Alan Tien’s Post

💡 International collaboration: Insights from CERN Director-General Fabiola Gianotti 💡 After receiving the prestigious #MadamedeStaëlPrize last May, Prof. Fabiola Gianotti delivered an inspiring keynote shedding light on the essence of European research collaboration, highlighting CERN's pivotal role in driving scientific innovation and fostering international cooperation. #CERN #ScienceInnovation #InternationalCollaboration #OpenScience #Keynote

🎥 KoWi Director Dr. Torsten Fischer gave an interview on the topic “Europe and science”. On the occasion of the European elections, the Representation of the State of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania Vertretung des Landes Mecklenburg-Vorpommern bei der EU led this project in cooperation with the regional television channel MV1. Scientific cooperation takes place across national borders and is at the heart of Europe’s future. Research and innovation strengthen our competitiveness on the global scale as well as our societal model. 🇪🇺 KoWi has a good network in Brussels to provide researchers in Germany with up-to-date information on where and how to apply for EU research and innovation funding. 📚🌐 #HorizonEU Dr. Torsten Fischer points out: “A strong Europe is a strong base for freedom, security and economic strength. Research and innovation are built on these three pillars, and we must all ensure to keep it that way.” Film off! Watch the full interview 👉 https://lnkd.in/eK3v2v-g European Commission - DG Research and Innovation Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - German Research Foundation Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung

Following the last CoARA General Assembly, many members of CoARA expressed how inspiring and powerful they found Prof. McCoy’s speech. In his speech, Prof. McCoy emphasises the importance of CoARA’s actions and encourages to think about the possibilities that could come with CoARA: By sharing his own extensive experience in the field of public health, Prof. McCoy stresses the significance of high-quality education and addresses urgent challenges. Prof. McCoy’s call to promote enhancements across universities echoes the need for a transformative research assessment approach. He advocates against the simplistic, mono-dimensional application of university rankings, as he finds it symptomatic of a broader trend towards marketisation. 🎦 Watch Prof. McCoy's presentation here: https://lnkd.in/eaZN7v7E Explore further, with these recommended publications: 📚"World-class Universities? Interrogating the Biases and Coloniality of Global University Rankings" https://lnkd.in/gnVX7wRa   📚"Statement on Global University Rankings" https://lnkd.in/eirpEYqn 🤝 ✒ Not a member yet? Join the Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment and sign the agreement: https://coara.eu/sign/ #ReformingRA #CoARAGeneralAssembly

My newest article is out today! Let me know if you need a copy.

A warm and wintery ❄️ thank you 🙏🏾 to University of Lucerne and Ethos Foundation (Switzerland), where last week, I had the honor of exploring the state of #peacebuiding in a world of chaos and the new, creative, and courageous paths towards a world with fewer #conflicts. Here is a brief recap of the talk (posted in full length) I start by highlighting 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘅𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘀𝗶𝘁𝘂𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: The world is currently experiencing the highest number of armed conflicts since World War II, with conflicts not only increasing (55 armed conflicts worldwide) but also lasting longer, averaging 11 years compared to five years ago. The return of war to Europe (Russian aggression against Ukraine), coupled with a novel nuclear threat, military coups in West Africa, the rise of authoritarian regimes (such as in Afghanistan or Myanmar), and a global shift to the right further deepen the complexity of the situation. In this precarious and complex global situation, 𝗜 𝗼𝗯𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝗴𝘂𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗹𝗶𝗰𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗲𝘀. The UN Security Council is blocked and functions worse as the supreme body for stabilizing world peace than during the Cold War. While traditional mediators like the UN, Norway, or even Switzerland are losing significance, negotiations today are increasingly conducted by countries themselves or by entities like Qatar (hosting the Israel-Hamas hostage agreement) or Turkey (Ukraine grain deal), among others. WHAT IS NEEDED? New alliances and more creativity are needed. 𝗔 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗮 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗶𝘁 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗯𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗲. Western peace promotion often still follows old patterns with deeply colonial behaviors and these old patterns need to be broken. Especially in the West, more humility is needed. WHAT CAN SWITZERLAND DO? Switzerland needs to reconsider its peace promotion, work more realistically, and see the world as it is. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝗮 𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗳𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘄𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗹𝗼𝗯𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗵 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗻𝗲𝗴𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗺𝗮𝘆 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗼 𝘂𝘀. This requires a willingness for difficult discussions, connecting events abroad with what is happening at home. WHAT CAN RELIGIOUS ACTORS DO? In the talk, I also highlight the role and contribution of religious actors, whose significant advantage lies in international networking and the exchange of knowledge and experiences. 𝗥𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝗮𝘀 𝗮𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗹𝘂𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘀𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀, 𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗲-𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗹𝗶𝗰𝘁-𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹. German speakers 👀 👇🏾 https://lnkd.in/eak-nmW8

