Are substances produced by lichen able to prevent the spread of cancer cells? How will they affect healthy cells and will they not destroy the patient’s liver? A biologist from Gdańsk is going to find out.

The project “Reconciling Europe with its Citizens through Democracy and Rule of Law” (RECONNECT) begins with the statement that the European Union (EU) and Member States are confronted with an existential crisis which concerns the whole of Europe. As a result of several consecutive crises, a growing part of society views the EU as a non-democratic and unjust political system. General trust in EU and Member State institutions is on the decline and the rising calls to shift power to the national level have been shaking the EU.

The L'Oréal Foundation and UNESCO have announced the winners of the International Rising Talents award – 15 women who, through their scientific research, can change the world. Amongst them is a Pole, Dr Agnieszka Gajewicz from the University of Gdańsk. The awards ceremony will be held at UNESCO headquarters in Paris during Women in Science Week when the world’s eminent scientists come together to celebrate women’s contribution to the development of science.

The University of Gdańsk was the third most active centre to register inventions at the European Patent Office in 2017. As reported by the European Patent Office, Polish patent activity was predominantly driven by research and academic centres. The very high place taken by the University of Gdańsk is the result of its extensive activity to enhance cooperation between science and the economy and thus strengthen the University’s position amongst innovation leaders. The annual EPO conference was held in Brussels on 7 March 2018.

The Foundation for Polish Science has announced the results of the competitions as part of the TEAM programme. The fourth TEAM competition received 47 applications, out of which 11 projects will be granted funding to a total value of nearly 37 mln PLN. Among these is the project “Cykl wiązania substratu przez białka opiekuńcze Hsp70/J: molekularne mechanizmy i funkcjonalne konsekwencje” (“Hsp70/J-protein chaperones substrate binding cycle: molecular mechanisms and functional consequences”), headed by Prof. Dr hab.

The project will incorporate three universities ─ the Marino Institute of Education (Ireland), the University of Gdańsk and the Universidade do Porto (Portugal) as well as six educational establishments for children under the age of eight (kindergarten and early education level).  

The Ministry of Science and Higher Education has announced winners of the National Programme for the Development of Humanities Uniwersalia 2.1. There are two University of Gdańsk employees amongst them:  

30 November 2017 saw the signing of an agreement by new partners in the National Centre for Baltic Research Consortium – the Gdańsk University of Technology, the Medical University of Gdańsk, Gdynia Maritime University, the Institute of Oceanology of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Sopot, National Marine Fisheries Research Institute and the Institute of Hydro-Engineering of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Gdańsk. The University of Gdańsk, Consortium Leader, was represented by the Vice-Rector for Development Prof. Dr hab. Krzysztof Bielawski.

On 4 October 2017 Dr hab. Iwona Sagan, prof. UG, was nominated by Dr Jarosław Gowin, the Minister of Science and Higher Education, as one of two national representatives of the Management Committee of COST Action CA16232 “European Energy Poverty: Agenda Co-Creation and Knowledge Innovation”. 

According to a 15 November 2017 ranking of projects qualified for funding as part of the OPUS 13 and the PRELUDIUM 13 competitions announced by the National Science Centre on 15 March 2017, 18 projects to a total value of 11,961,747 PLN are to be implemented at the University of Gdańsk: