PLN 500 Million in Bonds for NCN – Funds Will Go To Researchers

Fri, 08/22/2025 - 15:00
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The National Science Centre can use the Treasury bonds released by the PM. The interpretation provided by the Ministry of Finance and clarification of legal doubts will allow the funds to be gradually released starting in 2026.

In November 2024, the Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced that Treasury bonds would be issued to the National Science Centre. The Prime Minister’s intention was to allocate the proceeds from the bonds primarily for research projects carried out by early-career researchers.

On 17 December 2024, the National Science Centre received assets with a nominal value of PLN 500 million, with maturities between 2027 and 2034. However, new doubts have arisen as to whether the funds can be allocated for research without an amendment to the NCN Act. Further legal and financial analyses were required. On 20 August 2025, after received the opinion from the Ministry of Finance, it was decided that the bonds can be incorporated into the NCN’s financial planning for the coming years.

“The scientific community has high and well-justified expectations as regarding additional funding. Therefore, we are pleased the issue will soon be resolved. PLN 500 million is an investment in early-career researchers and basic research that paves the way for progress – the future of Polish science and country’s growth,” says Prof. Krzysztof Jóźwiak, NCN Director.

The support of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education, Ministry of Finance and representatives of the academic community was key to resolving the issue.

We are currently working on how to allocate proceeds from the bonds to finance research projects. Further details will be communicated in upcoming updates.

MINIATURA 9 – Fourth Ranking List

Thu, 08/21/2025 - 11:00
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92 researchers will join the winners of the nineth round of MINIATURA. They will conduct research activities valued at over 3.5 million zlotys. Here are the results for proposals submitted in May.

Under MINIATURA, researchers with a PhD degree awarded over the past 12 years could apply for funding of their research activities in research institutions located all over Poland. Any subject was allowed, as long as it remained within the scope of basic research. Research activities could be carried out in the form of preliminary studies, library and archive searches or research visits. Funds of PLN 5,000 to PLN 50,000 could be requested for a period of 12 months by researchers who were not former winners of NCN calls and whose scientific achievements included at least one paper published or at least one artistic achievement or achievement in research in art. 

The call for proposals was open from the beginning of February to the end of July. The results are published on a monthly basis. The fourth round of results concerns proposals submitted in May.

We have awarded a total of 92 grants, including 71 for research activities in preliminary or pilot studies, 2 for library and archive searches, 9 for business trips and 10 for research activities involving mixed approaches. A total of 3,557,772 zlotys in funding was awarded.

Ranking Lists

Ranking Lists in PDF format

Research Subjects on Fourth Ranking List for MINIATURA 9

26 research activities received funding in Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences (HS) for a total of over 670 thousand zlotys. Dr Aleksandra Pudło from the Archaeological Museum in Gdańsk will carry out preliminary studies on the origins of early medieval inhabitants of Gdansk. Dr Paweł Lewandowski from the University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn will conduct pilot studies on the optimal model of debt relief for individuals not running a business and Dr Natasza Doiczman-Łoboda from the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań will go on a research visit to collect and analyse experience of young adults after leaving foster care in Poland, the USA and Canada.

A group 32 winners in Physical Sciences and Engineering (NZ) includes Dr inż. Magdalena Pietrzak from the Koszalin University of Technology. She will complete preliminary studies and go on a research visit concerning transport of sediment mixture in steady flow over a mobile bed under dynamic liquefaction caused by mechanical vibrations. Owing to MINIATURA funding, Dr inż. Bartłomiej Kruk from the Wrocław University of Science and Technology will be able to develop a reference database of Polish speech recordings for the study of the quality and intelligibility of natural and synthetic voices and Dr Natalia Śmigiel-Gac from the Centre of Polymer and Carbon Materials of the Polish Academy of Sciences will conduct preliminary studies on poly(esteramine) nanoparticles designed to fight against drug-resistant bacteria.

Dr Adrianna Rutkowska from the Medical University of Łódź is one of the 34 grant recipients in Life Sciences (NZ). She will evaluate the presence of SEC61G-EGFR fusion protein in glioblastoma multiforme cells which may negatively impact the success of CAR-T therapy against EGFRvIII. Other grant winners in NZ include Dr Dominik Wawrzuta from the Maria Sklodowska-Curie National Research Institute of Oncology, who is set to study the impact of medical terminology on public perception of radiation oncology, and Dr hab. Michał Brzeziński from the Medical University of Gdańsk, who will develop and validate analytical method to detect microplastics in human intestinal tissue

The subjects of research activities from the fourth Ranking List for MINIATURA 9

Funding by discipline:

  • Humanities, Social Sciences and Art Sciences (HS): 26 research activities valued at PLN 672,282
  • Physical Sciences and Engineering (ST): 32 research activities valued at PLN 1,367,683
  • Life Sciences (NZ): 34 research activities valued at PLN 1,517,807

Total funding: 92 research activities with a total value of PLN 3,557,772.