Fascinating conversations around development issues: where should solutions come from? What has been the past and present relationship of Aid and Development : what is the future of this relationship? Role of Brics? Radical critical thinking and power analysis in development studies: still work to do...

Some thoughts:

On the weekend of June 7-9, the Polish Institute of Arts and Sciences of America (PIASA) is organizing the 9th World Congress on Polish Studies, which will take place in Warsaw. In one of the panels I will get a chance to present the main argument of my recent book “The Problem of Moral Rearmament: Poland, the European Union, and the War in Ukraine”. In the opening plenary session, the Deputy Foreign Minister, Wladyslaw T. Bartoszewski, will deliver the keynote address. When I came to Poland in the mid-1980s and started studying history at the Catholic University of Lublin, one of the lectures was given by the deputy minister’s father, Władysław Bartoszewski. A member of the Polish underground and a co-founder of the renowned Council for Aid to Jews during WWII: the lecturer was both a witness to history and a teacher, a formidable combination. Generally, The John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin was an exceptional place to study at that time – a time when history itself was being made. I briefly met some of its makers: for instance Janusz Krupski, who unfortunately later ended up as a passenger on that fateful flight with President Lech Kaczyński to Smolensk. Overall, the experience inspired me to eventually write “Lublin: A History” (2018). But what about the university today, in Poland and generally in the West? For instance, what is the role of universities in contemporary culture wars? The rich commentary that accuses them of a significant contribution to this cultural conflict cannot be completely ignored. That is a particularly crucial question scholars in Poland should ask themselves at a time when Polish society is so divided, while – to paraphrase Leszek Kołakowski – the devil has returned to history, at such close proximity, and national unity is to not only to be desired, but a vital necessity. If you want peace, prepare for war, and that is not merely a question of military rearmament. And no doubt universities can do their part on more than one front. Finally, I wish to congratulate the program co-chairs Patrice Dabrowski and Neal Pease for managing to put together such a rich program for the congress. The event will be hosted in Warsaw by Collegium Civitas.  The congress program booklet has now been posted on the PIASA website: https://lnkd.in/d24SqRVj .

Big Science is in this case not the opposite of small science, but big challenges, which can only be addressed in scientific cooperation across boarders and disciplines. Especially when science addresses topics such as the climate crisis and intervention - e.g. energy transition, geoscience, ocean alliance and polar research or the next pandemic. In some areas and aspects the world might have gotten smaller on a geopolitical perspective, but the reality is, that no one can afford an 'us vs. them approach'.

Is Austria a good research location - was this year's prize question of the Austrian Academy of Sciences. Congratulations to Theo Anders, journalist of Der Standard, and to Jürgen Janger, Senior Economist at WIFO for both winning the essay contest. CeMM Adjunct PI and Uni Vienna Professor Nuno Maulide also participated in the contest, and his personal perspective was among the top essays being published. Link to Top Essays of the ÖAW Prize Question: https://lnkd.in/d7JBehGn Nuno Maulide - Austria’s Scientific Renaissance: A Perspective from the Crossroads of Tradition and Innovation: …If Austria aims to be competitive in the global research arena of the 21st century, we must decide: Do we continue to fight against the tides of change, or do we embrace transformative policies that prepare Austria for a future marked by innovation and inclusivity? As Victor Hugo famously stated, “Nothing is more powerful than an idea whose time has come.” The time for change in Austria’s research landscape is now, and it is unstoppable…