On May 18-20 the National Science Centre hosted an international Expert Panel evaluating proposals in ERA-NET Smart Urban Futures (ENSUF) call for proposals. The Expert Panel was followed by a meeting of representatives of funding organisations from countries participating in this programme.

The ENSUF call, launched in December 2015, targeted the following topics:

• Concepts and strategies for smart urban transformation, growth and shrinkage;
• New dynamics of public services;
• Inclusive, accessible and vibrant urban communities.

In the first phase of the call for proposals 187 international pre-proposals were submitted. Applicants, whose projects were selected by the panel for the second stage, will be invited to submit full proposals. The deadline for full proposals is scheduled for the 20th September 2016, 12:00 CET.

ERA-NET Smart Urban Futures (ENSUF), established by JPI Urban Europe, is an initiative of 25 organisations from 18 European countries, whose aim is to finance international, interdisciplinary research projects that respond to the challenges of modern cities and urban areas. The network supports research involving researchers, as well as innovators, practitioners, representatives of civil society, NGOs, municipalities, urban utilities and other stakeholders.

POLONEZ 2 info chat in English will start today, the 23^rd May at 2 pm CET at: https://ncngovpl.clickwebinar.com/polonez.

More information about POLONEZ.

CONTACT:

Beata Krasnopolska

tel. +48 12 341 9091

Agata Mendrek

tel. +48 12 341 9139

polonez@ncn.gov.pl

The National Science Centre is pleased to present list of projects qualified for funding in NCN POLONEZ 1 call for proposals.

POLONEZ 1 ranking list

We are pleased to invite researchers interested in applying for the POLONEZ 2 fellowship for a web chat in English, that will be held on the 23^rd May 2016 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. During the chat we would be happy to answer all questions regarding the call documentation, the submission system, etc.

All technical details regarding access to the chat will be announced on the NCN website on Monday, the 23^rd of May 2016 by 12 pm. We strongly encourage applicants to read the call documentation before joining the chat.

Please read the technical instructions regarding the web chat.

Technical instructions for the POLONEZ 2 info chat

1. You do not have to register to participate in the web chat. Please provide your name and e-mail address in order to join the chat.
2. The language of the web chat interface is determined by your IP-address. If the language of the web chat is other than English, please click on the flag in the upper right corner of the login window and then switch it to English (print screen 1).
3. To participate in the web chat please install the latest Adobe Flash Player plug-in. In order to check the validation of the connection and the compatibility of Adobe flash player please go to the web-chat, give your name and e-mail address and click “Enter”. If you pass the test positively, you will see a brief instruction regarding the web chat. When the web chat becomes active (23^rd  May, 2 p.m.), you will see the correct chat window. If you have an older version of the plug-in, you will receive an appropriate message to update your Adobe flash player plug-in.
4. In order to maximize the font during the web chat, please click on “gear” icon, then click on “font” and choose the right size, e.g. 14 pt (print screen 2).
5. If you have problems with the connection, please note that the web chat platform uses the port 1935 and the RTMP protocol which must be unblocked in your “firewall”.

The National Science Centre is pleased to present list of projects qualified for funding in NCN calls:

• OPUS 10 – for a wide range of applicants. The research proposal submitted under this scheme may include the purchase or construction of research equipment.
• PRELUDIUM 10 – for pre-doctoral researchers about to embark on their scientific career.
• SONATA 10 – for scientists holding a doctoral degree starting their career in research.

Funding scheme

We are pleased to announce that the international project SELENIUS: Selenium in early life to enhance neurodevelopment in unfavourable settings, involving a Polish research team led by dr hab. Kinga Polańska from the Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine in Lodz has been awarded funding in the JPI HDHL Intestinal Microbiomics call for proposals.

