Doctoral School of Natural Sciences

Disciplines

Training in the Doctoral School of Natural Sciences is provided in the following disciplines:

Biological Sciences

The Faculty of Biology at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań brings together researchers and students interested in explaining the complexities of the natural world around us. We conduct research covering all areas of biology, from molecules to ecosystems, and in almost every biome of the world. We have reached the African and American tropics with our research ideas, and you will also find us on glacier deserts and oceanic archipelagos.

Our achievements to date, both scientific and didactic, have been highly praised. In the last nationwide evaluation of the quality of scientific activity, we were awarded the highest category A+; and the State Accreditation Committee gave us an outstanding mark in the field of education.

Our scientific passions can be achieved thanks to a coherent organisational structure, efficient management, modern research infrastructure, numerous grants and, above all, a friendly atmosphere. We are all united by one thing - science - and only our imagination sets the limits for us.

The diverse scientific activities of our employees are reflected in our organisational structure. Research groups can be found in departments and laboratories, which in turn are combined into four institutes. The Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology conducts research in the area of molecular genetics, biochemistry, bioenergetics and bioinformatics. The Institute of Experimental Biology brings together researchers dealing with the cellular level of biological organisation. The research carried out here is related to eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells, microbiology, histology and physiology of both plants and animals. In turn, the scientific interests of the staff of the Institute of Environmental Biology include systematics and phylogeny of plants and animals occurring in all biomes of the world, evolutionary, behavioural and population ecology as well as protection and restoration of aquatic ecosystems. And finally there is the Institute of Human Biology and Evolution, where, through research at the molecular, physiological and population level, our staff explain the complicated mechanisms of functioning of the species we all know - Homo sapiens.

In all our scientific activities we try to infect young people, our students and doctoral students, who are an inseparable part of our faculty environment, with passion. We address a wide didactic offer to them. We enable and financially support student scientific projects, and we provide PhD students with substantive and financial support at every stage of pursuing their scientific passion.

Earth and related environmental sciences

is a discipline belonging to the field of exact and natural sciences. The nature of the issues it addresses, however, is decidedly interdisciplinary or even cross-disciplinary. They are embedded in a space covering the surface of our planet, its interior, reaching into the surrounding spheres and even cosmic interactions. Modern workshop of the researcher of Earth and its environment very often requires knowledge of related disciplines: biology, physics, chemistry, mathematics, but also, seemingly distant, such as environmental engineering and construction. This is because of the complexity of the processes that led to the formation of our planet and influence its evolution. In addition to natural processes, traditionally the focus of attention of researchers in our field, anthropopressure in its broadest sense and its impact on the life of the planet is becoming more and more frequently the subject of interest. Hence, research conducted at the Faculty of Geographic and Geological Sciences includes analyses of contemporary challenges to civilisation, such as climate change, sustainable water resources management or the structure and dynamics of modern geoecosystems. An important element of research in Earth and environmental sciences are also more traditional directions of research aimed at understanding past and present processes shaping the surface and interior of the planet, the use of its mineral resources, and the assessment of natural hazards. The Earth and environmental sciences also include topics dealing with the analysis of the environment for the purposes of infrastructure development and ensuring its safe functioning: geodesy and engineering geology.

Earth and environmental sciences in a special way connect animate and inanimate nature in the context of civilisation impact. The diversity of research problems of this discipline is well reflected by the team of researchers of the Faculty of Geographic and Geological Sciences, who can use their multidisciplinary scientific experience to understand and forecast the processes shaping the Earth in its local, regional and global dimensions.