Professor Jerzy Bański is a full professor of Human Geography at the Institute of Geography and Spatial Organization, Polish Academy of Sciences (IGSO PAS), Warsaw. His main research interests include: rural and agricultural geography, land use, regional policy, spatial organization and local development. Since 2008 he has been the Head of the Department of Rural Geography and Local Development at the IGSO PAS and from 2018 he is the Director of the IGSO PAS. From 2006 to 2012 was the President of the Polish Geographical Society, and from 2017 has been the Chair of the Local and Regional Development Commission of the International Geographical Union. Jerzy Bański is the author of 370 publications, including 21 books and more than 170 reviewed papers. He was the co-ordinator of 40 research projects and took part in 35 other national and international projects.