Second edition of Academy Smart Talks  – the event where curiosity meets the knowledge – is now over. Organized by the Polish Academy of Sciences within the PASIFIC Programme it took place on the 22nd of April 2024 at the Mirror Hall of Staszica Palace in Warsaw.

Led by the PASIFIC Programme Project Coordinator, Professor Pawel Rowinski, and the Project Manager, Bogna Hryniszyn, the meeting brought together eight PASIFIC Fellows – Kinga Polynczuk-Alenius, Souvik Priyam Adhya, Monika Hejna, Navjotpal Kaur, Vineeta Kaushik, Ilyas Djafer-Cherif, Oksana Pochapska and Nilesh Manwar – and students from Warsaw high schools.

PASIFIC Fellows representing different scientific disciplines, matched in pairs, discussed numerous questions. How they have landed in the field of research and what was their deciding step? How their everyday life as a scientist looks like and what is the most exciting point on their academic path? What are the challenges and obstacles of their work and how to deal with it? However, the most important task facing PASIFIC Fellows that day was to answer the question: what would you say to your younger self?

And this has undoubtedly been achieved. Young audience from two high schools in Warsaw: 137 Robert Schuman High School with Bilingual Departments  (137. Liceum Ogólnokształcące z Oddziałami Dwujęzycznymi im. Roberta Schumana) and the Author Original High School No. 42. (Autorskie Liceum Ogólnokształcące nr 42), stayed focused and truly interested. They asked many questions, regarding science (both fundamental research and social sciences), it’s impact and future,  but also very practical ones: about the everyday life of scientist, sources of inspiration, level of job satisfaction and  financial aspects of a research career. The young people engaged in discussions with Fellows during the breaks and after the event.

The event took place in a relaxed atmosphere. It was an encouraging experience both for the PASIFIC fellows and young guests. We hope that another similar event will take place in the future.

Video recordings of the event will soon be available.