Another edition of our annual science festival has passed! The 8th Silesian Science Festival Katowice, which took place on 7-9 December at the International Congress Centre, was the culmination of the entire year of celebrations of awarding Katowice the title of European City of Science 2024. Participants we able to take part in over a thousand scientific activities located on over twenty thematic stages, nearly two hundred exhibition stands and special zones, prepared by over two thousand scientists and science communicators.
This year, the space of the Silesian Science Festival Katowice was organised in a unique way – a real City of Science was created in the International Congress Centre, divided into Districts, the City of Science Market of Ideas and boulevards.
Each day of the 8th ŚFN began with a special opening lecture given by an invited guest, who shared the secrets of science with us and allowed us to dive into the Festival. On Saturday, 7 December, participants were able to listen to a lecture by Prof. Jeff Forshaw entitled ‘Black holes. The key to understanding the Universe’, during which the scientist explained the mysterious phenomenon of black holes found in outer space. On Sunday, 8 December, we could participate in a lecture by Prof. Andrzej Dragan ‘Does the present exist?’, during which we learned the latest information about the theory of relativity. On Monday, 9 December, we listened to a lecture by Prof. Lewis Dartnell ‘How the Earth shaped the history of humanity’, during which we looked at our life on Earth and its dependence on processes occurring in the environment.
The culmination of the ECSK 2024 celebrations
At the end of the first day of the 8th edition of the Silesian Science Festival in Katowice, the Night of the City of Science was held. It was the first summary of the entire year of celebrations of awarding Katowice the title of European City of Science 2024. During the event, we took a look at current activities, presented proposals for further creative ventures in the City of Science, and confirmed further cooperation between universities and local governments in regards to the scientific transformation of the Silesian Voivodeship.
The plans to continue the ECSK 2024 idea were confirmed by the City of Science Declaration, which was signed by the rectors of the universities associated in the Academic Consortium Katowice City of Science and all those interested in the further development of our region (we still encourage you to sign the declaration via the online form!) . The Night of the City of Science was made even more speial by a wonderful concert of film music performed by Jan Stokłosa and musicians of the Stokłosa Collective Orchestra.
During the 8th ŚFN, the lasting effects of ECSK were also presented, such as: The Inauguration of the Scientific Programme for Silesia, the concept of the Green Science Zone and the map of the Network Science Centre. At the Festival, we also came back to the most interesting activities from all 50 Weeks of the City of Science, which took place, among others, on six stages of the City of Science Market of Ideas. We also summarised the Youth in the City of Science Programme and participated in many inspiring meetings, including: with Polish and global winners of the FameLab competition, EU TalentON winners and representatives of EUCYS (European Union Contest for Young Scientists).
Novelties during the 8. ŚFN Katowice
One of the novelties presented during the 8th ŚFN Katowice was the Literary Café, co-organised with three literary festivals: Aglo Festival, Przestrzeń Słowa (Space of Word) Festival of the Silesian Library and Festiwal Słowa im. Jerzego Pilcha Granatowe Góry (Jerzy Pilch Blue Mountains Word Festival), where many conversations and literary meetings took place, presenting topics such as local colour palette and history of our region.
Additionally, Festival participants had the opportunity to visit three new special zones. In the Gaming Zone we talked about video and board games, and we also entered the area of amazing technologies that allowed us to immerse ourselves in virtual and board game worlds. During the activities available in the AI Zone, we deepened our knowledge about artificial intelligence and tried to find answers to questions regarding the wisdom of artificial neural networks or the role of AI in the professions of the future. Moreover, as part of the attractions prepared in the Cosmos Zone, we could take a closer look at the Mars rovers and see amazing astronomical shows in the mobile planetarium belonging to Planetarium – The Silesian Science Park.
During the 8th ŚFN Katowice, we also had the opportunity to see what our planet looks like from the perspective of space. This was made possible thanks to a huge, spectacular globe (7 meters in diameter!) placed above the multifunctional hall at the International Congress Centre. The mobile installation Gaia – a project by multidisciplinary artist Luke Jerram – is 1.8 million times smaller than the real Earth, and each centimetre of the internally lit sculpture corresponds to 18 km of real surface. Standing 211m from the work, we could see the Earth as we would see it from the surface of the Moon!