285 research activities have received funding under four rounds of MINIATURA 9, with a total value of 11.1 million zlotys. Two more ranking lists are still to come, for proposals submitted in June and July. Proposals are evaluated in a single procedure by experts appointed by the NCN Council.

MINIATURA 9 results: first list, second list, third list.

First Project Funded under 2025 Weave-UNISONO Call

Tue, 08/19/2025 - 14:57
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Dr hab. Łukasz Smaga alongside his team from the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań and research partners from Germany will seek new ways for powerful statistical inference. Over 500,000 zlotys will be allocated to the Polish part of the project.

The project Powerful inference for functional data in complex factorial designs is the first one recommended for funding under the 2025 Call. It will be carried out in collaboration with researchers from the TU Dortmund University headed by Prof. Dr. Markus Pauly. The project was evaluated by the German Research Foundation (DFG), and the evaluation results were approved by the National Science Centre under the Weave collaboration.

The researchers aim not only to develop methods for the analysis of functional data, focusing on statistical tests and confidence regions, but also to prepare guidelines for applying these methods to biostatistical problems. This comprehensive approach aims to bridge the gap between advanced statistical theory and real-world applications. It represents a significant step forward in the field of functional data analysis, which has recently become a significant tool in statistics. Functional data analysis is especially effective when data are densely sample, for example, in medicine, when patients wear a device that automatically measures blood pressure and heart rate at regular intervals over a 24-hour period. The resulting output is a set of trajectories of these variables, which can be modelled as functional data. The project results will be integrated with practical statistical tools in the form of efficient software that will find application in real research problems, in particular in medicine. Example applications include the analysis of biomedical and biostatistical data.

Weave-UNISONO and Lead Agency Procedure

The Weave-UNISONO call builds on the multilateral international cooperation between the research funding agencies associated in Science Europe and aims at simplifying the submission and selection procedures in all academic disciplines, involving researchers from two or three European countries.

The selection process is based on the Lead Agency Procedure (LAP), under which only one partner institution performs a merit-based evaluation and the others simply accept the result.

Under Weave, partner research teams apply in parallel to the lead agency and their respective domestic institutions participating in the call. Their joint proposal must include coherent research plans and clearly spell out the added value of international cooperation.

The Weave-UNISONO call accepts proposals on a rolling basis. Polish teams wishing to partner up with colleagues from Austria, Czechia, Slovenia, Switzerland, Germany, Luxembourg and Belgium-Flanders are encouraged to carefully read the call text and submit their funding proposals.

Share your voice on the future of Social Protection Systems and Essential Services

Fri, 08/08/2025 - 10:00
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Feel free to take part in a survey on the Social Protection Systems and Essential Services. It is one of the four priority areas of the EC proposed Social Transformations and Resilience Partnership (STR). As part of the future Partnership, a Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA) is being developed, defining the activities of the Partnership from 2026 onwards.

Therefore, we welcome your participation in a survey to identify trends affecting the future of Social Protection Systems and Essential Services, and overlooked directions. The survey is addressed to all interested parties, in particular representatives of the research community, governing authorities, NGO sector, public institutions and think tanks.

The survey will take approximately 10-20 minutes to complete, depending on the extent of the information provided. Responses are anonymous and will only be used for the purpose of examining trends for the preparation of the SRIA.

The survey can be completed until 10 September 2025.

Link to survey

For any questions about the survey please contact: str-foresight@dlr.de  

For any questions related to the preparation of the Partnership, please contact the STR Coordination Team at: str(at)ncn.gov.pl

This is not the Future – it's Happening Now. Seniors on Life in Ever-Hotter Cities.

Tue, 08/05/2025 - 12:30
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The guest of #rozmowaNCN series is Dr Zofia Boni, a social anthropologist from the Institute of Ethnology and Cultural Anthropology at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, who studies how senior citizens experience and cope with heatwaves.

