The National Science Centre (NCN) has announced the results of the Coordination and Capacity Kick-off Call, which aimed to support Polish researchers in building international research teams and developing interdisciplinary project ideas. The published ranking list includes 53 proposals recommended for funding, with a total value of nearly PLN 630,000.

The largest number of grants was awarded in the Humanities, Social Sciences and Art Sciences (HS) and Physical Sciences and Engineering (ST), with 24 proposals funded in each. A further five grants were awarded to proposals representing Life Sciences (NZ). Each successful proposal received funding of PLN 11,879 (EUR 2,800).

Call unlike any other

The Coordination and Capacity Kick-off Call differed from standard NCN funding schemes primarily in its purpose. Instead of funding research activities, it aimed to create opportunities for researchers from Poland and the EEA Grants Donor States (Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein) to jointly plan future research projects.

Grants can be used to cover travel expenses and subsistence costs incurred by principal investigators during their visits to potential partners in the Donor States. When duly justified, funding may also cover visits to Poland by researchers from these countries. These face-to-face meetings are intended to enable researchers to exchange expertise and develop the foundations of future interdisciplinary projects.

The funding and reporting arrangements are also unusual. Each beneficiary will receive the same fixed lump-sum grant. For reporting purposes, beneficiaries will be required to submit an Expression of Interest signed by a representative of an institution from a Donor State. This document must confirm that a meeting has taken place and that cooperation on a project concept has been initiated. Beneficiaries will also be required to prepare an interdisciplinary research project concept.

First step towards LANGSPIL

The C&C Kick-off Call was designed as a preparatory initiative for LANGSPIL, a funding call for international, interdisciplinary basic research projects supported by the EEA Grants 2021–2028.

LANGSPIL will support three-year projects carried out by international research consortia. Particular emphasis will be placed on integrating different scientific disciplines, including the social sciences and humanities, and fostering cooperation with partners outside the academia. Projects are expected to address challenges related to three priorities: the green transition in Europe; democracy, the rule of law and human rights; and social inclusion and societal resilience.

The C&C Kick-off Call aims to help researchers establish cooperation with partners from Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein and jointly develop research concepts that may form the basis of future proposals to LANGSPIL. However, participation in the C&C Kick-off Call does not require beneficiaries to submit a proposal to LANGSPIL, nor does it guarantee funding under that call.

In the 12th episode of the series, we talk to Dr hab Monika Wróbel, psychologist and professor at VISJA University, member of the Scientific Council of the Psychology Section, Polish Academy of Sciences, who studies emotions as social messages. Smile, tears, and crying may seem familiar and intuitive to us, but in different contexts, they can mean something entirely different. Monika Wróbel talks to Anna Korzekwa-Józefowicz about how we interpret emotional expressions, what shapes our perception of them, and why even our strongest beliefs don’t always stand up to scientific scrutiny.

A smile doesn’t always mean the same thing

Emotions can be treated as social messages. We usually associate a smile with warmth and kindness but its meaning depends on who is smiling at whom, and in what situation. A smile can be interpreted quite differently when it occurs in an inappropriate context.

“When a message fits the context, when it is appropriate to the situation, we know that people respond to the expression in line with the meaning we normally associate with it,” says the scientist.

A smile of a person we dislike or distrust is a good example. An expression that would otherwise be affiliative may be interpreted as a sign of domination or even contempt. Interpretation is also influenced by the recipient’s characteristics, the situation, and cultural context.

Tears in relationships 

Tears in romantic relationships are one of Prof. Wróbel’s latest areas of interest, which she is exploring with her doctoral student. The two researchers examine whether people cry in front of their partners and, if so, in what situations. Their research reveals that tears may actually serve far more functions than previously anticipated. Some may may reflect one’s wellbeing and emotional closeness, while others might reveal negative emotions or be manipulative. It turned out, however, that in some situations, our partners use tears to regulate emotions triggered by somebody else. After a hard day at work, we are more prone to cry at home, where we feel safe and can express our emotions openly.

There are also situations when we are concerned about other people or animals, or about what is happening around the world. Our partner is, then, a safe haven where we can express the emotions triggered by someone else’s suffering.

From images to genuine crying 

The methods used to study emotional expressions have changed with the development of psychology. In the past, researchers used static images of people smiling or crying. Over time, dynamic expressions became increasingly important. 

Prof. Wróbel’s team recorded almost 500 videos showing people crying in different ways, both with and without tears. Prof. Wróbel emphasises that those images had limitations because they depicted people pretending to cry. Therefore, the next step is to incorporate spontaneous behaviour into research.

In one of the studies, participants were asked to show what they would look like when crying because they were thinking of something sad and what they would look like when crying to manipulate someone. It turned out that in acted out manipulative crying, they used more behaviours that are easy to imitate, such as wiping their eyes or touching their faces. 

Psychology closer to life 

A much greater emphasis on context is one of the major changes in research on emotional expressions. 

“In the past, participants were merely shown faces against a plain white background, without other people present or information about the individuals’ situation. We now know that this isn’t the way to study emotions,” says Prof. Wróbel.

She highlights the tension between experimental control and real-world relevance. Laboratory settings allow researchers to isolate specific effects more easily, while studies that more closely reflect everyday life introduce greater variability and make results harder to interpret. At the same time, we gain a more complete picture of human behaviour. 

Not everything we know is true 

Psychology often verifies our firm believes. People hold intuitive believes about emotions, relationships, and other people’s behaviour, yet these beliefs can sometimes be contradictory. 

