From 27th to 29th May 2026, another edition of the annual ENYA meetings took place.
The annual gathering of national organisations that bring together young scientists occurred this time in Warsaw, Poland, under the auspices of the Polish Young Academy. It also included meetings of other academic organisations: the General Assembly of ALLEA (All European Academies) and YASAS (Young Academy Science Advice Structure). The programme consisted of lectures and workshops aimed at representatives of all organisations on topics such as research evaluation and funding, resilience, integrity and credibility of science, as well as the increasing pressure to suppress freedom of speech in the academic environment.
Representatives of the Slovak affiliated, but not fully-fledged, young academy organisation—Matej Medla from the Zoological Institute of the Slovak Academy of Sciences (SAV), v. v. i., and Viliam Nádaskay from the Institute of Slovak Literature of SAV, v. v. i.—participated in a packed programme, which allowed them to confront the most pressing issues of contemporary scientific research. They also familiarised themselves with European legislation related to their solutions.
At the same time, they met members of other young academies and exchanged know-how and experiences regarding the establishment and operation of their national organisations. We hope that, in the near future, based on these discussions and networking, we will be able to gradually prepare the groundwork for a nationwide organisation uniting young academic staff. We hope that in the future, the voice of young scientists will not only be heard in decisions concerning scientific research matters that directly affect them but will also be helpful in addressing broader issues of academic operation in Slovakia.
