European Researchers’ Night 2026 to feature participation from representatives of NCPXFEL, SKEBA, and UNIVNET

In September 2026, another edition of the European Researchers’ Night took place—an annual event designed to bring the world of science, research, and innovation closer to the general public. This year also featured a side event titled “Let’s Not Be Afraid of Big Science,” which included representatives from the NCPXFEL project.

“Let’s Not Be Afraid of Big Science” was an event for both children and adults, held on September 25, 2026, at the Aurelium Science Experience Center (Bojnická 3, Bratislava-Nové Mesto). As part of the 2026 Researchers’ Night, the event was aimed at anyone interested in how “Big Science” operates within international research organizations.

Large-scale research organizations enable scientists to study matter and energy under extreme conditions, or to understand the workings of our most powerful energy source—the Sun. However, their complex infrastructure requires close collaboration among hundreds of engineers, physicists, and software specialists who maintain these gigantic machines at the very edge of current technological capabilities. Consequently, our event focused on prominent Slovak scientists and technical experts working within the excellent research teams at these major centers.

At the beginning of the event, unique scientific centers—such as the European XFEL (European X-Ray Free-Electron Laser Facility), EST (European Solar Telescope), CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research), ILL (Institut Laue–Langevin), ELI (Extreme Light Infrastructure), Euro-Bioimaging (EuBI), and Laserlab Europe—were introduced to the visitors. This introduction was followed by an engaging hour-long discussion among the participants, prompted by questions from the audience; the conversation covered not only technical topics but also the realities of “everyday life” within research infrastructures. The event concluded with a laser show.

The event featured the following guests:

Janka Pivoňková, Shareholder Liaison for European XFEL (Germany) – representing European XFEL

Peter Gömöry, PhD, Astronomical Institute of the Slovak Academy of Sciences (Slovakia) – representing the European Solar Telescope (EST)

Imrich Barák, DrSc., Institute of Molecular Biology of the Slovak Academy of Sciences (Slovakia) – representing European XFEL

Andrej Herzáň, PhD, Institute of Physics of the Slovak Academy of Sciences (Slovakia) – representing CERN

Tibor Teplický, PhD, ELI-Beamlines (Czech Republic) – representing the Extreme Light Infrastructure (ELI)

Rastislav Korfanta, Faculty of Pharmacy, Comenius University (Slovakia) – representing the Institut Laue–Langevin (ILL)

Dušan Chorvát, PhD, International Laser Centre at the CVTI (Slovakia) – moderator; also representing EuBI and Laserlab Europe.

The event partners were: the Slovak Centre of Scientific and Technical Information (CVTI SR), the National Contact Point NCPXFEL, the Slovak Academy of Sciences (SAV), and European XFEL.

Members of the SKEBA and UNIVNET consortia also took part in the 2026 Nights of Science, presenting their activities across three cities—Žilina, Košice, and Bratislava—and highlighting to the public the importance of education on batteries, innovative recycling technologies, and sustainable solutions in the field of electromobility.

Read more at: https://www.skeba.sk/clenovia-konzorcia-skeba-a-univnet-uspesne-prezentovali-baterovej-vzdelavanie-na-noci-vedy-2026/ and
https://univnet.sk/clenovia-konzorcia-skeba-a-univnet-uspesne-prezentovali-baterovej-vzdelavanie-na-noci-vedy-2026/