Prof. Igor Konieczny, Ph.D. Dean of the Intercollegiate Faculty of Biotechnology UG & MUG
How do you understand Education in biosciences research?
Education is a vital aspect of the Responsible Research and Innovation concept. In order to build responsible relations with the society, there is a need for a certain level of science literacy in the society. On the one hand the scientists need to be aware of the need of communicating with other members of society, on the other hand the society needs educational interventions in order to be able to receive the information from scientists.
What are the current standards and actions to achieve better Education on biosciences in your country and in your University?
In Poland there are numerous initiatives to popularize science among society, e.g. science picnics, science festivals, open days in research institutions. Also some media such as TV, newspapers or radio broadcasts focus on familiarizing the society with the new discoveries of science. At University we organise special events such as debates on GMO, Biologists Night, Baltic Science Festival and other in order to broaden knowledge on biotechnology. Also special seminars and lectures on current problems in science are organised regularly.
What are you aiming for with the implementation of the STARBIOS2 actions towards better Education standards for your institute?
Our goal is to raise awareness about the issues covered by the RRI concept among stakeholders in Poland. An awareness raising campaign will be promoted locally at the Intercollegiate Faculty of Biotechnology UG & MUG, at the University of Gdańsk and beyond and will be dedicated to specific target groups.
What kind of actions are you going to establish to fulfill your objectives?
We organise short seminars on each of the five RRI key issues within our Faculty. As a tool to reach students and young researchers we will dedicate one edition of our well-known IFB Biotechnology Summer School to social responsibility of biosciences. We also aspire to offer a new bioethics course to our PhD students. Moreover, we plan to publish a comprehensive research progress reports about the achievement of our researchers as well as their societal engagement activities.
Who is involved, from your University, in the AP in order to complete your final objective?
The STARBIOS2 Team at UG consists of staff members from biotechnology, social sciences faculty, UG Office for Science and UG Library.
Check our previous blog post by the University of Gdansk on Open Access in Biosciences research.
