One of the most anticipated jubilee events is behind us - the International Maria Curie-Skłodowska Congress "Innovation is a Woman. Science - Business - Education", which took place on 21-22 October at the Lublin Conference Centre. The Congress attracted substantial interest, with several hundred attendees participating in-person at the LCK and thousands more joining virtually through UMCS's social media livestreams.
The Congress was officially opened by: the Rector of the University, Prof. Radosław Dobrowolski, and the Chairman of the Committee for the Celebrations of the 80th Anniversary of UMCS, Prof. Jan Pomorski. During his speech, Prof. Dobrowolski said: "I am extremely pleased to welcome everyone to this exceptional event, which is part of the program of the celebrations of the 80th anniversary of Maria Curie-Skłodowska University. We started celebrating our joint holiday in January, but October is the culmination of these numerous initiatives and I am very glad that such distinguished guests accepted our invitation to one of the most important points of the celebration of the entire anniversary, which is undoubtedly the Congress Innovation is a Woman (...). UMCS is the only university in Poland whose patron is a woman, and she is an outstanding figure in every respect. Our duty as the rector's authorities and the entire academic community is to celebrate and emphasize the role of women in various spheres of life: in science, business, education at every opportunity".
In turn, Prof. Jan Pomorski stated that dreams do come true, as evidenced by the Congress currently taking place. He thanked all the people who accepted the invitation and agreed to participate in the event. He also addressed words of gratitude to the people with whom he worked on the Congress.
The State Secretary in the Ministry of National Education, Dr. Joanna Mucha, also spoke, emphasizing the critical contributions of women across various fields. She also mentioned Maria Curie-Skłodowska, who can be a role model for everyone.
The Congress gathered a group of distinguished guests from the world of science, education, politics, business and culture. On the first day, the Antoni N. Patek Hall was attended by, among others, state secretaries in the Ministry of National Education and the Ministry of State Assets, members of parliament, representatives of central and local government administration. We were also honored by the presence of representatives of the socio-economic environment: Dr. Sylwia Mokrysz (Mokate), Dr. Irena Eris, Sylwia Dołęgowska (Żagiel Group) and representatives of the Kulczyk Foundation, as well as: Ewa Korzec (Inter Broker), Radosław Janik (Apis), Wiesław Czarnacki (Elpar Cable Factory) and Piotr Szulec (Skarbiec TFI).
On the first day of the event, two paths were held in parallel: "Science" and "Business". We had the opportunity to learn more about the ATHENA consortium of European universities, which was presented by representatives of UMCS: Dr. Olga Pliszczyńska-Mokijewska and Karolina Sokolińska. During the Congress, we also hosted representatives of member universities, who discussed strategic partnerships in international cooperation between universities. The meeting was led by the Vice-Rector for Science and International Cooperation of UMCS, Prof. Wiesław Gruszecki. The panel of female rectors entitled The Female Face of the University was also extremely interesting. Dr. Hab. Ewa Solska talked to Prof. Bogumiła Kaniewska (Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, KRASP), Prof. Beata Wojciechowska (Jan Kochanowski University in Kielce) and Prof. Stefanie Reese (Unversität Siegen). The “Science” path ended with a poster session prepared by doctoral students from three UMCS doctoral schools: the Doctoral School of Social Sciences, the Doctoral School of Exact and Natural Sciences, and the Doctoral School of Humanities and Arts.
At the same time, the “Business” path featured a presentation of four Polish brands: Dr Irena Eris, Mokate, Polenergia, and Żagiel Group, while the panel entitled The Female Face of Business was led by the renowned journalist Magda Mołek. Participants: Dr Irena Eris, Dr Sylwia Mokrysz, Sylwia Dołęgowska, and Aleksander Broda discussed, among other things, their experiences with running and developing companies, as well as the subject of succession. This group also received the honorary Maria Curie-Skłodowska statuettes, which were presented by representatives of the UMCS rectors.
The Female Face of Technological Innovation panel was led by the president of the Perspektywy Educational Foundation, Dr Bianka Siwińska, and her interlocutors were: prof. Małgorzata Witko (Director of the Institute of Catalysis and Surface Chemistry of the Polish Academy of Sciences in 2002–2022), Paulina Brandstätter (fund manager, TFI Skarbiec), Ksenia Nowicka (public policy manager in the Central and Eastern European region of Meta), Dr. Patrycja Olchowska (expert in the area of innovation, trainer at the ICAN Institute) and Dr. Anna Kubasiak (quantum physicist, Microsoft).
In addition, during the Congress, the “Business” path included presentations of the Women’s Entrepreneurship Foundation’s programs, which were discussed by Agata Zioło (director of innovation at the Women’s Entrepreneurship Foundation) and the ESG Leaders Academy program, which was presented by Paulina Paga (member of the board of the Lesław A. Paga Foundation).
On the first day of the Congress, a commemorative stamp issued by Poczta Polska on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of UMCS was also presented. Undersecretary of State in the Ministry of State Assets Jacek Bartmiński presented special frames with the stamp and a first-day of issue envelope to the people involved in the Congress. On behalf of UMCS, these were: Rector Prof. Radosław Dobrowolski, Chancellor of the University Grażyna Elżbieta Fiok, and Prof. Jan Pomorski.
