The Senate of the Vasyl Stefanyk Precarpathian National University unanimously decided to confer the title of doctor honoris causa for Prof. Marcin Pałys, rector of the University of Warsaw. The doctoral award ceremony is planned for September in Ukraine.

On 26th June The Senate of the Vasyl Stefanyk Precarpathian National University unanimously decided to confer the title of doctor honoris causa for prof. Marcin Pałys, rector of the University of Warsaw. The decision was made at the request of the Faculty of Natural Sciences.

– In recent years, the UW rector has made a great effort to implement one of the most important strategic projects, not only in the relations between the University of Warsaw and the Precarpathian National University, but also in the relations between Poland and Ukraine – the renewal of the former UW Observatory on the Pop Ivan Mountain, which will not only be a powerful scientific centre, but also a symbol of brotherly ties between Ukrainians and Poles – says Prof. Igor Cependa, rector of the Precarpathian National University.

Joint observatory

The reconstruction of the Astronomical-Meteorological Observatory on the summit of the Pop Ivan Mountain in the Chornohora mountain range in Western Ukraine began in 2012. It had been opened just before the outbreak of World War II, which discontinued its activity. The building has been deteriorating for years. The University of Warsaw and the Precarpathian National University in Ivano-Frankivsk are involved in the renovation project.

Both universities have established a partnership with mountain rescue units from Poland and Ukraine (GOPR-Bieszczady, DSNS) and jointly implement a project to build a mountain rescue station on the summit of the Pop Ivan Mountain.

– Cooperation of the universities will expand. Its new field will definitely be the joint creation of the International Scientific Centre “Observatory” on the Pop Ivan Mountain – announces Jan Tygielski from the UW, with the PIMReC team, which coordinates the work related to the reconstruction of the Observatory.

The 30th anniversary of the EU Interreg programme was to be held on the summit of Pop Ivan Mountain. – The coronavirus pandemic has thwarted these plans, but we hope to organise it next year. We are appreciated as one of the furthest points where EU structural support has arrived – explains Jan Tygielski.

A grant application to the National Programme for the Development of the Humanities is also being prepared for research queries and comprehensive description of the history of the observatory on the summit of the Pop Ivan from the first design idea, through the opening on 29th August 1938 and operations until 17th September 1939, during the war, USSR to the modern reconstruction.