NCN Days are held once per year, always in a different academic town in Poland. The event consists of two full days of meetings, workshops, panels and lectures, providing scientists and research project administration professionals from all over the region with a rare opportunity to talk to NCN representatives in person and ask everything they want to know about the way in which research projects are funded, carried out and billed at the NCN.
“The NCN is a governmental agency established expressly to support research in Poland, and it is modelled on the best international organizations of this kind. Our guiding idea was to promote our work far and wide and also reach out to various local centres that we could visit. We have already travelled to most voivodeships, and this year, it was time to come to Bydgoszcz,” said Prof. Krzysztof Jóźwiak, NCN Director.
“We are gearing up for two days of inspiration and sharing that will contribute to our future cooperation for the development of research not just in Bydgoszcz, but throughout the whole Kuyavian-Pomeranian region,” emphasised Prof. Marek Adamski, Rector of the Bydgoszcz University of Science and Technology, during the opening session.
“I hope that this event will deliver a boost to research in Bydgoszcz so it will experience even more dynamic growth and attract more grant funds for projects that our local scientists have in the pipeline,” added Iwona Waszkiewicz, Deputy Mayor of Bydgoszcz.
The opening session of NCN Days 2024 featured presentations by three researchers from different universities in Bydgoszcz. Dr hab. Jakub Lipski, from the Kazimierz Wielki University in Bydgoszcz, talked about his research in 18th-century British literature, which he is working on in cooperation with various international teams, thanks to funding from the NCN and similar institutions. In his presentation, Lipski stressed that his research career was crucially advanced by activities that are often seen as rather useless, such as attending niche conferences or publishing in non-scored journals. Contrary to all expectations, these seemingly pointless endeavours helped him win grant after grant and expand his research, because they caught the attention of reviewers in various calls.
Dr hab. Barbara Bojko (photo by Łukasz Bera)
Dr hab. Barbara Bojko, Prof. UMK, who represented the Ludwik Rydygier Collegium Medicum in Bydgoszcz (an extension of the Nicolaus Copernicus University), talked about her research career, spanning cities such as Sosnowiec, Toronto and Bydgoszcz, and introduced the audience to solid phase microextraction, a unique diagnostic technique that is minimally invasive and very easy to use. SPME makes it possible to analyse biological material without physical tissue sampling and preparation, which means it can be used for brain cancer testing and organ graft quality assessment in the peri-transplant period. “For my team, the funding we got from the NCN provided a safe cushion that allowed us to pursue our research in Bydgoszcz, but also served as a springboard for future projects, research, and industrial cooperation”, emphasised Prof. Bojko.
Another scientist to talk about his research at the opening session of the NCN Days was Prof. Dr hab. n. med. Marek Harat from the Bydgoszcz University of Science and Technology, who delivered a presentation entitled “Hot research problems in neurosurgery: deep brain stimulation and improvements in the treatment of gliomas. My personal experience”. The scientist recounted how he first entered the field of functional neurosurgery interventions and how he established and developed a pioneering surgery centre in Bydgoszcz, which now treats conditions such as Parkinson’s disease, obsessive-compulsive disorder, depression, eating disorders (including obesity), cerebral palsy and aggressive and self-destructive behaviour disorders.
Stream: NCN Days 2024 opening session
In the afternoon, during a session entitled “Tip Time”, members of the NCN Council, supported by Discipline Coordinators responsible for NCN grant calls, shared their advice, explaining what kind of research can be founded at the NCN and what the procedure looks like, what to pay attention to when preparing a research proposal, and described the proposal review and selection process.
This has followed by a discussion panel “NCN grants: application, evaluation, implementation - is it worth it?”, during which NCN representatives and Bydgoszcz scientists discussed the funding opportunities currently available to Polish researchers, especially in the context of the difficult budget situation at the National Science Centre.
