Our country presents itself at the Poland Pavilion at Expo 2025 under the slogan ‘Poland. Heritage that drives the future', emphasising the importance of taking inspiration from the heritage of past generations and turning it into a driving force for the future. 

NAWA – as at EXPO 2020 in Dubai – has actively participated in the promotion of Polish science and higher education:

• we took part in the Days of Polish Science and Education in the Poland Pavilion,
• we coorganized the accompanying events at the Embassy of Poland in Tokyo,
• we signed Memorandum of Cooperation with Japanese agency JICA.

We also had the opportunity to observe the first effects of our programme Kierunek EXPO 2025, which we have launched together with Polish Investment and Trade Agency.
Projects prepared by Polish universities are already being implemented in Japan – this is a great proof that international academic cooperation can effectively combine science with the promotion of the country at the biggest world events.

April 22

On Tuesday, April 22, the Polish Science and Education Days organized by the Polish Investment and Trade Agency were officially inaugurated in front of the Polish Pavilion at 5:00 PM. The event was attended by Prof. Maria Mrówczyńska - Undersecretary of State in the Ministry of Science and Higher Education, representatives of NAWA, the Foundation for the Development of the Education System as well as Polish and Japanese universities. The opening ceremony featured a film about Polish inventors, guests' speeches, the ceremonial cutting of the ribbon on the Astorino robot and the inauguration of scientific workshops.

The opening ceremonu was preceded by a conference organized by the Warsaw University of Life Sciences in cooperation with the Polish Investment and Trade Agency - „Life sciences universities as drivers of innovation: SGGW debate with Japanese partners” – an important conversation on how the universities can drive innovation. The meeting was held as part of the Kierunek EXPO 2025 NAWA programme, and our Agency was represented by Dr. Bartłomiej Nowak, Chairman of the NAWA Council and Dr. Piotr Kępski, director of the Department of Programmes for Institutions.

The call for the Kierunek EXPO 2025 NAWA programme was conducted by NAWA and PAIH. The programme was intended to enable and strengthen the promotion of Polish science and higher education during the World Exhibition EXPO 2025 in Osaka through financial support for Polish universities and research institutes.

After the conference, a ceremonial concert was held at the SOAI University, where, among others, Prof. Joanna Ławrynowicz-Just – Vice-Rector of the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music – performed. After the concert, a ceremony of planting Polish trees took place on the campus of the Osaka Conservatory. Thanks to this, the F. Chopin Square was created at the SOAI University – a symbol of Polish and Japanese cooperation. NAWA delegation was represented by Director Dr. Wojciech Karczewski and his deputy Dr. Łukasz Gołota.

 

 

April 23 

On Wednesday, the NAWA Day began at the Poland Pavilion. It consisted of several events: two seminars organized in cooperation with the Faculty of Oriental Studies and the Faculty of Political Science and International Studies of the University of Warsaw, and Polish language workshops in front of the Pavilion.

We began with a round table – an introductory seminar of Polish and Japanese universities and think thanks.The meeting was opened by Vice-Minister Prof. Maria Mrówczyńska and Director General of NAWA, Dr. Wojciech Karczewski. On behalf of Polish universities, the guests were welcomed by the Chairwoman of the CRASP and the Rector of Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, Prof. Bogumiła Kaniewska, while on behalf of the event partner, the University of Warsaw, the Vice-Rector for Research, Prof. Zygmunt Lalak, spoke. During the official speeches, the Japanese side was represented by: the former Ambassador of Japan to Poland, Akio Miyajima, and the Rector of Shinshu University, Prof. Soichiro Nakamura. After the official part, there was a discussion devoted to the scientific cooperation between Poland and Japan to date and the expectations of both sides in terms of the development of this cooperation. The seminar was moderated by the Deputy Director of NAWA, Dr. Łukasz Gołota. In addition to delegations from NAWA, the Ministry of Science and Higher Education, the Polish Embassy in Tokyo, and the FRSE, the seminar was attended by representatives of the most important scientific centers in Japan and Poland.

After a coffee break combined with networking and the Chopin Recital, another seminar began - Study & Research in Poland. New perspectives in a changing world on Polish-Japanese cooperation, opened by the Deputy Director of NAWA, Dr. Łukasz Gołota and the Director of the Department of Programmes for Institutions, Dr. Piotr Kępski. The open seminar was devoted to research financing opportunities, grant programmes supporting academic and scientific mobility and building international strategic partnerships between universities. NAWA programmes, the offer of the FRSE and  a case study of cooperation between Poland and Japan were presented.