Climate change isn’t just about models and forecasts – it’s also part of people’s everyday lives. Project “Experiencing Climate Change: A Transdisciplinary Research of Urban Overheating” (EmCliC), led by the team of Dr Zofia Boni, focused on how heatwaves affect the lives of older urban residents. The research was conducted in Warsaw and Madrid – cities with different climates and histories of adapting to high temperatures.

The researchers asked seniors how they experience heatwaves, how they cope with them and how the heat affects their health. By combining social and natural science methods and using new technologies, they created a multidimensional picture of everyday life in a changing climate. The research project was complemented by the activities of the Science and Society initiative, which allowed the team to share their findings with senior citizens and community organisations and to establish closer cooperation with Warsaw City Council.

Anna Korzekwa-Józefowicz: Which district of Warsaw offers the best quality of life for seniors, considering climate change?

Zofia Boni, credit: M. Łepecki/NCNZofia Boni, credit: M. Łepecki/NCN Zofia Boni: It’s actually easier for me to say which districts seniors avoid in the summer – because that clearly emerged from our research. The people we interviewed said they deliberately steer clear of the city centre. They change plans – doctor’s appointments, administrative errands, meetings with family and friends – all just to avoid being in the city centre during the heat.

So where do they seek relief, and what strategies do they use to cope with the heat?

Many people talked about local parks – depending on where they live – as places that can be genuinely pleasant. Especially if they are a bit further from the centre or even outside the city, like Kampinos Park.

Some – those who could afford it – also mentioned buying allotments, especially community gardens within the city. Or they even mentioned plots outside the city and summer trips as strategies for coping with the heatwave.

This is, in fact, a solution we observe in other European cities as well, but it is mostly available to people in privileged situations. Because not everyone can afford to buy a plot and spend the entire summer outside the city.

When temperatures rise, the media often issue warnings, mainly aimed at seniors, not to leave their homes.

Staying indoors is also an adaptive strategy, but – as our research showed – it’s not always effective. Some participants noted that spending entire days inside, even in shaded apartments, negatively affected their physical and mental well-being. There was a feeling of isolation, depression.

Moreover, although many apartments provide relief from the heat, some become very hot and even dangerous. That’s why some said they spent their days in supermarkets or shopping malls – simply because it was cooler there. However, they stressed that it was a frustrating experience. Walking around the store, unwilling or unable to spend money, was not a form of rest for our participants – it was a survival strategy.

Discussions about climate change most often focus on its impacts on future generations. Your team focused on seniors. What was the reason for choosing this particular group?

Indeed, the dominant narrative still holds the belief that the effects of climate change will only arrive in the future. And in this sense, they will affect future generations. However, our goal was to show that these changes are not a distant prospect but something happening right now and experienced daily – as in the case of the heatwaves we studied. And the consequences are felt most strongly by those particularly vulnerable to heat stress, including seniors. Using a variety of methods, we therefore looked at how older adults cope with heat, how they perceive it, how they respond and how they adapt.

What methods were used?

The project employed an interdisciplinary approach, combining climate and epidemiological modelling – used to analyse the impact of heat on older people’s health – with quantitative and qualitative social research conducted in Warsaw and Madrid.

One of the main components was the so-called “thermal survey,” i.e. a research process that included a representative group of over a thousand older residents in each city. It combined questionnaires with temperature measurements. At the same time, we carried out qualitative research using ethnographic methods, also combined with temperature measurements, as well as focus group interviews and participatory workshops. Based on the ethnographic research conducted in Madrid, we also produced a film titled “The Wave”, featuring participants in the research.

Our aim was to combine so-called objective data, such as temperature readings, with the subjective experiences and perceptions of older adults. This allowed us to create a multidimensional picture of everyday life under increasingly intense heat.

Zofia Boni, credit: M. Łepecki/NCNZofia Boni, credit: M. Łepecki/NCN Intuitively, one might assume that residents of Madrid are better adapted to heat than those in Warsaw simply because they’ve had more time to get used to higher temperatures.

That was one of our hypotheses and the reason we chose to compare Warsaw, a city where residents have historically dealt more with cold, with Madrid, which is culturally more accustomed to heat. Our findings partially confirmed that intuition. Older adults living in Madrid tend to be more aware of how heat affects their bodies and health, and they’re better at recognising the moment when action is needed to avoid overheating. The differences are visible both in individual practices and in urban infrastructure.

But even if temperatures in Warsaw are objectively lower than in Madrid, Warsaw residents may find them more difficult to cope with. Our bodies, homes and entire cities are not adapted to prolonged heat. That’s why, paradoxically, dealing with 35°C in Madrid may be easier than 25°C in Warsaw.