“If you are up for an exciting research adventure and ready to go all
Panel discussion: NCN grants: application, evaluation, implementation - is it worth it? (photo by Łukasz Bera)
the way from student or PhD candidate to independent researcher, the answer to the question is simple: you need to apply for grants, regardless of what the broader financial landscape in Polish research is like”, emphasised Prof. Robert Hasterok, President of the NCN Council. Prof. Krzysztof Jóźwiak, NCN Director, added that it now seems that, with the additional resources the NCN has recently received from the Ministry of Science and Higher Education, the situation is beginning to improve and success rates are expected to increase.
During the panel, the role of grants in research development, the conditions for research in Poland, and the current challenges faced by the grant system were also addressed by Dr hab. inż. Łukasz Skowroński, Deputy Rector for Research and Evaluation of the Bydgoszcz University of Science and Technology, Dr hab. inż. Aleksandra Dunisławska, member of the Polish Young Academy, and Prof. Dr hab. Jarosław Burczyk, Deputy Rector for Research of the Kazimierz Wielki University in Bydgoszcz.
“The best place for young researchers to be is in teams working on research projects that offer scholarships for students and PhD students. Grants will enable them to take part in academic conferences outside their home institution, which are crucial for career growth, allowing them to make their name known, present their work and, most importantly, meet the broader research community”, emphasised Prof. Aleksandra Dunisławska.
The panel was moderated by Anna Korzekwa-Józefowicz, the Communication Representative of the NCN Director. The panel debate concluded with a Q&A with the audience. Panellists discussed issues such as the principles of the review process in NCN calls and the grant-supported projects carried out by visual art scholars.
The meeting wrapped up with a quiz about the National Science Centre. The winner answered all the questions correctly in a little over 1 minute, winning the main prize: an invitation to the NCN Awards ceremony, which will take place in Kraków in October. After the session, researchers could hold individual consultations with NCN representatives in charge of proposals and projects, as well as those responsible for international cooperation.
Stream: "Tip Time"
The second NCN Day started with a meeting between the NCN Council and Director and representatives from voivodeship authorities and the local research community, including university rectors and their deputies, as well as directors of research institutions from all over the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship. Participants discussed the NCN call portfolio, the funding opportunities available under the current budget, NCN call documentation and different research record assessment criteria. Other topics included the practical aspects of grant spending under NCN projects conducted in the public procurement mode.
Peer review workshop during NCN Days 2024 in Bydgoszcz (photo by Łukasz Bera)
16 May was a day devoted to workshops. Researchers planning to submit their proposals in NCN calls could take part in a mock peer review workshop, during which they took on the role of experts and looked at real-world examples of proposals, whose authors agreed to their use for training purposes, to understand what a good proposal looks like, as opposed to a proposal that would get a low score in the review process. The agenda also included the usual workshop for research support professionals who work in research or administration departments. NCN professionals in charge of proposals at the institution explained the ins and outs of funding agreements, project execution, and billing. The third workshop type, which used an innovative formula that combined case studies and role plays, focused on Data Management Plans and was targeted at researchers, research support teams and data stewards.
All the events held during NCN Days 2024 on 15-16 May were hosted by the Bydgoszcz University of Science and Technology at its campus in Bydgoszcz-Fordon.
The event was initiated by the Mayor of Bydgoszcz, hosted by the Technical University of Bydgoszcz, and co-organised by the Kazimierz Wielki University in Bydgoszcz, the Ludwik Rydygier Collegium Medicum in Bydgoszcz (an extension of the Nicolaus Copernicus University), the Feliks Nowowiejski Academy of Music, the Kujawy and Pomorze University in Bydgoszcz, the University of Bydgoszcz, the University of Economy of Bydgoszcz, the College of Health Sciences in Bydgoszcz, the WSB Merito Bydgoszcz University, and the Rother’s Mills Centre for Science and Culture.
Stream: 2024 NCN Days in Bydgoszcz (opening session)
Stream: "Tip Time" (panel)
2024 NCN Days in Bydgoszcz (agenda)
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