Meetings with special guest
A unique part of the programme of the 8th edition of ŚFN Katowice were meetings with invited guests. We talked about the secrets of various fields of science with scientists from abroad, including: Prof. J. Georgi Bednorz, Nobel Prize winner in physics, Yolanda Ohene, PhD, Prof. Norman Davies, Fran Scott, Prof. Jeff Forshaw, Cosimo Accoto, Prof. Alicja Tardy and Prof. Lewis Dartnell, as well as from Poland, including: Dawid Myśliwiec, PhD, Aga Szuścik, Prof. Andrzej Dragan, Tymon Tymański, Adam Mirek, PhD Eng., Agata Romaniuk, Karol Wójcicki, Agata Kołodziejczyk, PhD, Krzysztof M. Maj, PhD and Ewelina Zambrzycka-Kościelnicka.
The 8th ŚFN Katowice competitions
During the three festival days, we also found out who are the winners of prestigious competitions organised as part of the Silesian Science Festival Katowice.
On Saturday, we awarded the POP Science Award to outstanding science communicators. The recipients of the award were: Karol Wójcicki for the website and profile ‘Z głową w gwiazdach’ (‘Head in the Stars’) (Website or Blog), Łukasz Lamża, PhD – creator of the video blog ‘Czytamy naturę’ (‘We Read Nature’) (Video Blog), podcast ‘Pogadajmy o naukce’ (‘Let’s Talk About Science’) (Radio Broadcast or Podcast), Anna Byczek-Wyrostek, PhD Eng. from the Silesian University of Technology (Think Globally, Act Locally – Academic Community) and Edyta Łaskawiec, PhD Eng. (Think Globally, Act Locally – Residents of the Silesian Voivodeship). We also presented the POP Science Special Award – Outstanding Science Communicator to Tomasz Rożek, PhD. More information about the winners of this year’s edition of the award can be found on our website.
On Sunday, we we able to participate in the official gala of the Silesian Scientific Award – an award granted by universities co-organising ŚFN to people who promote Silesian science on the national and international arena. In the ‘Employees’ category, the awards went to: Piotr Ceglarek, MA and Jan Dybała, MA from the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Katowice, Wacław Adamczyk, PhD from the Academy of Physical Education in Katowice, Prof. Eng. Sławomir Boncel from the Silesian University of Technology, Prof. Mariusz Gąsior, MD, PhD from the Medical University of Silesia, Prof. Krystian Heffner, MD, PhD from the University of Economics in Katowice, Prof. Anna Wypych-Gawrońska from the Jan Dlugosz University in Częstochowa and Prof. Miron Lakomy from the University of Silesia in Katowice. In the ‘PhD Students’ category, the award went to Adam Kaczmarek, MSc Eng. from the Jan Dlugosz University in Częstochowa. The Special Award of the Mayor of Katowice went to Grzegorz Wojnar, PhD, DSc, Eng., Assoc. Prof. of the Silesian University of Technology, whereas the winners of the Special Award ‘Meritorious for Silesian Science’ were Marcin Krupa, PhD Eng., Mayor of Katowice, and Kazimierz Karolczak, Chair of the Board of the Metropolis GMZ. We presented the profiles of the Silesian Scientific Award 2024 winners in the article on our website.
On the same day, we announced the results of the OFF Science – Review of Garage Inventions, in which innovative and creative technical solutions were awarded. The recipients of the award were: Large-format CNC machine by Antoni Ciesielski (Netizen Award), AiBach by Paweł Obsadny (Jury Award) and Pomóż! Uratuj psiaka (Help! Save a dog) by Emilia Szweda, Maja Szweda, Juliusz Szweda and their scientific supervisors (Audience Award). You can read more about the award ceremony and the winning inventions on our website.
