Having had to cancel the planned meeting with Polish representatives of the cities and scientific institutions in spring due to the global corona pandemic, it was held in Görlitz on 29 September 2020.

In the auditorium of the Silesian Museum and the Center for Advanced Systems Understanding, we welcomed around 20 guests from neighbouring Poland, including Jakub Mazur, the Vice President of the city Wrocław, who was accompanied by other members of the Wroclaw city administration, representatives of the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education, prorectors of the University of Wroclaw, the Wroclaw University of Science and Technology and the University of Natural Sciences, as well as the Director of the ICM Interdisciplinary Centre for Mathematical and Computer Modelling at the University of Warsaw.

The meeting aimed to expand and strengthen German-Polish cooperation and networking “not only in the scientific field, but also in the cultural and human sphere”, as Jakub Mazur, Vice-President of Wroclaw, emphasized. A further declaration of intent could already been concluded with the University of Natural Sciences and Technology Wrocław in the person of the Prorector for Innovation and Business Cooperation, Anna Chełmońska-Soyta.

Sebastian Schmidt, Director of the Helmholtz Centre Dresden-Rossendorf, under whose umbrella the CASUS Centre is operated, CASUS Director Roland Sauerbrey and the Mayor of Görlitz, Octavian Ursu, warmly welcomed the guests. Michael Bussmann, scientific director of CASUS, and Ivo Sbalzarini from the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics introduced into the scientific approach of CASUS. Additionally, all participants used the opportunity to get in personal exchange and discussions with the young CASUS scientists which presented their research projects.

The Center for Advanced Systems Understanding was founded in Görlitz exactly one year ago. It moved into its premises at the Lower Market in February 2020. In the meantime, the building accommodates 23 staff members and another ten to fifteen scientists are expected to join by the end of the year.

We are very pleased about this successful meeting and look forward to strengthening our cooperation with Poland.