NAWA Chair – a New Programme for Scientists

The Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange announces a new programme – NAWA Chair. The programme offers universities and other scientific institutions a long-term financial package from NAWA that will cover the stay of a foreign scientist of world renown as well as funding for fundamental research, which will be financed by the National Science Centre.

The objective of the NAWA Chair programme is to support outstanding scientific and research as well as teaching activity of Polish academic and scientific entities.

‘The prestigious grants awarded under the NAWA Chair programme will be a form of supporting the strategy of internationalising Polish higher education and science by means of a long-term financial package,’ explains Prof. Wojciech Maksymowicz, deputy minister of science and higher education. ‘A long-lasting effect of participating in the programme will be establishing a research team whose scientific and teaching achievements will greatly increase the renown of Polish entities and the scientific disciplines they represent at home and abroad,’ the minister adds.

The first edition of the programme is directed at higher education institutions and other scientific entities which carry out research in the areas of humanities as well as social and theological sciences. The next editions of the programme in the following years will be dedicated to other scientific disciplines.

‘NAWA’s new programme makes it possible to invite to Poland world-class foreign scientists who work in the relevant disciplines. They will be hired as guest professors for a period between three and four years. In this time, as outstanding scientists they can become the hearts of strong scientific teams, do breakthrough research and help the entities apply for international grants,’ says NAWA Director Dr Grażyna Żebrowska.

A grant funded by NAWA can amount to as much as PLN 3 mln. It will cover the costs of the guest professor’s and their research teams’ remuneration as well as the professor’s mobility expenses. In addition, higher education establishments and other scientific institutions can apply for funds for fundamental research from the National Science Centre (NCN) in the form of the so called research component.

‘Analyses of the efficiency of similar programmes in Europe indicate quite clearly that it is crucial to enable the incoming scientists to begin research work as soon as possible after their arrival,’ says Prof. Małgorzata Kossowska, president of the NCN Council. ‘Of course we expect that the scientists will obtain funds for research through regular Polish and foreign grants. We are aware, however, that this will take considerable time. That is why we have decided to finance the ‘starting package’, which enables the teams to commence intense research works right away,’ Prof. Kossowska adds.

Applications under the programme can be submitted from 1 June 2020 until 31 July 2020. They may be submitted solely through NAWA’s electronic application submission system.

Projects under the programme have to begin: no earlier than on 1 February 2021 and no later than on 31 October 2021.

The announcement of the call for applications as well as other documents can be found here. 

IMPORTANT INFORMATION: The Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange (NAWA) carefully monitors the situation related to the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting restrictions on mobility between states. If any projects cannot be completed within the planned time limits, NAWA will adjust their schedules to the current situation, taking into account the safety of NAWA beneficiaries as well as Polish citizens.

We wish to invite you to a webinar on the rules of submitting grant applications and completing projects under the NAWA Chair programme. The webinar will be held on 9 June 2020 from 2 to 3 p.m. (Polish language)

Registration LINK