On the last day of the Festival, the final of the ‘Youth for the Future of Silesia’ competition took place. Of the ten winning projects selected in this year’s edition, we awarded the one that received the most votes from the festival audience. The Special Award went to students of the 4th Secondary School in the King John III Sobieski Complex of Schools No. 6 in Jastrzębie-Zdrój for the project Pomóż! Uratuj psiaka (Help! Save a dog). You can read about all the winning projects on our website.
ŚFN for everyone!
The Silesian Science Festival Katowice is invariably a free and accessible event – during the Festival we took care of facilities for people with disabilities and special needs – we provided, among others: interpretations into sign language, hearing related technologies, spaces accessible to people with physical disabilities and friendly to people on the autism spectrum, as well as assistance for people with disabilities.
The Silesian Science Festival Katowice is a unique place where you can develop passions and discover the richness of various fields of science. Thank you for working with us to create one of the largest events of this type in the country and Europe!
Check out photo reports from individual Festival days!
Photo by Wojtek Korpusik
Detailed information about ŚFN Katowice can be found on our website and in social media – you can follow us on Facebook and Instagram. Be sure to also subscribe to Supernova – the scientific newsletter of ŚFN and ECSK 2024.
The 8th Silesian Science Festival Katowice was organised by: University of Silesia in Katowice (leader and initiator of the event), City of Katowice (host city of the event), Silesian Voivodeship and Metropolis GZM (co-hosts), as well as Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice, Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Katowice, Academy of Physical Education in Katowice, Czestochowa University of Technology, Silesian University of Technology, Medical University of Silesia in Katowice, University of Economics in Katowice and Jan Długosz University in Częstochowa.
The project is co-financed by the state budget with funds allocated by the Minister of Science under the Social Responsibility of Science II Programme.
The event is financed by the EU. The views and opinions expressed are solely those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the European Union or the European Research Executive Agency (REA). The European Union and the REA are not responsible for them.
The Gold Sponsor of the festival is PKO Bank Polski. The Silver Sponsor is ING Bank Śląski, iStudies by iSpot. The sponsors of the festival are: All 4 Comms Ltd. and Fakro Sp. z o.o. The Gold Partner is the Górnośląskie Towarzystwo Lotnicze SA. The Silver Partner is the Łukasiewicz Research Network. Strategic partners and main media patrons are: Polityka, Wiedza i Życie, Świat Nauki and Pulsar. Partners of the event are: State Forests, Polish-U.S. Fulbright Commission, Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange, Copernicus Center, Experyment Science Centre in Gdynia, Aglo Festival, Space of Word, ‘Granatowe Góry’ Word Festival, Silesian Museum, Do dzieła. Mobile Art and Sensory Studio, Bajka Pana Kleksa, W TO MI GRAJ Foundation, Mobile Creativity Zone, SUPER Giganci Nursery School, 1000 Klocki Creativity Centre by Bricks4kidz, Animacje Megi.
The event is held under the honorary patronage of: Minister of National Education, Minister of Science and Higher Education, Ministry of Climate and Environment, Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, Ministry of Sport and Tourism, Ministry of Finance, National Science Centre, Space Research Centre of the Polish Academy of Sciences, National Centre for Research and Development, Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange, Patent Office of the Republic of Poland, Marshal of the Silesian Voivodeship Wojciech Saługa, Metropolis GZM, Mayor of Katowice, Mayor of Gliwice Katarzyna Kuczyńska-Budka, Mayor of Sosnowiec, Mayor of Zabrze, Mayor of Bytom, Mayor of Chorzów, Mayor of Cieszyn, Mayor of Bielsko-Biała, Mayor of Częstochowa.
The main media patrons of the 8th Silesian Science Festival are: Onet and TVP Nauka. The main regional media patron is Radio Katowice. The media patrons of the event are: PAP Nauka w Polsce, ‘Forum Akademickie‘, Radio 357, Gazeta Wyborcza, Dziennik Zachodni, Radio Bielsko, Radio Express, Radio eM, Charaktery, wKatowicach.eu, Gość Niedzielny, Mały Gość Niedzielny, Children’s magazine Świerszczyk.