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On Mount Pip Ivan Chornohirskyi, at an altitude of 2,028 metres above sea level, an international ceremony marked the opening of the International Shared-Use Centre for Scientific Equipment at the International Scientific Centre “Observatory”. The new scientific facility is the result of many years of Ukrainian-Polish cooperation and creates new opportunities for international research.
The ceremony was attended by Valentina Yakubiv, Rector of the University; Professor Ihor Tsependa, Chair of the Academic Council; Andrii Butenko, Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine; Marcin Kulasek, Minister of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Poland; Deputy Ministers Denys Kurbatov and Professor Andrzej Szeptycki; Serhii Babak, Chair of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Education, Science and Innovation; and representatives of diplomatic missions, public authorities, Ukrainian and Polish universities and research institutions, and project partners.
Speakers highlighted the Observatory’s importance for Ukrainian, Polish and European science. Pip Ivan is becoming a place where research, international partnership, academic mobility and the training of early-career researchers come together. Its unique high-altitude location supports research in astronomy, meteorology, climate, ecology, atmospheric processes, water resources and Carpathian biodiversity. The Centre is open to joint work by Ukrainian, Polish and other European universities and research institutions.
The ceremony also presented the partnership between Carpathian National University, the University of Warsaw and AGH University of Krakow, whose scientific and technological capacity strengthens opportunities for joint research projects. The organisers acknowledged the longstanding support for the Observatory’s restoration provided by representatives of the Ivano-Frankivsk and Verkhovyna areas, the Carpathian National Nature Park, the State Emergency Service of Ukraine in Ivano-Frankivsk Region, and Polish diplomatic, public, cultural and scientific institutions. They emphasised that sustained cooperation among universities, researchers, public institutions and diplomatic missions had transformed the historic Observatory into a modern scientific facility.
A highlight of the ceremony was the symbolic opening of the Observatory’s astronomical dome and telescope. Andrii Butenko and Marcin Kulasek pressed the ceremonial button together; the dome began to rotate and its shutters opened to reveal the telescope. The International Shared-Use Centre for Scientific Equipment at the Observatory was officially opened.
The opening was a significant step for Ukrainian-Polish and European science. The Observatory on Pip Ivan is intended to serve as a place where researchers from different countries can conduct research together, exchange experience and carry out international projects. The Carpathian Declaration was signed as the final major part of the event. It records the partners’ shared vision for the future of scientific cooperation, international research infrastructure and Ukrainian-Polish partnership. The revived Observatory is opening a new chapter as an international scientific space for Ukraine, Poland and the wider European academic community. 