Monika Szkarłat (PhD) is a specialist in international relations and a researcher at the Institute of Political Science and Administration, as well as the head of a research team at the Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Computer Modeling, Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin, Poland. She holds a degree in intellectual property law from the Faculty of Law and Administration at Jagiellonian University in Kraków.
Dr. Szkarłat is a delegate to the Board of the Polish Polar Consortium, a member of the Presidium of the Committee on Polar Research at the Polish Academy of Sciences, and vice-chair of the Social & Human Working Group of the International Arctic Science Committee. She is also actively engaged in ICARP IV as a member of RPT4 (Diplomacy and Scientific Collaboration).
Her research focuses on the intersection of science and policy, particularly science diplomacy in the Arctic and the EU, as well as the legal and social dimensions of artificial intelligence and biotechnologies.
“International research collaboration has long been fundamental to the Arctic, providing essential knowledge on natural phenomena and their socio-economic implications while informing decision-making at national and international levels. During periods of geopolitical tension, science has also functioned as a track-two diplomacy platform, maintaining dialogue when political channels were closed. Yet, science, along with its products—technologies and innovations—can also be a source of power, competition, and even coercion. While the relationship between science and politics can be mutually beneficial, science must safeguard its integrity, resisting politicization and instrumentalization to ensure its role remains independent and constructive in Arctic governance.”