Foreign Scientific Centers of the Polish Academy of Sciences: possibilities, limitations and expectations

For many years, the Polish Academy of Sciences has been undertaking activities aimed at increasing the international importance of Polish scientific research by establishing cooperation with international scientific institutions and supporting the participation of Polish scientists in international research programs. Currently, the Polish Academy of Sciences has six scientific centers abroad – in Paris, Rome, Vienna, Berlin, Brussels and Kiev. These institutions have different origins. The oldest ones, in Rome and Paris, continue the tradition of Polish emigration from the 19th century. These traditions are also referred to by the much younger station in Vienna, which to some extent has continued the activities of Polish diaspora organizations operating in this area since the beginning of the 20th century. The centers in Berlin and Kiev are relatively young. The first was established in 1996 as the Representation of the German Academic Exchange Service and transformed in 2006 into the Historical Research Center of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Berlin. The youngest of the centers has been operating in Kiev since 2013 under the name of the Representation “Polish Academy of Sciences” in Kiev. The Office for the Promotion of Science PolSCA in Brussels, established in 2006, has a different character. Due to its location, the specificity of this facility consists in developing scientific and scientific-technical cooperation through the promotion and expert support of Polish partners in the framework programs of the European Union. The activities of these institutions emphasize the presence of science, culture and intellectual achievements of Poland in the European research area, which is important for building the image of our country abroad. The Polish Academy of Sciences scientific centers are therefore a kind of scientific attaché of the Republic of Poland, the more so as Polish embassies in these six countries do not have such an attaché. The article analyzes the administrative, financial and legal conditions of the station's operation and the expectations towards their substantive activity from the point of view of the Academy's management.