THE TASKS OF ACADEMIES OF SCIENCES AND THE REFORM OF THE HUNGARIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES

The different national Academies of Sciences are as varied as their individual histories and the societies of which they are a part. At the same time, they all have certain characteristics in common. An Academy is usually the highest ranking scientific body in its country. It is independent of higher education institutions, of political parties, and of the state, even if it receives state subsidies. Among the special features of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, one can cite the fact that its General Assembly includes two hundred representatives of the Hungarian scientific community who serve three‐year terms but cannot participate in elections for new Academy members and that its forty research institutes and eighty research groups that are located and function in universities have a high degree of autonomy in regard to the Academy as such.     

ROLE OF THE SLOVAK ACADEMY OF SCIENCES DURING THE PERIOD OF TRANSITION IN THE SLOVAK REPUBLIC

The transformation of a socialist‐type Academy of Sciences into an institution capable of functioning in a democratic market economy is described. Prior to 1989, the Slovak Academy of Sciences was the state mandated coordinator of science and technology in Slovakia and was funded directly by the state budget. Since 1990, the Academy has had to share many of its prerogatives with other authorities and institutions, as in the case of the universities in regard to doctoral programmes, or to cede them out‐right, as in the case of the Ministry of Education and Science in regard to the coordination of basic research. Its budget has been drastically cut. It has also had to contend with the introduction of a western type of grant programme and system of evaluation for its subordinate institutes, some of which have been closed. In short, the Slovak Academy of Sciences must compete in an increasingly open science market in which it must give proof both of the quality of its work and of the relevance of the latter to the needs of society.     

THE ROLE PLAYED BY THE RUSSIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES IN THE SOCIAL,ECONOMIC, AND CULTURAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE COUNTRY

The article is an argument in favour of a type of national science policy in which a National Academy of Sciences is at the same time the highest ranking association of scientists and the capstone of a national organization of research institutes specialized in different fields of the sciences and the humanities. Such was the Soviet Academy of Sciences and is now the Russian Academy of Sciences, the roots of which go back to 1724. The achievements in science of the various Academy institutes are detailed, and while the author recognizes that the universities too perform research, their basic task is teaching. For him, the duality of research in the academy and teaching in the universities has given good results and should continue.     

THE INSTITUTES OF THE LATVIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES AND THE INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION: PROBLEMS OF INTEGRATION

Since achieving independence in 1991, the Republic of Latvia has taken radical measures to reform its system of science on a western model. The funding system has been overhauled, the Academy of Sciences, that used to be a kind of Ministry of Science, has become an academy of the classical type, and the advanced degrees of scientists inherited from the USSR‐era have been nostrificated. The big problem has been that of enacting the decision made to integrate the former institutes that were subordinated to the Latvian Academy of Sciences into the university system. The process has been resisted by university teachers who do not want to do research and by institute scientists who do not want to teach students, particularly undergraduate students. The article describes several measures that have been taken to deal with this problem which still remains unresolved.     

ROLE OF THE POLISH ACADEMY OF SCIENCES IN THE OVERALL R&D EFFORTS OF POLAND

In 1951, the Polish Academy of Sciences was set up in Warsaw, more or less on a Soviet model, by the merging of two academies, one in Cracow and the other in Warsaw, that traced their origins to the late Eighteenth Century. The achievements of Polish science owe much to the excellent training and research facilities offered by the Academy, achievements that have won much recognition abroad, both West and East. Confronted with severe financial constraints since the period of transition began in 1989, the Academy has had to make painful adjustments and above all to face the fact that the salaries which it can afford to pay its researchers are abysmally low. Until such time as the economy improves, the continued high quality of the research undertaken by the Academy and its institutes and centres will depend upon their success in developing fruitful foreign partnerships.     

RESEARCH PRIORITIES OF THE BULGARIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES

The Bulgarian Academy of Sciences which was established in 1969 is the central research institution of Bulgaria. Not only has it been affected by the forces of economic and political transition, but while most of the country vacillated when faced with the need to make radical changes, the Academy early on devised a strategy of comprehensive restructuring. The Academy continues to make internationally recognized contributions to the advancement of science in a number of areas, particularly in the hard sciences. It has by no means neglected the humanities, its original domain of research, where it continues to reinforce Bulgarian culture in a number of areas.     

THE ROLE OF THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF ACADEMIES OF SCIENCE IN INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION

The political changes occurring in eastern and central Europe in 1989 and 1990 and the breakup of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in 1991 fragmented a large area in which science and technology policy was more or less centralized and rationalized. Each country in this area, as a result, has had to develop its own science and technology policy in very difficult situations of transition. One of the attempts made to re‐establish some order and unity in science policy in the former socialist countries has been spearheaded by the International Association of Academies of Sciences, founded in Kiev in 1991. It is attempting, on a voluntary basis, to assume some of the functions of the former Soviet Academy of Sciences, and in particular, to re‐create the scientific space existing before 1989‐1991. Among its many projects are efforts in favour of young scientists and closer co‐operation with other international organizations of academies.     

PROBLEMS OF THE AUTONOMY AND FINANCING OF THE ALBANIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES

Although founded in 1972, the Albanian Academy of Sciences was subjected to strong political and ideological control until after 1990. Its academic freedom and autonomy were recognized by law in 1994. The Academy has been very much concerned with rehabilitating the fields of the social sciences, particularly Albanian history and Albanian studies in general.     