That doesn’t mean, however, that heat isn’t a serious issue for older adults in Madrid – quite the opposite. Temperatures there are also rising, increasingly reaching 40°C in the summer. So, despite a certain level of acclimatisation, the problem is very much felt there as well.

Housing in the south is better suited to hot summers, so perhaps at least it doesn't become as much of a trap for seniors?

Construction methods have been adapted to high temperatures for decades: light-coloured facades, shutters – all designed to keep interiors at least a bit cooler. In Madrid, far more people have air conditioning than in Warsaw, but many use it very sparingly. Because of high energy costs, many people turn the air conditioning on for just 10–15 minutes to slightly cool the room – and then immediately turn it off. They simply cannot afford to use it more.

We’re talking about heatwaves, even though this summer in Warsaw hasn’t been particularly hot – a fact often used by those who question the existence of climate change. Have you also come across such attitudes among seniors during your research?

There are studies we referred to that suggest those most affected by the impacts of climate change are also more aware of its existence. Island communities are often cited here and indeed, in many cases, this awareness is high there. At the same time, however, there is often a lack of understanding that the extreme weather events we’re experiencing – such as heatwaves, wildfires, heavy rainfall and the resulting floods – are consequences of human-induced climate change.

What surprised us was the high level of awareness among our respondents. In both Warsaw and Madrid, older adults clearly understood that what they were experiencing was connected to climate change. In Warsaw, 71% of respondents in the thermal survey said that climate change affects their daily lives, and as many as 95% linked the increasing frequency and intensity of heatwaves to this phenomenon.

My impression is that this group – the elderly – recognised the seriousness of the situation earlier than others. This awareness stems from both their specific physiological and social vulnerability. We began this research in 2020, i.e. five years ago. Since then, a lot has changed – both in terms of rising temperatures and the way heatwaves are talked about today. The topic has clearly gained importance, and awareness of the risks associated with extreme heat has grown significantly.

Participants in our research said that even a few years ago, they anticipated that heat would become an increasing challenge for them, and they took concrete steps in response: some bought garden plots as a place to retreat, while others invested in simple things like electric fans.

Groups particularly vulnerable to heat stress, source: EmCliCGroups particularly vulnerable to heat stress, source: EmCliC We are talking about individual solutions. And how should cities prepare to make life easier for seniors?

We explored this question during participatory workshops held this year as part of the Science and Society initiative. We were interested in what, from the perspective of older adults, should change in urban adaptation policies.

Participants shared very specific ideas. They pointed out that Warsaw lacks easy access to drinking water: fountains are scarce, hard to find, and often it’s unclear whether they’re even working. Many also mentioned the lack of shade in public spaces – even in parks, benches are often fully exposed to the sun, and reaching them, especially in the heat, can be difficult. One idea they came up with was to open cooling centres – which, as it turns out, were indeed launched in Warsaw this summer. But they also emphasised that, for many seniors, getting to these locations might be impossible – either because they’re too far away or require crossing overheated intersections and waiting at unshaded bus stops.

A particularly interesting idea was the so-called “cooling day camps”; that is, organised day trips outside the city to give older adults a break from the urban heat. There was also a proposal for municipal subsidies to help customise homes to rising temperatures; for example, funding for installing awnings or shutters that improve comfort during hot days. These suggestions became a starting point for further discussions with experts and city officials.

Do city officials understand and support these proposals?

Many adaptation measures are highly individual. The responsibility for coping with the heat largely falls on individuals, and social and economic factors play a huge role here – not everyone can afford to leave the city or install and use air conditioning.

But it is clear that the city is taking measures to mitigate the effects of high temperatures. One example is the introduction of “cooling spots,” opened for the first time this year – there are nearly 150 of these across Warsaw. These are public spaces where people can escape the heat and rest. There are also more and more drinking fountains being installed. However, communication remains a challenge – although maps showing the locations of cooling spots and water fountains exist, many seniors simply don’t know these resources are available or where to find them. Beyond the solutions themselves, we need better information and outreach to ensure this knowledge reaches those who need it most.

Systemic solutions that are accessible to all are crucial. Only such widespread and public measures can truly support those most vulnerable to heat stress. Adapting to heatwaves shouldn’t be just a private matter for each individual, but a part of urban policy, collective responsibility and climate justice.

Not everyone can afford to install or heavily use air conditioning – as we saw with the seniors in Madrid.

