Science Policy Committee – made up of unheard of scientists

The Science Policy Committee is an auxiliary body to the Minister of Education and Science (formerly the Minister of Science and Higher Education) in the field of state science policy.

How We read on the Ministry’s website: “The committee evaluates the implementation of the state’s scientific policy and expresses its opinion on the documents presented by the minister.”

And further: “The KPN consists of 12 members appointed by the Minister in accordance with Art. 340 seconds 3 of the July 20, 2018 Law – Higher Education and Science Law [zwaną powszechnie ustawą Gowina]”.

The term of office of the KPN is two years. The same person may hold the position of a member of the Committee for a period not exceeding two consecutive terms in office.”

“The work of the committee is managed by the president who is elected by the KPN from among its members.”

4 thousand per month

The existence of an inventor’s committee Jaroslav GwenMinister of Science and Higher Education 2015-2020.

Its tasks were previously defined as follows: “The tasks of the committee include assisting the Minister of Science and Higher Education in preparing:

  • Documents on science development and science and innovation policy,
  • The draft state budget and a financial plan that determines the financial resources of science,
  • Priorities for domestic and foreign investment.

The Committee also expresses its opinion on:

  • draft normative laws related to the development of science and innovation,
  • Activity plans of government research funding agencies: the National Science Center and the National Center for Research and Development, and the preparation of objective assessments of reports on their activities.

Participation in the work of the committee is linked to wages. Currently, each of its 12 members receives 4,000 PLN per month. In the past, this amount was less, but – as one of his former representatives assured me – it was included in the monthly budget of a Polish scientist.

How is a PAN fixed?

Members of the working committees to date include prominent representatives from the scientific world, including. the professor. Maciej ylicz, President of the Polish Science Foundation, Prof. Andrzej Jajszczyk, former head of the National Science Center or – from the younger generation – Dr. Maciej Duszczyk, former Vice-Chancellor of Sciences at the University of Warsaw, Dr. Marcin Nowotny, Head of the Protein Structure Laboratory at the International Institute for Molecular and Cell Biology in Warsaw, and finally a highly successful sociologist, Dr. Haap. Natalia Litke.

The work of previous KPN teams from 2016-18, 2018-20 and 2020-22 can be found in KPN Opinions from the 2016 page at https://www.gov.pl/web/edukacja-i-nauka/opinie-kpn-od-2016-r

The list of opinions issued by individual committees is long. Two documents appear to be particularly interesting – the letters summarizing the term of office 2018-20 and 2022-20.

The opinions expressed in these documents were not always shared by the entire scientific community. Moreover, there are probably no such issues on which one could unanimously rely here. Representatives of sciences have slightly different interests, and representatives of the humanities and social sciences. Academics see some issues differently from members of the Polish Academy of Sciences.

For years, great controversy was aroused, for example, by the reform of the Polish Academy of Sciences. And so, for example KPN proposal from April 2020which suggested, among other things, separating the PAN institutes from the members of the academy It caused quite a storm.

OKO.press also described this (not good) suggestion in the writings of Adam Leszynski and ukasz Turski.

There will be a Copernican Academy

Let us remind you – the Committee’s opinions are only an advisory vote. The Minister may take it into account, but may not take it into account at all.

This was the case, for example, with the opinion of KPN from the previous term [2020-22]The case concerns the newly established Copernican Academy. The members of the committee appealed to the minister to suspend work on the project to establish this institution. Minister Kazarnik did not care.

In April 2022 Despite opposition from the academic community The House of Representatives adopted, a The president signed Copernican Law Academy.

But it seems that the minister will not face such problems with the incoming committee. There is great hope that they will advise in such a way as not to destroy the well-being of the official and to believe that all his movements are good for both the state and the scientists themselves.

In July 2022, the names of 12 members were announced for the upcoming 2022-24 term.

here they are:

  1. the professor. Doctor Hebb. Arkadiusz Adamczyk – Jan Kochanowski University in Kielce;
  2. Doctor Hebb. Bartłomiej Biskup – University of Warsaw;
  3. Krzysztof Duda – National Research Institute of Livestock Production in Balice.
  4. Dr. Ilona Gridzka – Catholic University of Lublin;
  5. the professor. Doctor Hebb. Dariusz J. Gwiazdowicz – Pozna University of Life Sciences;
  6. the professor. Doctor Hebb. Piotr Jaroszyński – Academy of Social and Media Culture in Torun;
  7. the professor. Doctor Hebb. M. Dariusz ydżba – Wrocław University of Technology;
  8. Doctor Hebb. Małgorzata Podolak, A.; UMCS – Maria Curie Skodowska University in Lublin;
  9. the professor. Doctor Hebb. n. med. Elżbieta Starosławska – Oncology Center in the Lublin Region;
  10. Doctor Hebb. Philip Szymański, a. UKSW – Cardinal Stefan Wiesinski University in Warsaw;
  11. Tomas Wiesa – Maria Curie Skodowska University in Lublin.
  12. Dr. Marcin Zarzeki – Cardinal Stefan Wiesinski University in Warsaw.

A third of the people are from Lublin

We looked at the scientific achievements of the new advisors.

First, some general notes. Seven out of 12 people represent the humanities and social sciences. It certainly does not reflect the percentage of people working in Polish science.

Second, our leading research centers are very poorly represented. For example, there was no place on the commission for any representative of the universities of Krakow or Gdansk. But there are up to four people from Lublin, where Minister Kazarnik himself studied, or one person from Kielce.

It is also surprising that there are so many representatives of Catholic universities in them, up to a third.

There is a relatively large group of younger scholars, with only Ph.D.s. Of course, it is good to listen to the voices of young scientists, but to give advice, sometimes it is worth gaining more experience.

