Representatives of over 50 universities affiliated with the UNICA network discussed research cooperation in a changing environment and scientific data security at the University of Warsaw.
The UNICA network (Network of Universities from the Capital of Europe) has been operating since 1990. It currently brings together 56 universities, including the University of Warsaw. It provides a forum for the exchange of experiences between the authorities and employees of European universities. Every year, it organises meetings devoted to research at the European level.
This year’s event was held at the University of Warsaw (September 25th–26th) under the slogan “Strengthening Research Collaboration in a Changing Landscape: Shared Research Infrastructures and Research Data Security”.
The event was attended by representatives of university authorities, including Prof. Zygmunt Lalak, the UW’s Vice-Rector for Research, and Prof. Sambor Grucza, the UW’s Vice-Rector for Cooperation and Human Resources, experts involved in scientific research at the European Union level, scientists, and specialists in the field of research infrastructure, data management, and security.
The meeting was also attended by vice-rectors for research at European universities: Prof. Pieter Ballon from Vrije Universiteit Brussel (co-initiator of the event), Prof. Naris Pojskić from the University of Sarajevo, Prof. Katrin Niglas from Tallinn University, Prof. Estelle Doudet from the University of Lausanne, Prof. Ender Ciğeroğlu from Middle East Technical University, and Prof. Archie Clements from Queen’s University Belfast.
“The University of Warsaw is the best research centre in the country, ranking among the top 3% of universities worldwide. In 2019, the University of Warsaw took first place in the Ministry of Science and Higher Education’s “Initiative of Excellence – Research University” competition, obtaining the status of a research university. UW employees receive the most prestigious European grants awarded by the European Research Council. The University of Warsaw is also a member of the 4EU+ Alliance, which consists of eight European research universities,” said Prof. Zygmunt Lalak, opening the event.
The debates focused on issues such as strengthening research cooperation, research infrastructure, open science, open access to data, and research data protection and management.
The thematic panels were attended by, among others, Prof. Barbara Wagner from the UW’s Faculty of Chemistry, Konrad Zawadzki, deputy director of the UW’s Biological and Chemical Research Centre, and Jakub Szprot from the UW’s Interdisciplinary Centre for Mathematical and Computational Modelling. The discussion panels were moderated by: Prof. Pieter Ballon, Vice-Rector for Research at Vrije Universiteit Brussel, UNICA Research Coordinator; Katarzyna Walczyk-Matuszyk from the Polish Chamber of Commerce for High Technology (IZTECH); Aneta Pazik-Aybar, Head of the Open Science Team at the National Science Centre; Eiríkur Stephensen from the University of Iceland, member of the expert group on open science, European University Association.