Air-conditioning is actually an example of so-called maladaptation, i.e. measures that seem helpful but may worsen the situation in the long run. Individual air conditioning does provide relief by cooling homes and improving thermal comfort, but it also carries negative consequences. These are not only health-related, as the body becomes less accustomed to high temperatures, but also environmental. Widespread use of air conditioners in cities increases the urban heat island effect and raises city temperatures and is also associated with increased consumption of fossil fuel energy.

So, while we improve conditions locally, we may simultaneously be making things worse for others. It’s important to talk about this because it highlights how uneven climate adaptation can be. We could end up with a situation where some people live in air-conditioned homes, work in air-conditioned offices, and drive air-conditioned cars, while others, without access to such solutions, experience the increasing impacts of heatwaves. This social dimension of adaptation and issues of climate justice are crucial to keep in mind.

Project “Experiencing Climate Change: A Transdisciplinary Research of Urban Overheating” (EmCliC) led by the team of Dr Zofia Boni, was funded by Norwegian and EEA grants through the IdeaLab competition. With additional support from the Science and Society programme, the team expanded their work to include social initiatives.

Together with senior women and men – those especially vulnerable to the effects of overheating – the researchers prepared a document that diagnoses the challenges posed by heatwaves in Warsaw, along with proposed solutions to help improve adaptation.

Science and Society is a programme aimed at involving the public in the research process – from posing questions to developing solutions and sharing results. NCN invited eleven Polish-Norwegian teams that had previously conducted projects under the GRIEG or IdeaLab competitions to participate. A database of all initiatives carried out within the programme will be published on our website soon.

Previous interviews with researchers about their work have been published in the #rozmowaNCN series.

Tohoku University International Award for Professor Tomasz Dietl

Fri, 08/01/2025 - 15:30
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Prof. Tomasz Dietl, President of the NCN Council has received the Tohoku University International Award – Special Award. The award ceremony will be held during the Tohoku University’s Homecoming Day in October.

Prof. Dietl is a globally respected theoretical physicist known for his work in spintronics and topological materials. His paper published in Science in 2000, which proposed a theory for the ferromagnetism of diluted magnetic semiconductors, is the most cited paper ever published from Tohoku University. He has played a vital role in developing the university’s spintronics research. From 1999, he served as a professor at the Research Institute of Electrical Communication, and from 2012 to 2023, he was a principal investigator at the Advanced Institute for Materials Research (AIMR). In education, he has also been deeply involved in the GP-Spin international graduate program at Tohoku, mentoring many doctoral students.

Prof. Tomasz Dietl during the NCN Days in Rzeszów, photo by Łukasz BeraProf. Tomasz Dietl during the NCN Days in Rzeszów, photo by Łukasz Bera Tomasz Dietl has been affiliated with the Institute of Physics of the Polish Academy of Sciences, where he earned his habilitation and was appointed as a professor. He was the founder and head of the Laboratory for Cryogenic and Spintronic Studies and head of the International Center for Interfacing Magnetism and Superconductivity with Topological Matter (MagTop) funded by the Foundation for Polish Science. Prof. Dietl gained professional experience during his postdoctoral fellowships at École Polytechnique in Paris and at the Technical University of Munich. He has also worked as a visiting professor at Johannes Kepler University in Linz, the University of Grenoble, Tohoku University in Sendai, and the University of Orsay. He was a full professor at the Institute of Theoretical Physics at the University of Warsaw (2004-2016).

Tomasz Dietl has received the Maria Skłodowska-Curie Award in Poland (1997), the Alexander von Humboldt Research Award in Germany (2003), the Agilent Technologies European Physical Prize in 2005 (together with David D. Awschalom and Hideo Ohno) for “pioneering work that paved the way for semiconductor spintronics.” He was also honored with the prize of the Foundation for Polish Science (2006), Marian Smoluchowski Medal of the Polish Physical Society (2010), and Commander’s Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta (2013).

Tohoku University, located in the city of Sendai in Miyagi Prefecture, is one of Japan’s leading and most prestigious national universities in Japan. Prof. Dietl’s connection to Tohoku University dates back to the 1990s. The Tohoku University International Award, established in 2022, is presented to individuals affiliated with the university who have made significant contributions to enhancing its international visibility through their global activities.

Grants for Early Career Researchers Awarded

Wed, 07/30/2025 - 14:43
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We are pleased to present the results of SONATINA 9 under which funding for employment in research institutions, research projects and foreign fellowships was awarded to 50 early-career researchers.