Researchers from France, Germany, Italy, Poland and the UK will investigate the effect of  selenium (Se) levels in fetal life on neurobehavioral development. During pregnancy and the rapid growth and development of the fetus, demand for trace elements, including selenium, is particularly high. Existing research suggests that as pregnancy progresses, the concentration of Se significantly reduces and is the lowest at delivery. Selenium deficiency may contribute to shortening the duration of pregnancy and lowering the birth weight, whereas appropriate levels may favourably affect child psychomotor development.

The project will involve not only animal studies, but also the analysis of data from the Polish Mother and Child Cohort Study (REPRO_PL) and other existing birth cohorts in Europe. The researchers will strive to determine the favourable effects of trace elements on the psychomotor development of children with the adverse influence of environmental factors, including exposure to heavy metals. Achievement of the project objectives will speed up expanding knowledge regarding the combined effect of the selected nutrients on psychomotor development and will have strong implications for public health and the design of nutraceutical interventions  for pregnant women and women planning their pregnancy as well as young mothers.

CHIST-ERA invites researchers interested in the field of Information and Communication Sciences & Technologies to the CHIST-ERA Conference 2016, which will take place on the 8^th -10^th of June, 2016, in Vienna.

The CHIST-ERA Conference 2016 brings together scientists working in these research areas and CHIST-ERA representatives to refine the topics contour and scope of the Call 2016.

• Lifelong Learning for Intelligent Systems,
• Visual Analytics for Decision-Making under Uncertainty;

Participation in the conference is free; travel and accommodation costs have to be covered by the participant.

More information: http://conference2016.chistera.eu/

Contact:

Stefan Muelbachler, David Miksits & Mathieu Girerd

Sylwia Kostka: sylwia.kostka@ncn.gov.pl

We would like to inform all researchers interested in applying for POLONEZ 2 fellowship that the OSF electronic submission system is now open. The deadline for submitting applications is 15^th June 2016.Please see also:

1. POLONEZ 2 Guidelines for Applicants
2. POLONEZ 2 Instructions on submitting the proposal
3. POLONEZ 2 Partner Search Tool

For more information please see: www.ncn.gov.pl/en/polonez  

We are pleased to invite all researchers to submit proposals under ERA-CAPS call in Molecular Plant Sciences, which will be opened on June 23^rd, 2016. The deadline for submitting pre-proposals is scheduled for September 28^th, 2016.

The call will include the following topics:

• Food and Nutrition Security,
• non-food crops,
• adaptation to a changing climate,
• biotic/abiotic stressses.

A consortium should minimally include 3 partners from 3 different countries, at least 2 of them being participating ERA-CAPS partners. The expected duration of projects will be three years.

Countries participating in the call: Belgium, Germany, Poland, Portugal (tbc), Serbia, Switzerland, the UK and the USA.

Applicants are also invited to use a web-based Search for collaboration tool, in order to search partner(s) and apply under ERA-CAPS call.

More information

Contact:

dr Magdalena Kowalczyk, tel.  +48 12 341 9160,

dr Malwina Gębalska, tel. +48 12 341 9017.

We are pleased to announce that Grzegorz Pietrzyński, a professor of astronomy from the University of Warsaw, has received an Advanced Grant for the project “A sub-percent distance scale from binaries and Cepheids”. His research aims to measure the Hubble Constant within 1% accuracy.

Professor Pietrzyński has also been awarded funding under NCN calls for proposals. Within the OPUS grant he is investigating eclipsing clump giants. Thanks to the MAESTRO funding scheme, he strives to explore the possibilities of accurate measurement of cosmic distances. This research will help determine the amount of energy which is emitted by studied objects and show us how the Universe is evolving.

To date, Advanced Grants have been awarded to four researchers from Poland. These prestigious awards were obtained by prof. Tomasz Dietl from the Faculty of Physics, University of Warsaw (2008); prof. Andrzej Udalski from the Astronomical Observatory, University of Warsaw (2009); prof. Ryszard Horodecki, University of Gdańsk (2011). All awardees have also received funding from the NCN.