THE BELARUSSIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES DURING THE TRANSITION PERIOD

The work and the prospects of the Belarussian Academy of Sciences are described. The Academy, like other institutions in Belarus, has suffered greatly since the period of transition began in 1990. The Academy and its constituent institutes are struggling to continue providing their traditional leadership in regard to basic and applied research in all disciplines. In some areas, particularly in the hard sciences, Belarussian researchers continue to chalk up internationally recognized successes; however, the size of the research staff in the republic has declined by 50 per cent since 1990, and there is difficulty in recruiting new blood. The basic problem is one of finance; however, the Academy is trying to tap several sources of funding including the government. It is also taking steps to influence the training of young scientists and academics and to forge links with the Academies of other countries. At all costs, Belarus must not lose its scientific potential.     

FORMATION OF THE CLASSICAL TYPE OF ACADEMY OF SCIENCES IN LATVIA

Well before the full independence of Latvia and the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Latvia had begun to profoundly reform its national science system. Key events in the process were the foundation of the Latvian Union of Scientists in 1988 and the Latvian Council of Science in 1990. The next step was the radical reform of the Latvian Academy of Sciences such that it became an independent body of the classical academy type. By 1992, the Academy had adopted a new Charter and new Statutes. At the same time, the institutes which had been subordinated to the Academy became independent. In fact, many of the powers of the old Soviet‐style academy were assumed by the Council of Science and the Department of Science and Higher Education which was created within the Ministry of Education. The overall aim was to pattern Latvian science policy and its institutions on western European models.     

THE CROATIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES AND ARTS PAST AND FUTURE

The Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts traces its origins back to efforts to create a learned society in Croatia during the first half of the Nineteenth Century. At first concerned exclusively with the language, literature, and history of Croatia, it evolved into an eclectic organization conducting and sponsoring research in a wide rage of disciplines and fields. Currently, the work of the Academy is concentrated in eight departments and is conducted by eleven scientific councils, ten committees, and twenty research units. Since its founding, the Academy has published almost 3,400 books.     

ON THE PRINCIPAL OBJECTIVES OF THE ALBANIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES AND THE DIFFICULTIES FACING IT

A short aperçu of the Albanian Academy of Sciences is given. Its twelve institutes are grouped into two sections, one dealing with the social and human sciences, the other dealing with the natural and technical sciences. The work of the Academy has been seriously hampered by financial and social problems. Some financial aid has been provided by the SOROS Foundation, but much more is needed. The Academy looks forward to fruitful collaborative relations with other academies in the Balkans and in Europe in general.     

AN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES IN THE YEAR 2000: A FRENCH CONCEPTION

An Academy of Sciences is the offspring of the scientific community in its country. It is recognized as representative of this community and of the supreme authority of the country which is the guarantor of its independence and freedom. The Academy has the tasks of monitoring, stimulating, and assessing, doing so within the scientific community by means of its publications, its opinions, and the prizes it awards; within the national community, at the political level, the cultural level, and at the social level by its studies, reports, recommendations, and symposia; and at the international level, at which it represents the country in major international scientific organizations (ICSU, ALLEA). If the development of sciences has led countries to organize research structures outside the Academies, the latter, nonetheless, will continue to play an essential role at a time when the interactions of science with the authorities and society are stronger than ever.     

SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH AND SUSTAINABLE HUMAN DEVELOPMENT IN THE REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA

Independence and transition to a market economy have led to economic decline in the Republic of Moldova. Scientific research directed at sustainable human development is the key to economic renewal. As Moldova must import most of its energy, a major task is to reduce energy consumption through improved energy efficiency. Since the basic source of national wealth is agriculture, the development of derivatives of agriculture, such as the bio‐chemical industries, the pharmaceutical industry, the perfume industry, and the veterinary sciences should be stressed as well as components of information technology in which Moldova has a lead. As the premier research organization of Moldova is its Academy of Sciences founded in 1946, it should channel its best efforts into the economic development of the country through science.     

INTERNATIONAL CO‐OPERATION IN SCIENCE IN THE FORMER USSR

The founding of the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences in 1918 is evoked, It and its constituent institutes are continuing to function, despite the economic difficulties which have beset Ukraine since the break‐up of the Soviet Union. As an effort to internationalize its activities and to contribute to gaining back the united scientific space of the former Soviet Union, the Ukrainian Academy of sciences played an instrumental role in bringing about the creation in 1993 of the International Association of Academies of Sciences (IAAS) consisting of the now independent academies of many of the constituent republics of the former USSR. This organization is sponsoring a number of international scientific activities, including a publication programme for young scientists. It is also developing exchange mechanisms that can function without hard currency.     

RESEARCH AND THE YOUNG GENERATION

The Serbian Academy of Sciences, which dates back to 1841, became more than simply a Serbian Academy, for its membership included major scientists from all the nations of former Yugoslavia. Scientific institutions in Serbia, as in the other countries of eastern and central Europe, are having great difficulties in recruiting younger people into science. Not only are better opportunities available in other professions, but some of the most qualified young people are turning away from science because they find it morally repugnant. They feel that science lacks underpinning ethics. The central and eastern European countries must address this and other problems and possibly make appeals to a broad form of patriotism in order to redirect their most talented youth into scientific careers.     

LINKS BETWEEN ROMANIAN UNIVERSITIES AND THE ROMANIAN ACADEMY

Seemingly unlike the cases of the Academies of Sciences in the other eastern and central European countries, the Romanian Academy wishes to continue sponsoring state‐of‐the‐art‐research to be undertaken in its own network of research institutes. This decision comes both as a reaction to attempts made by the Ceauescu regime to destroy the Academy completely and the realization that other major models of national research policy, notably the US model, the western European model, and an intermediate one adopted in Mexico, are not easily adapted to Romanian reality. The specifically Romanian model chosen, of beginning with two major sets of government supported research institutes subordinated either to the Ministry of Science and Technology or to the Romanian Academy, of linking them to the universities, and of adapting them according to the dictates of a market economy and democratization seems to be the best option.