On 30 December, Włodzimierz Bernacki, Secretary of State at the Ministry of Education and Science, appointed new NCN Council members. On the same day, the new Council held its first session and elected Prof. Robert Hasterok as the new President.
Prof. Robert Hasterok during the NCN Award ceremony, October 2022, fot. Michał Łepecki
The Minister of Education and Science appointed twelve new members to the NCN Council. The ceremony was held on 30 December at the offices of the NCN, and the nominations were awarded by Prof. Włodzimierz Bernacki, Secretary of State at the Ministry of Education and Science.
“On behalf of my superiors, I would like to declare that, regardless of current and future party lines and divisions, the Ministry of Education and Science will try to increase the resources of the NCN over the next several years, because its effectiveness has more than stood the test of time. After 10 years, we can only see the mission of the NCN in a positive light”, said Prof. Włodzimierz Bernacki, Secretary of State at the Ministry of Education and Science.
The outgoing President of the NCN, Prof. Jacek Kuźnicki, also appealed for an increase in state subsidies for the NCN. “Science is the best investment in the growth of our country”, he said, adding that an annual sum of 150 million zlotys paid to the NCN for the next several years, “would represent a negligible proportion of the state budget, but have an enormous impact on national growth and our position in the world”. He also said that this funding is necessary if we want to keep the young generation of researchers in Poland.
The NCN Director also thanked those council members whose term ended in the middle of December. “I think we can all be proud we have managed to build a modern grant agency, which responds to the needs of Polish science and enjoys recognition in Poland and beyond”, said Zbigniew Błocki, “As I am about to step down as NCN Director, I would like to wish all those who remain on the council many more opportunities to develop the institution for the sake of Polish science; let us not forfeit what we have achieved thus far.” On 30 December, the Council also sat in its first session and elected a new president, Prof. Robert Hasterok, who will remain in office until December 2024.
Prof. Robert Hasterok is a biologist affiliated with the University of Silesia, interested in the molecular cytogenetics of plants. He is an expert in the application of fluorescence in situ hybridisation in nuclear genome research. He was appointed to the NCN Council in 2020.
“The strategic goal of the Council in the next two years will be to convince decision-makers, despite the economic crisis, of the key importance of increasing the NCN’s resources for basic-research funding”, Hasterok said following his appointment. If its budget remains frozen, he warned, the NCN Council will need to resort to “emergency measures, such as changes in the terms and conditions of calls and research projects, which may limit access to its call portfolio”.
“Let us hope as few as possible are needed”, he said. Other issues the new president said the Council will need to address in the nearest future include the evaluation of grant applicants under initiatives such as DORA and COARA, debates on possible modifications of open access funding under Plan S, and changes in the terms and conditions of calls such as MAESTRO and PRELUDIUM BIS.
New Council President: profile
The Council of the National Science Centre is a key authority that defines research disciplines and discipline groups for the purposes of NCN calls, sets funding budgets under individual disciplines or discipline groups, decides on the terms and conditions of individual calls and appoints Expert Teams responsible for the merit-based review of submitted proposals from among prominent Polish and international researchers.