Copernicus Festival

Copernicus Festival is a popular science event where we showcase the relationship between science and other parts of culture. Together with invited guests, we discuss how scientific discoveries and theories influence the contemporary worldview, and we face questions that have always inspired people of science, philosophy and culture.

The festival is created by the Copernicus Center for Interdisciplinary Research at Jagiellonian University, the Copernicus Center Foundation, the Tygodnik Powszechny Foundation and the publisher of Tygodnik Powszechny.

Copernicus Festival is a free and open to all event. This year’s edition of the Copernicus Festival explores the complex processes of human evolution, the cosmos and the emergence of consciousness. The programme will feature lectures by leading scientists from around the world, discussions, film screenings and artistic events. Our guests will include Magdalena Götz, author of groundbreaking research on the formation of new neurons; consciousness researcher Anil Seth; paleoanthropologist John Hawks; and cosmologist Hiranya Peiris, who specialises in cosmic microwave background radiation.

2026 edition of Copernicus Festival is more than special. For the very first time, we have managed to establish a partnership with the European Research Council, meaning that our festival guests will include numerous recipients of prestigious ERC grants.

We’ll see you between May 19 and 24 at the Museum of Engineering and Technology in Krakow!