And finally – there is not a single famous name among these 12 people. If I were the Minister of Science, I would help myself with real power. But it does not seem that this authority needs authority.

Low Hirsch Index

We will now look at some of the names.

  • a. Doctor Hebb. Arcadius Adamczyk Jan Kochanowski University in Kielce. Only two publications in the Scopus database, Hirsch index = 0. [Scopus – jak czytamy na ich stronie – to największa neutralna w doborze źródeł baza abstraktów i cytowań z recenzowanych publikacji naukowych, opierająca się na ocenie niezależnych ekspertów z różnych dziedzin]. on the other side Hirsch index It is a measure of a scientist’s achievements, taking into account the frequency of citations to his work. Simply put, the higher the index value, the higher the world’s location.
  • a. Doctor Hebb. M. Dariush Shedoba Wroclaw University of Science and Technology. It is a legacy. In the works of Scopus 50, the index H. = 14.
  • a. Doctor Hebb. Peter Jaruzinski Academy of Social and Media Culture in Torun [uczelnia Tadeusza Rydzyka]. Few publications, in Polish science databaserecent publications from 2009, in Scopus database 5 publications, index H. = 1.
  • Dr. Love. Philip Szymanski, a. UKSW – Cardinal Stefan Wiesinski University in Warsaw, cardiologist. Big publishing achievements. Index H = 15.
  • Dr. Love. Majorzata Podolac, a. UMCS – Maria Curie Skodowska University in Lublin. at the base Polish sciences – There is no post. In the Scopus database – 4 publications, index H. = 0.
  • Dr. Love. Bishop Bartholomew – University of Warsaw, political scientist. In the Scopus database – no publication. After the qualification is over Accused of plagiarism. The idea was to rewrite entire pages, sometimes word for word, of Western publications without the quotes. The case was examined by the disciplinary spokesperson of the University of Warsaw and the Central Committee on Certificates and Titles. I turned to the spokesperson for the University of Warsaw and asked for information on how the speaker’s research had ended. I am waiting for the reply.
  • Dr. Tomas Wicha Maria Curie Skodowska University in Lublin. The achievements so far are very small. On the other hand, Dr. Weicha is not only a member of the Scientific Policy Committee [przypomnijmy, pobiera za to od lipca 2022 4 tys. zł miesięcznie]but also a member Young Scientists Council In the Ministry of Education and Science, as well as one of the 15 scholarship holders of the Ministry, under which you will receive more than 5,000. PLN per month for three years.
  • Dr.. Marcin Zarzky – Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University of Warsaw, 1 publication in the SCOPUS database, index H. = 0.

From philosophy to zoology

And finally, an interesting scientific career – Dr. Krzysztof DudaDirector of the National Animal Production Research Institute in Balice, near Krakow.

There is no such name at all in the “people of knowledge”. In the Scopus database – 1 publication, PhD thesis, index H. = 0.

This time I mention a longer biography.

Dr. Krzysztof Duda – Born 1974 in Łąck. After graduating from the Forest Technical School in Stary Sącz, he studied philosophy at the Pontifical Academy of Theology in Krakow. He holds a doctorate in humanities from the Ignatianum Academy in Krakow [uczelnia jezuicka].

Lectured at John Paul II University in Krakow, Bogdan Jaski University, University of Agriculture. Hugo Cottage in Krakow and the Ignatianum Academy in Krakow.

He is currently Deputy Dean at the Ignatienum Academy in Krakow and heads the Department of Cultural Anthropology at the Institute for Cultural Studies.

From 1999 to 2017 – businessman. In the years 2018-2020 Director of the Agricultural Advisory Center in Krakow. Since 2020 Director of the National Research Institute of Livestock Production – National Research Institute in Krakow.

interesting. Philosopher, Doctor of Humanities, Longtime Entrepreneur, Director of the National Animal Production Research Institute. Well, in the end, the director of a research institute in the field of zoology may not have to know animal science, but to manage it well. Previously, he advised farmers, now he will advise Przemyslaw Czarnik on how to develop Polish science.

“Average Hirsch Index [członków Komitetu] According to the Scopus database, it’s 0.14 inches – summed up by one netizen on Twitter.

“This was to be expected. So no one in the world had heard of it before, ”- another scientist commented. Another voice came “and he probably won’t hear.”

Discovering the truth is only in line with interest

On July 20, 2022, Minister Kazarnik personally handed over the nominations for the new members of the committee.

“These twelve, who have been appointed to the Science Policy Committee, are people who will take care of implementing all the assumptions made by the Cabinet in the big document on science policy,” the minister said during the ceremony.

However, I advise you to pay attention to the other two Kazarnik sentences uttered during this ceremony.

“Science discovers the truth and this discovery of truth must also correspond to the interests of the Polish state and Polish society. This is what politics means, that is, actions for the common good.”

what does that mean? Well, if a scientist discovers a fact that does not correspond to the interests of the Polish state, then he must either hide this fact or admit that he made a mistake. For example, if he finds out – God forbid – that the Poles handed over the Jews to the Germans during the war, then there is no point in shouting about it. Our Minister of Science does not recognize this fact.

“We are convinced that we must make every effort to ensure that science helps us get out of various difficult situations with prudence and put Poland internationally in its proper and dignified position,” Deputy Minister Wojciech Mordzyk told the new members of the commission.

OKO.press is sure that the new committee will take care of this situation in a fully committed manner. We are waiting for his first opinions.

Sławomir Zagórski
Sławomir Zagórski

Biologist, journalist. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Warsaw and taught biology to students in Algeria. He spent 20 years at Gazeta Wyborcza. He established a science department there and promoted several science journalists. He also worked, among others, at the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Washington, dealing with scientific and cultural cooperation between countries and Poland. At OKO.press, he writes mainly about the healthcare system.


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