Deputy Minister of Science: we want to change the perspective on the popularization of science

We often hear that the popularization of science is “frivolous science” or “simplistic”, and people who deal with it are sometimes underestimated at universities. But it's an important task. We want to change the perspective on popularization – told PAP the deputy head of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education, Dr. Karolina Zioło-Pużuk.

The formal introduction of science popularization into the evaluation of scientific units, the development of a science popularization strategy and intensive debates on this topic – these are some of the activities planned by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education for 2026, announced as the Year of Science Popularization.

– This will be a time of intense discussions, debates on popularization, and the development of new solutions that will support this activity – explained the deputy head of the ministry, Dr. Karolina Zioło-Pużuk, asked by PAP to specify what the “year of science popularization” means in practice.

She recalled that in the current Law on Higher Education and Science, among the basic tasks of universities there is a provision on “the dissemination and multiplication of scientific and cultural achievements, including by collecting and making available library, information and archival collections.”

– However, such a provision does not meet current social needs – she concluded. This is why the Ministry of Science plans to amend the Law on Higher Education and Science to include the popularization and counteracting of scientific disinformation as one of the tasks of universities.

In Poland today there is no systemic framework for the popularization of science

The deputy minister pointed out that there is no systemic framework for popularization in Poland today. – We often hear that the popularization of science is a “frivolous” or “simplifying” science, and people who deal with it are often underestimated at universities. However, we emphasize that this is a very important task. Therefore, we need to change our approach to popularization. It will become an element of the new evaluation covering the years 2026-2030. The evaluation for this period will take place in 2031. Universities therefore have a lot of time to prepare for it and find popularization in many different forms, she added.

Evaluation is an assessment of the quality of scientific activity carried out within the disciplines practiced in a given entity. Academic universities and institutes of the Polish Academy of Sciences are subject to evaluation by virtue of the Act. Other entities – e.g. vocational universities – may join it voluntarily, which makes it easier for them to obtain grants later.

– We want the popularization of science to account for up to 20 percent. institutional assessment – declared Dr. Zioło-Pużuk.

She noted that the ministry did not want to impose additional tasks on scientists. – We want popularization to be a statutory activity of universities and scientific institutions. It will be subject to expert assessment. We assume that this will not become an additional burden for scientists and that they will not be held accountable for their popularization activities. However, we want those who want to talk about science and their work to be able to do it. But we do not expect that scientific workers will, for example, set up stands at science festivals. The organizational element of popularization activities should be placed on the institution's side – explained Karolina Zioło-Pużuk.

Proposals for systemic solutions regarding popularization are developed by the Team of the Minister of Science for the popularization of science, established at the end of 2025, composed of scientists with experience in popularization, representatives of the media, science centers and other environments. Legislative changes in the field of evaluation, enriched with a popularization component, are expected to appear by the end of 2026.

“Science has to fight disinformation”

– By making changes to the regulations, we want to say that science is supposed to fight disinformation – among other things, through popularization. Why? The experience of recent years, including the pandemic and the information and cognitive war, shows that we have low information resistance as a society. The development of social media platforms makes us more vulnerable to fake news. I see that the tendency to accept and pass on information from unverified sources applies to many people, including politicians. Popularizing science can be a tool to counteract this threat and increase trust in science, said the deputy minister.

She added that the Ministry of Science wants to support the popularization of science systemically. – Because there are many initiatives, at various levels. We want to map them and see how large a scale we are dealing with, said the deputy minister. – Polish universities, institutes of the Polish Academy of Sciences and research institutes have been involved in the popularization of science for years, organizing regional science festivals, such as the Silesian Science Festival or the Lower Silesian Science Festival, participating in science picnics or thematic days and weeks, e.g. the popular “Brain Days”. They do a great job. I go to science festivals and see amazing things happening there.

The Year of Science Popularization also means new forms of support. – We want to organize a summer school for science journalists, popularization training for young scientists, and present good practices and patterns in this area. We will also include the topic of science popularization among the ministry's initiatives that are already being implemented, said the Deputy Minister of Science and Higher Education.

In the Year of Popularization of Science, at the request of the Ministry of Science, the University of Silesia implements, among others: POP Science project. In turn, the Science Checks program is ongoing at the University of Warsaw. The aim of the first project is, among others, developing a program of joint activities and launching a nationwide cooperation network. In turn, the University of Warsaw project is intended to support society's resistance to disinformation and fake news. Together with the Institute of Physiology and Pathology of Hearing, the ministry is also organizing the 4th Science for Society congress in 2026. This year's edition will be expanded to include debates on popularization.

Interview by Anna Ślązak (PAP)

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