SONATINA is an opportunity for PhD holders who wish to develop their research career and gain experience as principal investigators. This edition of the call was open to researchers whose PhD degree was conferred between 1 January 2022 - 31 December 2024, and researchers without a PhD degree who have committed to obtaining it by 30 June.

wyniki SONATINA 9wyniki SONATINA 9 The winning applicants will be awarded funding for full-time employment at Polish research institutions (different from the ones from which they have earned their PhD degree) for a period of either 24 or 36 months, and for research, i.e. remuneration for co-investigators (the so-called additional remuneration), purchase of materials and small equipment, outsourced services, business trips, visits and consultations, etc.. They will also be required to complete 3- to 6 month-long fellowships at foreign research institutions.

The nineth edition of SONATINA attracted 249 proposals which were evaluated by Expert Teams under three research domains: Humanities, Social Sciences and Art Sciences (HS), Physical Sciences and Engineering (ST), and Life Sciences (NZ). Proposals submitted to SONATINA are typically evaluated in two stages, like in most other NCN calls, except that the second stage includes an interview with the principal investigator held on the NCN premises.

50 researchers will have their basic or applied research funded, including 15 representatives of Humanities, Social Sciences and Art Sciences, 22 representatives of Physical Sciences and Engineering, and 13 representatives of Life Sciences. The total funding of over 44.7 million PLN was awarded and the success rate was 20.08%.

Awarded Research

Dr Łucja Doradzińska from the Jagiellonian University is a winning applicant representing Humanities, Social Sciences and Art Sciences. She will perform the project “Do we see what we expect or what we want to see? Mutual impact of expectations and endogenous attention on visual awareness,” under which she will study brain activity that makes us aware of the surrounding environment, formed through the external stimuli. Her main focus will be on identifying the mechanisms by which attention and expectations mutually influence subjective awareness.

Dr Honorata Sroka from the Institute of Literary Research, Polish Academy of Sciences will pursue the project on avant-garde archives in Central and Eastern Europe. She will investigate archival practices of the neo-avant-garde and define the term “avant-garde archive”, by tracing unconventional approaches to legacy recording during the 1960s and 1970s.

Dr Eng Matt Hepburn, a winning applicant representing Physical Sciences and Engineering, will carry out a SONATINA project at the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń. Alongside his research team, he will investigate the cancerous tissue detection method that could be helpful in treatment of early-stage breast cancer, i.e. breast-conserving surgery, in which the tumour is removed while preserving as much healthy breast tissue as possible. There is currently no tool in breast cancer surgery allowing surgeons to identify and remove all cancerous tissue at surgery. Tumours are taken out with a margin of surrounding healthy tissue and, as a result, many patients require a second operation. In this context, optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a promising high-resolution imaging technique although it is too slow for real-time use during surgery. The research team headed by Dr Hepburn will aim to develop a new and improved dOCT system.

Dr Dominika Łuców from the Stanisław Leszczycki Institute of Geography and Spatial Organization, Polish Academy of Sciences will study testate amoebae that inhabit lakes and peatlands and are very sensitive to changes in the environment, which makes them excellent indicator species used in, inter alia, palaeoecological reconstructions. Dr Łuców will perform biodiversity assessment and potential use of freshwater testate amoebae for environmental reconstruction in the agricultural region of Central Europe, in particular to monitor eutrophication of lakes.

Dr Aleksandra Tempes from the University of Warsaw is among the winners representing Life Sciences. She will study the phenomenon of neonatal epilepsy, which is a severe neurological disorder caused by neonatal encephalopathy - brain damage caused by a reduction in oxygen partial pressure in the blood. Epilepsy may be genetically determined. As part of an international collaboration with scientists from Canada, Dr Tempes participated in the discovery of a new mutation in a child suffering from neonatal epilepsy. The SONATINA grant will let her analyse how the newly discovered mutation affects neuronal function and what mechanisms underlie its association with epilepsy.

Another SONATINA project will be carried out by Dr Michał Pierański from the Gdańsk University of Technology. His research studies focus on Antimicrobial PhotoDynamic Inactivation (aPDI), a promising therapy which provides an alternative solution for antibiotic resistance in bacteria. A research group headed by Dr Pierański has recently investigated the development of tolerance to aPDI in Streptococcus Agalactiae, a leading source of invasive infections in newborns, but recently also in pregnant women, the elderly and immune-compromised patients. During their recent studies, scientists have observed tolerance development to aPDI in Streptococcus Agalactiae. Under his SONATINA project, Dr Pierański will investigate which genes are necessary for the development of tolerance to ROS produced by a PDI.