At the end of the first day, participants enjoyed a unique performance entitled Elements of Life at the UMCS Academic Center for Culture and Media, Chatka Żaka. The show, prepared by students under the guidance of leading specialists, portrayed Maria Curie-Skłodowska as a multifaceted individual—a mother, a scientist, a wife, and a Nobel Prize laureate.
The next day of the Congress was full of just as many interesting panels, discussions and shows. This time, the proceedings were held in one path called "Education".
In the panel How to educate young people to be Europeans? Prof. Jan Pomorski, together with outstanding panelists, considered many issues related to education, transformation processes and identity. Among the invited guests were: Dr. Joanna Mucha (State Secretary, Ministry of National Education), Basil Kerski (Director of the European Solidarity Centre) and Prof. Sylwia Mrozowska (Director of the Centre for Sustainable Development at the University of Gdańsk). Dr. Joanna Mucha said during the panel: "Today's world is changing in a turbulent way, i.e. in such a way that the processes overlap and it is impossible to predict what their result will be. These are processes related to climate change, demographic change, digitalization, and especially artificial intelligence. And if we think that in Europe we can have a great education and live wonderfully, and the whole world will "somehow" live and will not be affected by our perspective - then we are wrong (...). If we do not start to understand Europeanness as a mission, if we do not think of our European values as a responsibility, then as a consequence we will not cope with the processes that will take place in the rest of the world (…)".
In turn, in the part entitled Education in the Meta World. What do schools and universities have to offer the Alpha generation?, which was led by the Vice-Rector for Students and Quality of Education at UMCS, Prof. Dorota Kołodyńska, the challenges faced by schools and universities in connection with the ongoing generational and technological changes were discussed. The following took part in this panel: Katarzyna Lubnauer (State Secretary at the Ministry of National Education), Robert Firmhofer (General Director of the Copernicus Science Centre), Prof. Marlena Plebańska (President of the STEAM Foundation) and Katarzyna Olejnik (Director of the Paderewski International Primary School in Lublin).
The event also included topics related to culture. The panel entitled Education through Culture was led by: Director of the National Museum in Lublin, Dr. Hab. Katarzyna Mieczkowska and Director of the Academic Centre for Culture and Media at UMCS Chatka Żaka Izabela Pastuszko. Panelists: Michał Rydzewski (Deputy Director, National Centre for Culture), Dariusz Wieczorek (Minister of Science) and Beata Stepaniuk-Kuśmierzak (Deputy Mayor of Lublin) discussed, among other things, the role of culture in education, opportunities for young people's development and student culture.
Then, Wiktoria Herun (Deputy Director, Lublin City Office), Jarosław Stawiarski (Marshal of the Lublin Voivodeship), Dr. Krzysztof Żuk (President of Lublin), and Prof. Radosław Dobrowolski (Rector of UMCS) spoke about the first edition of the Maria Curie Exploratorium – a regional centre for science, education and new technologies. One of the last points of the Congress was the signing of a letter of intent regarding the implementation of the Exploratorium investment project by representatives of the university, the voivodeship, and the city.
An extremely interesting experience was the immersive meeting with an interactive avatar of Maria Curie-Skłodowska. During the two days of the Congress, the avatar spoke to those gathered at the LCK in the voice of the Nobel Prize winner. It was a showcase of AI technology, ChatGPT-4, 3D programming, cloud web solutions and historical knowledge. The following were responsible for this part of the program: Dr. Karol Kasprowicz (Historical Imagination Lab), Dr. Anna Kubasiak (Microsoft) and Krzysztof Kujawski (Humanverse).
At the end of the Congress, the participants took part in a concert of the Polish Radio Chamber Orchestra "Amadeus" conducted by maestra Agnieszka Duczmal, which took place at the Henryk Wieniawski Philharmonic in Lublin.The Congress was a unique initiative on a national and international scale. We are glad that together with distinguished guests from the world of science, business and education we were able to celebrate the 80th anniversary of our Alma Mater in such a special way.
The event would not have taken place without a group of many committed people. The honorary committee included the rector and chancellor authorities of UMCS: prof. Radosław Dobrowolski, prof. Zbigniew Pastuszak, prof. Wiesław Gruszecki, prof. Dorota Kołodyńska, dr hab. Arkadiusz Bereza, prof. UMCS and mgr Grażyna Elżbieta Fiok. The organizing committee consisted of: prof. Jan Pomorski (Chairman of the 80th Anniversary Celebrations Committee of UMCS), dr Monika Baczewska-Ciupak (Faculty of Pedagogy and Psychology), mgr Anna Polaczek-Skiba (Scientific Research Centre), mgr Aneta Adamska (Press Centre), mgr Alicja Borzęcka-Szajner (Centre for Education and Study Service), mgr Wirginia Gieryng-Wójtowicz (Promotion Centre), mgr Grzegorz Narolski (Legal and Organizational Centre), mgr Izabela Pastuszko (UMCS Academic Centre for Culture and Media Chatka Żaka) with their teams.
Fot. Bartosz Proll, Michał Piłat
