Academia Europaea Board Meeting in Wroclaw#

The Academia Europaea Board met on 25th November 2024 and addressed several important changes, structural updates to its sections, and the introduction of new initiatives.

Section changes#

Professor Martin Kahanec has been appointed as the new Class Chair for Social and Related Sciences. Currently serving as Chair of the Economics, Business and Management Sciences Section, Professor Kahanec took over from Professor Björn Wittrock on 1st January 2025. Alongside this new role, he also joins the AE Board of Trustees and serves as an Honorary Vice-President for his five-year term. Meanwhile, Professor Wittrock will remain a Trustee and focus on developing an exciting new initiative, the AE College of Excellence.

The Clinical and Veterinary Sciences Section, under the guidance of its current Chair, Professor Péter Hegyi, will be renamed Basic and Clinical Translational Sciences after the end of the current election cycle. A new scope description reflecting this updated focus will be published on the Section's webpage in due course.

Additionally, the Physics and Engineering Section will be restructured into two distinct entities: Physics, and a new Engineering Sciences Section. This decision, proposed by the Section Committee and endorsed by the Chair of the Exact Sciences Class, Professor Paolo Papale, will also take effect after the 2025 election cycle. Members of the existing section, along with newly elected members, will be given the opportunity to align with their preferred section, and updated scope descriptions and committees will be established to support this transition. Professor Itamar Procaccia has been appointed as the new Chair of the Section, succeeding Professor Pavel Exner, who has stepped down from the position.

Hungarian Research Network Becomes AE’s Patron Member#

The Hungarian Research Network (HUN-REN) has been formally accepted as AE’s Patron Member. Led by its President, Professor Balázs Gulyás, who also chairs AE’s Physiology and Neurosciences Section, HUN-REN’s membership signals a new chapter of collaboration.

Presidential Transition#

Professor Marja Makarow stepped down as President at the end of 2024. In her place, Professor Don Dingwell, the elected Vice President, will temporarily serve as Chair of Trustees to oversee the nomination and election process for a new President. The election will be launched in early 2025, with the aim of introducing the newly elected President at the AE Annual General Meeting in Barcelona from 17th –19th October 2025.