During nine completed SONATINA calls, the total funding of nearly PLN 279 million was awarded to 375 early-career researchers. The list of SONATINA projects funded by the NCN and abstracts for the general public are available on the NCN website under Projects funded by the NCN.

SONATINA 9 Ranking Lists

SONATINA 9 Call Text

Results of MINIATURA 9 for April Proposals

Wed, 07/23/2025 - 09:00
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We have just published the third ranking list of research activities recommended for funding under MINIATURA 9. Nearly PLN 2.9 million in grants will support 74 researchers.

Funding of research activities under MINIATURA 9 may be requested by researches who are not former winners of NCN calls, were awarded their PhD after 1 January 2013 and whose scientific achievements include at least one paper published or at least one artistic achievement or achievement in research in art. Basic research activities must must be carried out in the form of preliminary studies, library and archive searches or research visits and must be completed within 12 months. The total budget ranges from PLN 5 to 50 thousand zlotys.

AI in Humanities 

26 research activities were awarded funding in Humanities, Social Sciences and Art Sciences. The winning researchers addressed a variety of topics, including impact of artificial intelligence on various areas of life and research domains. Dr Sebastian Zieliński from the Warsaw University of Technology will perform a library and archive search regarding the legal aspects of the application of artificial intelligence systems in internal investigations, while Dr Dominik Horodyski from SWPS University will seek to map institutional practices and procedural challenges of artificial intelligence in investor–state arbitration as part of his preliminary studies, and library and archive search. Dr Paweł Aleksandrowicz from the Maria Curie-Skłodowska in Lublin will aim to discover how viewers receive film subtitles, comparing AI translation with human translation and post-edited translation.

Neurodegenerative Diseases and Neuropsychiatric Disorders

22 research activities in Life Sciences were recommended for funding. Most of them address medical issues such as therapy improvement, enhancing patients’ quality of life and studying the development of various diseases, including neurodegenerative diseases and neuropsychiatric disorders. Dr Wojciech Krzeptowski from the Maj Institute of Pharmacology Polish Academy of Sciences will study cytoplasmic RNA G-quadruplexes in Alzheimer's disease using neurons derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs). Dr Kinga Sałaciak from the Jagiellonian University in Krakow will carry out preliminary studies targeting D2 receptor signalling pathways in mice as a chance to improve cognitive plasticity in neuropsychiatric disorders, and Dr Krzysztof Szymoński from the Jagiellonian University will map environmental influences on neurodegeneration.

Enhanced Building Technologies

In Physical Sciences and Engineering, 26 research activities were recommended for funding, including activities addressing the impact of basic research on the future and enhanced building technologies. Dr Magdalena Małecka from the Silesian University of Technology will study new paints with advanced nanocarbon-based materials to be used in building conservation as part of her preliminary studies, while Dr hab. Hanna Koshlak from the z Kielce University of Technology will perform pilot studies exploring the possibility of integrating photovoltaics with electrically heated windows to enhance building energy efficiency.

List of research activities recommended for funding under MINIATURA 9

MINIATURA 9 Ranking List No 3 (.pdf)

Statistics 

Funding by discipline:

  • Humanities, Social Sciences and Art Sciences: 26 research activities with a value of PLN 705,641
  • Physical Sciences and Engineering: 26 research activities with a value of PLN 1,129,788
  • Life Sciences: 22 research activities with a value of PLN 1,052,927

Total funding: PLN 2,888,356.

Final Opportunity to Submit Proposals 

Proposals can be submitted to MINIATURA 9 by the end of July, 4 pm. Take advantage of the last days of the call and apply.

The evaluation of proposals performed by the experts appointed by the NCN Council will focus on the scientific achievements of investigators performing research activities, scientific quality, feasibility and potential impact of the research activity on the development of the discipline, justification of the research activity, justification of the project costs with regard to the subject and scope of the research activity, and development of proposals.

The MINIATURA 9 budget of PLN 20 million is divided in proportion to the number of months of the call for proposals, from February to July. Funding can only be awarded to proposals that are recommended by experts and fit within the monthly allocated pool.

Joint Polish and Austrian Project Awarded under Weave-UNISONO

Wed, 07/16/2025 - 11:41
Kod CSS i JS

Polish and Austrian researchers headed by Dr hab. Mikołaj Korzyński from the Center for Theoretical Physics of the Polish Academy of Sciences will study electromagnetic and gravitational waves.

