Representatives of IBB PAS met on 28.09.2026 with Dr Maria Grigoratou, Executive Secretary of the European Polar Board (EPB) and Head of the European Polar Coordination Office.

The European Polar Board was established in 1995 as an Expert Board of the European Science Foundation to provide strategic advice on Arctic and Antarctic issues. Since 2015, it has operated as an independent organisation supporting cooperation and major European strategic priorities in the polar regions.

Dr Maria Grigoratou is a biological oceanographer specialising in plankton ecology, with experience in science diplomacy and international scientific coordination.

During the meeting, the Director of IBB PAS presented the Institute’s research activities and major scientific achievements. Krzysztof Zawierucha, Head of the Department of Antarctic Biology, and Anna Kloc, responsible for logistics at the Henryk Arctowski Polish Antarctic Station, presented the Station, its scientific activities and environmental monitoring of Antarctic ecosystems.

Dr Grigoratou presented the activities of the European Polar Board, opportunities for cooperation, and its plans to further strengthen and integrate the European polar research community.

The meeting provided an opportunity to exchange information on European polar initiatives and to discuss possibilities for strengthening the involvement of IBB PAS and the Henryk Arctowski Polish Antarctic Station in international scientific cooperation.

In the photo from left to right: Agnieszka Sirko, Krzysztof Zawierucha, Maria Grigoratou, Joanna Pletzner, Jakub Grzesiak, Jarosław Poznański, Piotr Głowacki i Małgorzata Korczak-Abshire.

In the photo from left to right: Róża Kucharczyk, Krzysztof Zawierucha, Maria Grigoratou, Małgorzata Korczak-Abshire, Joanna Pletzner, Jakub Grzesiak, Jarosław Poznański, Piotr Głowacki i Anna Kloc.