UG Rector, prof. dr hab. Piotr Stepnowski has appointed a new Ombudsman for Scientific Integrity. Dr hab. Tomasz Widłak, prof. UG, took up the appointment on 7 April 2025. He will replace dr hab. Sławomir Steinborn, prof. UG, who recently became President of the Court of Appeal in Gdańsk.
Prof. dr hab. Piotr Stepnowski created the position of Ombudsman for Scientific Integrity at the University of Gdańsk immediately after taking office as rector. The tasks of the Ombudsman include ensuring the integrity and ethics of all scientific practices within the university, taking actions aimed at shaping and consolidating high standards of scientific integrity, developing and promoting good scientific practices, clarifying doubts regarding the scientific integrity of the University's employees and doctoral students, as well as requesting the disciplinary ombudsman to take action in the event of a justified suspicion of scientific dishonesty on the part of the University's employees or doctoral students. The term of office of the Ombudsman for Scientific Integrity is four years.
‘I am honoured to be appointed Ombudsman for Scientific Integrity at the University of Gdańsk. I would like to thank the Rector, Prof. dr hab. Piotr Stepnowski, for the trust he has placed in me, said the newly appointed dr hab. Tomasz Widłak, prof. UG. "The role of the Ombudsman is to maintain and develop high standards of scientific integrity and to promote good scientific practice. It is a big responsibility. I will be there for the University's staff and doctoral students to help them face the challenges of ethics and the principles of conducting scientific research.’
In the era of uncontrolled development of artificial intelligence, the spread of false information, as well as increasingly frequent allegations of dishonest practices, such as paper mills, the issue of scientific integrity and social trust in the academic environment is becoming a priority. The presence of the Ombudsman for Scientific Integrity at the University of Gdańsk shows that the university takes these issues extremely seriously.
‘Issues of high standards of scientific integrity and good practice are key at the University of Gdańsk,’ said the Rector of the University of Gdańsk, prof. Piotr Stepnowski. ‘I believe that the knowledge and experience of Professor Tomasz Widłak will contribute to the realisation of these postulates at our university.’
Dr hab. Tomasz Widłak, prof. UG works at the Department of Theory and Philosophy of State and Law of the Faculty of Law and Administration at the University of Gdańsk. His main research interests include legal theory and philosophy (jurisprudence of virtues, 20th-century American legal philosophy, Hans Kelsen's theory of law), biomedical law, research ethics (law & life sciences), selected issues in the law and ethics of artificial intelligence (Law & AI), and international legal theory.