Special scholarship programme for students and researchers from Ukraine

Proposals may be submitted by:

1. universities;
2. federations of science and HE entities;
3. research institutes of the Polish Academy of Sciences operating pursuant to the Act on the Polish Academy of Sciences of 30 April 2010 (Journal of Laws 2020, item 1796, as amended);
4. research institutes operating pursuant to the Act on Research Institutes of 30 April 2010 (Journal of Laws 2020, item 1383, as amended);
5. international research institutes established pursuant to other acts and acting in the Republic of Poland;
6. Łukasiewicz Centre operating pursuant to the Act on the Łukasiewicz Research Network of 21 February 2019 (Journal of Laws 2020, item 2098);
7. institutes operating within the Łukasiewicz Research Network;
8. Polish Academy of Arts and Science;
9. other entities involved in research independently on a continuous basis;
10. scientific and industrial centres laid down in the Act on Research Institutes of 30 April 2010 (Journal of Laws of 2020, item 1383);
11. research centres of the Polish Academy of Sciences operating pursuant to the Act on the Polish Academy of Sciences of 30 April 2010 (Journal of Laws of 2020, item 1796);
12. scientific libraries; and
13. companies operating as R&D centres within the meaning of the Act on Certain Forms of Support for Innovative Activity of 30 May 2008 (Journal of Laws of 2021, item 706).

A student/ researcher must meet the following conditions:

1. have no PhD or equivalent degree (in Ukraine: Candidate of Science) on the end date of the call, and
2. must have left Ukraine on or after 24 February 2022 or must intend to leave Ukraine due to the war
3. must have studied at a Ukrainian university in the academic year 2021/2022, or
4. must have worked at a Ukrainian university/research institute before the war;
5. must start the scholarship by 1 March 2023 at the latest.

Please note: Citizenship of students/researchers intending to participate in the programme shall be disregarded when reviewing the terms and conditions of the programme.

Yes, there are. The following restrictions shall apply to the submission of proposals:

1. The applicant must not be under receivership, in liquidation, or subject to bankruptcy proceedings.
2. The applicant must not be an institution for which scholarship funding constitutes state aid.
3. A student/researcher may receive scholarship funding under the programme only once.
4. A student/researcher may be named in only one proposal submitted under the programme.

No, it is not. The main purpose of the programme is to support students and researchers by allowing them to continue MSc and PhD studies, work on their MSc thesis and PhD dissertations and pursue any other education at the Polish research institutions. However, please note that while receiving the scholarship, students/researchers should be engaged in activities carried out at the host institution (including research projects’ implementation).

The scholarship should be planned for a period of 6 to 12 months. The implementation of the scholarship must start on 1 March 2023 at the latest.

Costs in the proposal shall comprise two components:

1. funds for a student’s/researcher’s scholarship in the amount of PLN 3 500 – 5 000 per month;
2. funds for the cost of student’s/researcher’s hosting, including the cost of education (including language courses), cost of activities related to the development of a PhD dissertation, cost of psychological and legal support in connection with the training, in the amount of up to PLN 1,500 per month; in the case of a scholarship planned in the amount of PLN 5 000 per month, the hosting cost are provided by the research institution from own resources.

The total funding must not exceed the total number of scholarship months multiplied by PLN 5,000. If the maximum programme implementation period is 12 months, the total funding must not exceed PLN 60,000.

Costs of hosting may be spent on:

1. purchase of materials and small equipment (raw materials, semi-finished products, reagents, office supplies, stationery, small laboratory equipment, IT hardware and small office devices (e.g. computer, software license, and software development costs, printers, scanners, monitors, copiers) and other devices);
2. outsourcing (costs of purchasing research-related services: laboratory analyses, statistical reports, surveys, etc.; costs of purchasing other specialist services necessary for the proper implementation of the scholarship visit: proofreading, editing, graphics, consulting, monitoring, etc.; costs of postal, courier and transport services directly related to the completion of the programme; costs of manuscript translation and editing;
3. other (costs of the purchasing or accessing data/databases; specialist publications/teaching aids);
4. other costs, as necessary, pursuant to the Types of costs in the programme .

