Academia Europaea facts for kids
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| Formation | 1988 |
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| Founders | Arnold Burgen, Hubert Curien, Umberto Colombo, David Magnusson, Eugen Seibold, Ruurd van Lieshout |
| Headquarters | London |
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President
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Marja Makarow |
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Vice President, Honorary Treasurer
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Ole Holger Petersen |
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The Secretary to the Board
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David Coates |
The Academia Europaea is a special group of smart people from all over Europe. It includes experts in many different areas like history, languages, law, and science. This group was started in 1988. Its main goal is to bring together top thinkers from across Europe. They also help coordinate what European countries want in research.
Contents
How Academia Europaea Started
The idea for a "European Academy of Sciences" first came up in 1985. This happened at a meeting in Paris with European Science Ministers. The Royal Society in the United Kingdom helped get the idea going.
Founding Members and Goals
In June 1986, a group of important people met in London. They were Arnold Burgen (UK), Hubert Curien (France), Umberto Colombo (Italy), David Magnusson (Sweden), Eugen Seibold (Germany), and Ruurd van Lieshout (Netherlands). They all agreed that a new group was needed.
The two main goals of the Academia Europaea were:
- To share the ideas and thoughts of individual scientists from Europe.
- To help coordinate European interests in national research groups.
This new group was not meant to replace existing national academies. Instead, it would work alongside them. The goals were made broad on purpose. This was to include many subjects like humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. This way, people from different fields could talk and work together.
First Meetings and Growth
The new group was named the Academia Europaea. Its first official meeting was in Cambridge in September 1988. Arnold Burgen was the first President. Hubert Curien, who was the French Minister of Science, gave the opening speech. He also made sure the French government supported the new academy.
The first big meeting with all members was in London in June 1989. By then, the Academia Europaea had 627 members. Since 1989, the group has grown a lot. It started with mostly "western European" scholars. Now, it includes experts from all over Europe in science, humanities, and languages.
The Academia gets its money from different places. This includes an original fund, money from some member countries, and special projects. Other groups, like the Leopoldina, also help support it financially.
What Academia Europaea Does
The Academia Europaea is not just for science or engineering. It covers a wide range of subjects. These include law, humanities, social sciences, physical sciences, religion, and history.
Key Missions
Its main goals are to:
- Help people understand and value European learning and research more.
- Give advice to governments and international groups. This advice is about science, learning, and academic life in Europe.
- Encourage research that crosses different subjects and countries. This is especially true for topics important to Europe.
- Find important topics for science and learning across Europe. Then, they suggest ways to study these issues properly.
The Academia also tries to do two important things. First, it wants to encourage the highest standards in learning, research, and education. Second, it wants to help the public better understand the benefits of knowledge. It also explains scientific issues that affect society, our quality of life, and how we live.
Leaders of Academia Europaea
The Academia Europaea has had several presidents since it started:
- Arnold Burgen (1988–1994)
- Hubert Curien (1994–1997)
- Stig Strömholm (1997–2002)
- Jürgen Mittelstraß (2002–2008)
- Lars Walløe (2008–2014)
- Sierd Cloetingh (2014–2021)
- Marja Makarow (since 2021)
How Academia Europaea is Organized
The Academia Europaea organizes its academic work into different sections. When new members are chosen, they are placed into one of these sections.
Academic Sections
Currently, there are twenty academic sections. These cover many different fields, such as:
- Applied and Translational Biology
- Behavioural Sciences
- Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
- Cell Biology
- Chemical Sciences
- Classics & Oriental Studies
- Earth and Cosmic Sciences
- Economics, Business and Management Sciences
- History & Archaeology
- Informatics
- Law
- Linguistic Studies
- Literary & Theatrical Studies
- Mathematics
- Musicology & History of Art & Architecture
- Organismic and Evolutionary Biology
- Philosophy, Theology & Religious Studies
- Physics and Engineering Sciences
- Physiology and Medicine
- Social Sciences
Members are chosen from 47 countries that are part of the Council of Europe. This is because of their great achievements in their fields. Being elected as a member is a big honor. Elected members can use the letters MAE after their name.
Working with Other Groups
The Academia works with other important European groups. These include All European Academies, European Academies Science Advisory Council, Euro-CASE, and the Federation of European Academies of Medicine. Together, they form a group called Science Advice for Policy by European Academies (SAPEA).
SAPEA brings together scientific experts from the Academia Europaea. It also includes experts from over 100 national academies in more than 40 countries. This group provides independent scientific advice to the European Commissioners. The Academia also acts as an official advisor to the European Union. This is done through the Scientific Advice Mechanism.
Awards and Special Recognitions
The Academia Europaea gives out several awards and prizes:
- Membership of the Academia Europaea is given each year to chosen scientists.
- The Erasmus Medal Lecture is a special event. It honors European scholars for their long-term achievements.
- The Academia Europaea Burgen Scholarships help younger European scholars. These are talented post-doctoral researchers who might become future leaders in their fields.
- The Russian Prizes are for young scientists and scholars in Russia.
- The Gold Medal of the Academia Europaea is given to people or groups who are not members. It recognizes their important contributions to European science. This can be through inspiration, public support, good management, or money.
- The Adam Kondorosi Academia Europaea Award recognizes important research in symbiosis. This is research that has changed our understanding and made a big scientific impact.
Where Academia Europaea Works
The main office and headquarters of the Academia Europaea are in London. This is also where the General Secretariat is located.
Regional Hubs
The Academia Europaea also has several regional offices, called "Knowledge Hubs." They work with local partners:
- The Academia Europaea Wrocław Knowledge Hub started in January 2012. It focuses on knowledge activities like international events and summer schools. It also supports scholars from Central and Eastern Europe.
- The Academia Europaea Barcelona Knowledge Hub started in January 2013. It promotes scientific activities that include social sciences and humanities.
- The Academia Europaea Bergen Knowledge Hub started in spring 2014. It focuses on resources and challenges related to the Northern Seas.
- The Academia Europaea Cardiff Knowledge Hub started in summer 2016. Its goal is to strengthen scientific teamwork and resources across Europe in all subjects.
- The Academia Europaea Tbilisi Knowledge Hub started in spring 2019. It aims to improve access to European scientific achievements for local policy-making. It also promotes education and research by working with international groups.
- The Graz Information Centre was founded in 2010. It handles the system for choosing new members and managing member information.
See Also
In Spanish: Academia Europæa para niños The Academia Europaea is not to be confused with the European Academy of Sciences and Arts or the European Academy of Sciences.
