Villa Decius Institute for Culture and the Jagiellonian University in the Scholars at Risk network 20.07.2020

In autumn, a refugee scientist will live in Villa Decius as part of the Scholars at Risk programme.

On 20 July 2020, the Villa Decius Institute for Culture and the Jagiellonian University signed a cooperation agreement within the international Scholars at Risk programme to organise the first in Poland stay of a refugee scientist. The agreement was signed on behalf of the Villa Decius Institute for Culture by Dominika Kasprowicz, PhD, DSc, the director of the Institute, Prof. JU, and on behalf of the JU by Prof. Piotr Laidler, Rector’s Proxy for Internationalisation.

 The meeting was also attended by Katarzyna Olesiak, Director of the Department of Culture and National Heritage, Municipality of Kraków.

 

As a result of the partnership agreement signed, already in September, an academic will arrive in Krakow, and he/she will live in Villa Decius, where he/she will be able to continue his/her academic work in peaceful and safe conditions, in cooperation with the Jagiellonian University. The name of the scientist will be made public only after his/her arrival in Kraków.

 

"Scholars at Risk is an international network of academic institutions and individuals whose mission is to protect persecuted members of the university community and to promote academic freedom. By organising temporary jobs at partner universities and colleges, the Scholars at Risk Network ensures the safety of the academics at risk. This allows them to pursue their scientific work until conditions in their countries of origin improve allowing them to return. We are pleased and proud that Kraków – represented by Villa Decius and the Jagiellonian University – joined this programme as the first Polish city." – says Dominika Kasprowicz, Director of the Villa Decius Institute for Culture, Prof. JU.

 

The Scholars at Risk Network also provides counselling services to scholars and host institutions, organises campaigns for researchers who are imprisoned or repressed in their countries of origin, monitors attacks on the academic community around the world and proposes new tools and strategies for promoting academic freedom. The programme brings together 507 universities, colleges and associations in 39 countries and 13 partner networks.

 

The cooperation with the Scholars at Risk Network is an opportunity for the Villa Decius Institute for Culture to expand its existing activities in support of cultural creators from all over the world. Thanks to its participation in programmes such as ICORN, the Artists in Residence Programme and the Artist Protection Fund, Villa Decius is now a place of refuge and creative work for artists from different countries. The involvement of the Villa Decius Institute for Culture in scholarship programmes for artists and scientists is one of the most important missions of the Institute, in line with the heritage of the Villa and of the city of Kraków itself as a meeting place for people of different cultures and traditions.

 

For more about the programme, visit https://www.scholarsatrisk.org/