Events, conferences and Crazy Student Science Nights – only at our student scientific clubs

• The Veterinary Practitioners Student Science Club was established 76 years ago. This was before the founding of the university. 
• The pandemic has taken its toll on student science clubs, but the students are dedicated – they are constantly looking for new ways to act in accordance with the restrictions.

The oldest? Chiron

– Both the student science clubs and other student organisations at the Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences have been an integral part of the university, bringing together the academic community for years – says Daria Gromnicka, a member of the Student Council responsible for student organisations. 

The oldest student science club at the university, which still exists to this day, was established in 1946. At the then Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of the University and Wrocław Technical University, the Veterinary Practitioners Student Science Club was established. Today it functions under the name of Medyków Weterynaryjnych "Chiron" Student Science Club.

In 1951, following the founding of the School of Agriculture, the development of student science clubs began. It was then that the Meliorants Student Science Club, existing to this day and bearing the name of Prof. Stanisław Bac, was established. At the end of the 1950s and the beginning of the 1960s there was a further increase in the activities of student science clubs, and in addition to a number of other groups that no longer existed at the Faculty of Agriculture and Zootechnics, the Surveyors' Student Science Club was founded, which successfully exists to this day.

For example, last year members of the Surveyors' Student Science Club proved during leveling measurements on Szczeliniec Wielki, which the society has been carrying out since the 1970s, that the peak's height as given in textbooks and atlases - 919 m above sea level - is incorrect and 3 metres too low. They are currently running a project called Sensorowo RoWeRoWo - for which the Student Science Club was awarded under the Student Activity Fund (FAST) programme.

Student scientific clubs during the pandemic

Although the COVID-19 pandemic makes travelling and meeting much more difficult, student science clubs are doing their best to be active by organising online meetings and events. – Over the last year, the epidemic situation has significantly impacted the activities of student science clubs. Many of us have been waiting for the situation to improve, to take part in trips, conferences or other large scientific events. But this does not mean that we were doing nothing all year long. Some focused on surveys, others on speaking at online conferences or conducting field research, so the pandemic has not stopped us! – laughs the member of the Student Council. The recent online events include, among others, last year's edition of GIS Day and the 20th edition of Student Activity Day, in which as many as thirty-five student science clubs participated.

Despite the pandemic, members of student science clubs are trying to operate within the limits of these restrictions. For example, the PUZZLE Spatial Planning Student Science Club is currently cooperating on "EduGarden" projects, which involves the design and construction of a community garden on the premises of a secondary school and "Children closer to nature", involving the creation of a flower bed for kindergarten children. On the other hand, the JUVENIS Student Science Club for anthropologists used a remote survey method to examine the knowledge of students of Wrocław universities regarding a healthy lifestyle and its impact on their body composition. Last year there was also no shortage of presentations at scientific conferences. For example, the Human Nutrition Student Science Club took part in the FBFS OnlineStudent Conference, organised by the Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra, where they talked about the nutritional status of young women in Wrocław and the students' knowledge of organic food. But this is only a small part of the activities undertaken by the societies.

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