The project “Lensing of electromagnetic and gravitational waves” aims to help us understand how waves emitted by distant astronomical objects that are the main source of information about the Universe available for astronomers, travel through the spacetime. The researchers will advance the theory of their propagation through curved spacetimes and will study two examples of astrophysical wave sources: a supermassive black hole and strongly lensed galaxy. They will address the question if it is possible to detect transverse motions of such objects and gravitational lenses by monitoring their precise positions over a 10-year period.

Austrian researchers will be headed by Marius Adrian Oancea from the Vienna University and the Polish project budget will be nearly 1.5 million zlotys. The proposal was evaluated by the Austrian Science Fund, and the evaluation results were accepted by the National Science Centre under the Weave collaboration.

Weave-UNISONO and Lead Agency Procedure (LAP)

The Weave programme builds on the multilateral international cooperation between the research funding agencies associated in Science Europe and aims at simplifying the submission and selection procedures of research proposals in all academic disciplines involving researchers from two or three European countries.

The winning projects are selected pursuant to the Lead Agency Procedure which means that only one partner institution performs the merit-based evaluation, while the other partners must accept the evaluation results.

Under the Weave programme, partner research teams apply for parallel funding of their projects to the Lead Agency and their respective research funding institutions participating in the Weave programme. Joint projects must include a coherent research program with the added value of the international cooperation clearly defined.

The Weave-UNISONO call is carried out on an ongoing basis. Research teams intending to cooperate with partners from Austria, Czechia, Slovenia, Switzerland, Germany, Luxemburg and Belgium-Flanders, are encouraged to read the call text and apply.

Autumn Launch of OPUS 30+LAP/Weave

Mon, 07/14/2025 - 09:30
Kod CSS i JS

15 September 2025, the OPUS 30+LAP/Weave call for research projects will be launched. The autumn edition of the OPUS call will include proposals for research projects carried out in international collaboration pursuant to the Lead Agency Procedure (LAP) under the Weave programme. 

OPUS 30 LAP collaboration under the Weave programme

In 2025, the National Science Centre has cooperated with:

  • the Austrian Science Fund (FWF),
  • the Czech Science Foundation (GAČR ),
  • the Slovenian Research and Innovation Agency (ARIS),
  • the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF),
  • the German Research Foundation  (DFG),
  • the Luxembourg National Research Fund (FNR), and
  • the Research Foundation – Flanders (FWO) from Belgium-Flanders.

The NCN as the lead agency under OPUS 30 will perform a merit-based evaluation of OPUS LAP funding proposals for research projects carried out in bilateral or trilateral cooperation by research teams from Poland, Austria, Czechia, Germany, Slovenia, Switzerland, Luxembourg or Belgium-Flanders under the Weave programme. If a project is recommended for funding, the NCN will finance Polish research teams, while foreign research teams will be funded by foreign partners.

Proposal Development

The OPUS 30 call is open to OPUS LAP proposals:

  • drafted by Polish research teams in collaboration with foreign research teams pursuant to the OPUS 30 Call Text published on the NCN page on 15 September 2025,
  • in any academic discipline covered by NCN panels,
  • for basic research projects that have not been funded by the NCN or from other sources,
  • involving scientific collaboration based on balanced and complementary contribution of all research teams that seek parallel funding of the projects from their respective research-funding agencies under the Weave programme, which means that the contribution of each team involved in the project is significant and necessary, and their respective tasks complement one another to create a coherent joint research project. OPUS LAP proposals that do not meet that requirement must not be recommended for funding.

Polish research teams submit their OPUS LAP proposals via the OSF submission system. The submission deadline is 15 December 2025, 2 pm. Foreign research teams involved in a project within the framework of Weave cooperation must also submit a funding proposal, including a set of required documents, to its respective research-funding agency, by the date and according to the terms specified thereby. If a partner institution requires applicants to submit a copy of the OPUS LAP proposals to its respective submission system, a complete English language version of the OPUS LAP proposal in PDF format must be generated following submission of the OPUS LAP proposal to the OSF submission system, and sent to the foreign research team. OPUS LAP proposals submitted to the NCN and partner institutions must be identical.  

Geneal Affairs:

Magdalena Dobrzańska-Bzowska

e-mail: Magdalena.Dobrzanska-Bzowska@ncn.gov.pl

(between 9 am and 1 pm)

Scientific Coordinator:

Oskar Wolski

e-mail: Oskar.Wolski@ncn.gov.pl