Please note that:

• the monthly scholarship amount must be between PLN 3,500 and PLN 5,000. If the proposal is recommended for funding, the institution may increase the amount of the scholarship from its funds;
• if the maximum scholarship amount of PLN 5,000 is planned from the NCN funds, the hosting costs must be provided by the research institution from its resources; students/researchers who are fellows shall not be subject to any provisions preventing them from receiving additional remuneration under other NCN-funded research projects laid down in the regulations adopted by the NCN Council;
• funds under a special scholarship programme must be planned/paid in accordance with the Types of costs in the programme;
• hosting costs for a student/researcher must not be used to cover participation/organisation of conferences, workshops, seminars, meetings, courses/trainings; costs of visits, consultations and business trips (including daily allowances and travel expenses); costs of collective investigators; monograph publication costs and dissemination of research and research results;
• indirect costs must not be included in the costs.

No, it is not. For more information, please go to the State aid section.

In order to draft a proposal, DOWNLOAD the proposal form and fill it in.

Once the proposal has been completed, it should be appended with the following annexes:

• Annex 1 – student’s/researcher’s CV (in English, no page limit): scientific track record (degree date, institution, discipline); list of major publications (if applicable); the most important artistic achievements or achievements in research in art (if applicable); education/work (start year and end year, institution, position), academic fellowships (start date and end date, institution), ongoing projects, awards and prizes (if applicable); other information crucial to research career;
• Annex 2 – mentor’s CV (in English, no page limit): list of major publications; the most important artistic achievements or achievements in research in art (if applicable); information on workplaces, academic fellowships, ongoing projects, awards and prizes; other information crucial to research career;
• Annex 3 – Integration/reintegration plan and collaboration to date (in English; 1 page): work plan aimed at integrating the student/researcher with the applicant’s research community during the programme, also involving the student/researcher in the research/research projects performed by the applicant’s institution; short description of student’s/researcher’s reintegration into the Ukrainian academic system after the programme; description of student’s/researcher’s collaboration with the applicant to date (if applicable); justification why the programme is implemented remotely from Ukraine (if applicable).

Please note: Only complete proposals with the required annexes shall be subject to merit-based evaluation. Proposals are not completed in the OSF submission system, therefore make sure that your proposal is complete before it is submitted.

Please note: The proposal must be signed with a qualified electronic signature or advanced electronic signature of the authorised representative of the institution. The electronic signature must be in line with the eIDAS Regulation, must include a valid qualified certificate and have a PAdES extension. Proposals with signature and required annexes (Annex 1: researcher’s CV, Annex 2: mentor’s CV, and Annex 3: Integration/reintegration plan and collaboration to date) must be submitted to the NCN pursuant to the proposal submission procedure.

Proposals are subject to an eligibility check and merit-based evaluation.

NCN coordinators perform the eligibility checks and merit-based evaluation pursuant to the information provided in the proposals.

Only complete proposals that meet all requirements laid down in the call announcement are eligible for merit-based evaluation.

Proposals undergo a single-stage merit-based evaluation pursuant to the following terms and conditions:

• each proposal shall be reviewed by the NCN coordinator in charge of the discipline specified in the proposal pursuant to the proposal evaluation criteria,
• in well-justified cases, the NCN coordinators may consult an NCN Council member on the merits,
• based on the evaluation by the NCN coordinators, proposals shall be recommended for the list of evaluated proposals;
• the list shall then be submitted to the NCN Director and
• the funding decision shall be taken by the NCN Director pursuant to the list of reviewed proposals.

The following factors shall be reviewed in the course of merit-based evaluation:

• student’s/researcher’s qualifications and achievements;
• mentor’s qualifications and achievements;
• work plan aimed at integrating the student/researcher with the applicant’s research community during the programme and description of student’s/researcher’s reintegration into the Ukrainian academic system after the programme;
• student’s/researcher’s collaboration with the applicant to date (if applicable);
• justification why the programme is implemented remotely from Ukraine (if applicable).

The proposal shall be evaluated pursuant to the proposal evaluation criteria.

The funding decision shall be made within 1 month from the date of closing the call for proposals in the programme. In well-justified cases, the funding decision may be taken within 3 months.

If funding is awarded, the applicant shall be notified thereof as soon as possible.

The NCN Director’s decision cannot be appealed against.

Should you have any questions or queries, please contact us by e-mail:

EEA&Norway Grants Team

norway.grants@ncn.gov.pl

Coordinator:

Tomasz Szumełda, e-mail: tomasz.szumelda@ncn.gov.pl