About

About BERA

Logistics and Research Centre on Svalbard “BERA” is a new infrastructure established in 2024. The name of the Centre – ‘BERA’- was chosen intentionally and is from the Old Norse language, which means female polar bear. BERA Centre was established to support Arctic science and research activities based on the organisation and logistics in Svalbard’s “capital” –  Longyearbyen, where the Centre’s facility is located.

The BERA Centre is intended to benefit the entire international scientific community. The collaboration will include unification and synchronisation of long-term monitoring of the cryosphere and terrestrial and marine environments at Polish and Norwegian research centres on Svalbard as a backdrop for ongoing and future specific research projects on Arctic environment components. A better combination of ongoing and future research will provide more valuable data sets and coordinated results for the scientific community.

Increasing scientific activity in Svalbard and improving the quality of operations are active goals of Polish scientists, streamlined by the activities of the new infrastructure and logistical facilities of the BERA Centre. The Centre will save money by centralising and streamlining logistics and cargo storage (reducing the annual import and export of research equipment), minimising environmental damage, including carbon dioxide emissions and pollution. Develop international cooperation, especially with Norwegian partners, allowing new research horizons to be opened.  An essential part of this infrastructure is also the cooperation with doctoral schools and the education and development of young researchers. The BERA Centre’s activities support Polish and international research entities, resulting in increased visibility and prestige for Poland in the international arena and promoting science diplomacy in the Arctic.

The main objectives

The main objectives of the BERA Centre are focused on operational aspects:

• supporting cargo transport logistics from Poland to Svalbard and back
• logistics, cargo storage, and access to workshop facilities in Longyearbyen
• supporting education and networking by providing a workspace for organising workshops and meetings
• cooperation in environmental monitoring, field research activities, and offering access to research infrastructure and equipment.
  

As a result of long-standing efforts by the Polish polar community to standardise logistical and scientific research activities performed in the Arctic, which were the main priorities indicated in the Strategy for Polish Polar Research – a concept for the years 2017–2027 and Polish Polar Research: Green-and-White Paper under the aegis of the Polish Polar Consortium was the establishment of a logistic and management centre in Longyearbyen to supporting polish polar scientific expeditions, and support the other Polish facilities like the field research bases on Spitsbergen. In 2024, there was a crucial step: the seven Polish scientific Institutions signed a Cooperation Agreement within the Centre for Polar Studies unit for a Logistics and Research Centre BERA on Svalbard.

Founding institutions

The Agreement was signed by:

• University of Silesia in Katowice,
• Institute of Geophysics of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw,
• Institute of Oceanology of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Sopot,
• Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań,
• Maria Curie Skłodowska University in Lublin,
• Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń,
• University of Wrocław.
  

All partners are co-funding the BERA Center’s activities to support its continuation in the coming years.

The Board of the BERA Logistics and Science Centre on Svalbard

Head of BERA

Dariusz Ignatiuk
Centre for Polar Studies,
The University of Silesia in Katowice
Email: dariusz.ignatiuk(at)us.edu.pl
Phone: (+48) 32 3689 281

The Partners of the entities delegate one of their representatives to the Board of the BERA Team.

Mateusz Moskalik
The Institute of Geophysics of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw

Sławomir Terpiłowski
The Maria Curie Skłodowska University in Lublin

Wojciech Moskal
The Institute of Oceanology of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Sopot

Ireneusz Sobota
The Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń

Krzysztof Rymer
The Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań

Mateusz Strzelecki
The University of Wrocław

Board’s responsibilities

The BERA’s Centre Board responsibilities include:

• define the strategic direction of the BERA’s Centre activities,
• approve how the BERA’s Center is used and operated,
• define action programs, approve the goals of joint projects and evaluate the level of their implementation,
• review and approve the annual budget and make any necessary changes to it,
• approve the implementation reports submitted to the Center for Polar Studies President and the units’ authorities.