Porada, Łukasz Bola, Małgorzata Filip, Robert Hołyst and Ewa Gruszczyńska.
Throughout the festival, the “ERC Talks” sessions will also feature ERC and NCN grantees: Stefan Dziembowski (also speaking on the ERC Stage), Andrzej Udalski, Piotr Sankowski, Kinga Kamieniarz-Gdula, Piotr Skowron and Justyna Olko.
The Copernicus Festival is co-organised by the Copernicus Center for Interdisciplinary Studies at the Jagiellonian University, the Copernicus Center Foundation, the Tygodnik Powszechny Foundation and the publisher of “Tygodnik Powszechny”. The festival is free of charge and open to all.