Urban Innovation: A Look at European Metropolises

Join us for a public lecture by Professor Robert Pyka, a leading sociologist from the University of Silesia in Katowice, Poland. Professor Pyka will explore the dynamic landscape of urban innovation within European metropolises. His presentation will delve into how the complexity and diversity of urban environments foster creativity and the emergence of innovative solutions to contemporary challenges. Drawing from his extensive research, including his fellowship at the Institute for Advanced Study in Lyon, France, and his current leadership of the MECOG-CE Interreg project, Professor Pyka will offer insights into the evolving models of urban development and the role of metropolises as laboratories for change.

Speaker:

Robert Pyka (PhD, Habitation)

Prof. of the University of Silesia in Katowice

Observatory of Urban and Metropolitan Process

Robert Pyka is a professor of sociology at the University of Silesia in Katowice. In his research, he focuses on issues related to the city and metropolis, including empowerment, decentralisation and the complexity and diversity of urban processes as a source of creativity and innovation. He mainly concentrates on issues related to the state's and local structures' future in globalisation, metropolisation, and governance perspective.

Between 2019 and 2020, he was a Deputy Dean for Research and Internationalisation at the Faculty of Social Sciences. Before that, he was the Scientific Director of the Institute of Sociology at the University of Silesia. He is the head of the Observatory of Urban and Metropolitan Process. He has published many scientific articles in Polish, French, and English revues. He is also an author of books titled "Metropolization and local governance" (Pyka, 2014); Globalization – Social Justice – Economic Effectiveness (Pyka, 2008).

Between 2020 and 2021, he conducted a project, "Metropolises as laboratories for new models of innovation places" as a fellow in the Institute for Advanced Study in Lyon (France). Nowadays, he is leading the Interreg CE project "Strengthening Metropolitan Cooperation and Governance in Central Europe" (MECOG-CE) for 2023-2026.