Japanese universities participating in the seminars:

Aoyama Gakuin University, Daito Bunka University, International Research Center for Japanese Studies, Kyoto University, Meiji University, Osaka University, Ritsumeikan University Osaka, Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University, Shinshu University, Tama University, Tohoku University, Waseda University, Shibaura Institute of Technology, Okayama University.

Polish universities participating in the seminars:

Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, Medical University of Gdańsk, University of Gdańsk, Warsaw University of Life Sciences,AGH University of Krakow, University of Warsaw, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, University of Silesia in Katowice, Jagiellonian University in Cracow, Chopin University of Music in Warsaw.

In parallel to the seminars, Polish Language Day took place in the workshop zone in front of the Poland Pavilion. As part of the event, in cooperation with Tokyo University of Foreign Studies (TUFS), Dr. Mariusz Czech, Director of the Department of Programmes of Polish Language, conducted Polish language workshops for visitors of EXPO 2025. The aim of the workshops was to present elements of Polish language and culture and to encourage visitors to learn Polish and participate in the NAWA Summer Courses programem. Language games, quizzes and presentations were very popular, and the audience was eager to engage in the proposed activities, very quickly mastering basic phrases in Polish. The workshops were attended by over 300 people.

The workshops were co-led by representatives of the only Polish studies department in Japan (at TUFS): Prof. Koji Morita, Dr. Sonia Czaplewska – a Polish language teacher, and students Chihiro Murakami and Mamiko Kimura – winners of the oratory competition and NAWA programmes scholarship holders. The students performed in Polish folk costumes, which also contributed to the great interest in the proposed classes. Currently, around 70 students are studying Polish studies at Tokyo University of Foreign Studies. Many of them are scholarship holders of our programmes, e.g. NAWA Summer Courses.

We concluded NAWA Day with a Polish Reception for guests in the Poland Pavilion Restaurant.

 

 

 

April 24

On Thursday, the Polish Reception organized by NAWA took place at the Polish Embassy in Tokyo. The event gathered primarily representatives of Japanese universities, agencies and institutions related to science and higher education, including the Japan Science and Technology Agency, the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), and JICA - Japan International Cooperation Agency. The event was also attended by representatives of Polish universities, which were present during the NAWA Day in Osaka.

The meeting was opened by the Polish Ambassador in Tokyo Paweł Milewski, Undersecretary of State at the Ministry of Science and Higher Education Prof. Maria Mrówczyńska and NAWA Director General Dr. Wojciech Karczewski. The moderator was NAWA Deputy Director Dr. Łukasz Gołota.

During the Reception, the official presentation of the nomination of the Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences for a foreign member to Prof. Kazuhiko Sawada from Satima University took place. Prof. Sawada is an outstanding historian and Japanese Slavicist specializing in the study of the life of the Polish exile Bronisław Piłsudski, an ethnologist and expert on the culture and languages ​​of the indigenous peoples of Sakhalin, the Kuril Islands and the northern areas of Japan.

April 25

The key point of our delegation's program was the Friday meeting at the Japan International Cooperation Agency JICA, which supports international cooperation and the socio-economic development of developing regions in the world. The guests were welcomed by Ms. Sachiko Imoto, deputy director of JICA, who presented JICA's profile and the importance of Polish-Japanese cooperation in the area of ​​higher education and science. Then the floor was taken by the chairman of the Polish delegation - Vice-Minister Prof. Maria Mrówczyńska and NAWA Director General Dr. Wojciech Karczewski, who presented the importance of bilateral cooperation from the Polish side. After the official part, NAWA and JICA signed a Memorandum of Cooperation.

Summary

The described series of events was held under the patronage of the Minister of Science and Higher Education. The scale is best shown by the numbers presented below.

During the Polish Science and Education Days, the Poland Pavilion was visited by a total of 15,662 people; 70 educational workshops were held with the participation of approximately 2,000 people and 7 conferences. Two online lessons for Polish schools were also held, with 13,000 students from all over the world participating. As part of one of the lessons, NAWA presented the Anders NAWA programme.

The meetings in Japan were an excellent opportunity to maintain existing relations with leading Japanese universities, but also provided an opportunity to discuss new forms of cooperation. It was also an opportunity to discuss key areas of cooperation and those areas that require support at the government level. Participants had the opportunity not only to listen to presentations about NAWA's offer, but also to talk about the details during numerous networking opportunities.

The interest in cooperation with Poland was visible not only during the meetings but also after returning to Poland, when we started receiving requests for additional information and presentations. We would like to thank all partners, co-organizers, friendly institutions and visitors to the Poland Pavilion – we hope that our activities will bring great results and that we will meet at the next Expo!

Photo: NAWA and Adrian Stykowski / PAIH