“I sometimes say that psychologists tell us things we think we already know. But people often hold contradictory beliefs, and psychology helps us work out which of them actually hold up. Take the question of whether opposites attract or whether we tend to be drawn to people who are similar to us,” says Prof. Wróbel. She had to verify her own believe that crying at work makes us appear incompetent, while research suggests otherwise. The way emotions are expressed matters. A single, subtle tear can convey genuine emotion while suggesting emotional restraint, without necessarily making a person appear less competent. 

Don’t just cry in private

The widespread belief that we should only cry in private may cause us to miss out on one of the most important social functions of tears. As Professor Wróbel explains, tears are more than a physiological response: they are also a signal we send to others.

The researcher draws on the concept of tears as “social glue”. Crying can communicate our need for help, comfort and support. Research also suggests that the sense of relief we commonly associate with catharsis after a good cry depends on receiving support from others. Crying alone, however, may not bring the same sense of relief.

Selected quotes

How science has changed the way we study emotions

What we now know about expressions, but didn’t know before, is precisely the role of context. In the past, participants were merely shown faces against a plain white background, without other people present or information about the individuals’ situation. We now know that this isn’t the way to study emotions, and we’re increasingly careful to make sure that stimuli we use are as contextually rich as possible.

Laboratory research versus real life

I know that laboratory experiments allow us to achieve high accuracy, we can control the influence of different variables, and isolate the effect we can study. But we can now see that when we start using, for example, videos of people genuinely crying, there’s much more noise in the data. The effects are harder to interpret and are often less stable. However, the picture of what we know is becoming more complete.

Tears as social glue

If one is convinced they mustn't cry in front of others, they miss out on the most valuable things tears and crying can do. Our approach, which is also consistent with the work of Ad Vingerhoets, a well-known researcher in the field of crying, is that tears act as a kind of social glue. Tears send a message that we're in a state where we need someone’s help, a hug or someone to stay close to us, or offer a kind word.

It’s OK to cry at work

Another example is something that surprised me personally. I used to believe it myself, and it took psychological research to make me reconsider: the idea that crying, especially at work, makes us appear incompetent. Our research suggests otherwise, as does research conducted by others. But it depends on how you cry at work. A single, subtle tear, even in a setting such as the workplace, doesn't necessarily make us seem less competent. It can reveal our human side.

NCN has strengthened my confidence in myself

I belong to a generation of researchers who used to publish in Polish and assumed that this was how it worked. When I drafted my first NCN grant proposal, I suddenly found myself needing to publish in English. (…) I would not have completed my research without NCN funding. I wouldn't have published the papers that helped me establish the collaborations I have today and contributed to my receiving another grant. So perhaps this sounds a little grandiose or dramatic, but in my case, NCN funding has significantly strengthened my confidence in myself as a scientist.

In late October 2026, the European Partnership Resilient Cultural Heritage will announce its first call for international research projects entitled Foundations for climate-resilient cultural heritage: Assessing and managing impact and risk, dealing with damage and loss.

28 funding organisations from 25 countries have agreed to launch the first Joint Transnational Call (JTC) 2027 for collaborative, innovative research projects to build societal resilience through cultural heritage in Europe and beyond. This first Joint Call is intentionally broad in terms of the range of issues addressed.  

The following sub-themes are included: 

1. Risk and impact assessment and cultural heritage risk preparedness and management
2. Managing the loss and damage of cultural heritage impacted by climate change-induced natural hazards
3. Traditional, local and Indigenous knowledge systems and practices as resources and frameworks for societal resilience in the context of climate change
4. Sustainable governance of the cultural heritage sector

Deadline for pre-proposal submissions: January 11th, 2027 (indicative).

International consortia consisting of at least three research teams from at least three participating countries will be eligible to apply for funding. Applicants must comply with national formal requirements specified by the funding organizations participating in the call. 

Additional information including a list of countries interested in participating in the call is available on the RCH website: European Partnership for Resilient Cultural Heritage | Heritage Research Hub.

This is not an official announcement. Detailed call conditions will be specified in the official announcement of the call.

21 September 2026

The National Science Centre is pleased to invite proposals for funding of Research Components in projects funded by the Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange (“NAWA”).

Proposals will be submitted electronically via the OSF submission system available at https://osf.opi.org.pl pursuant to the proposal submission procedure. By submitting proposals, the Applicants accept the General Terms of the Funding Agreement for a Research Component in projects funded under the TOP200 Weigl NAWA Programme.

The continuous call for proposals will be open from the date the funding decision is issued by NAWA under its TOP200 Weigl Programme until the last proposal is submitted to NCN that contains a Research Component and has been recommended for funding by NAWA under the Programme.

The Council of the National Science Centre has decided to allocate PLN 4,000,000 for Research Components pursued under the TOP200 Weigl Programme.

Please read the documents provided in this Call Text.

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Eligible applicants

Entities Eligible to Perform Research Components

Restrictions on Submitting Proposals to the Call

Topics Covered by the Call

Research Component Duration

Budget Planning

Application for State Aid

Proposal Evaluation Procedure

Eligibility Check

Call results

More information

Useful Information

The English version of this document does not constitute a sworn translation and has been prepared as an auxiliary document for your convenience. In the event of any doubts as to the interpretation of its provisions, the Polish version shall prevail.

The European Partnership on One Health Antimicrobial Resistance (EUP OHAMR) is pleased to pre-announce the Joint Transnational Call (JTC) 2027 – Understand, Model and Stop AMR Transmission, which will open on 18 November 2026. The call is co-funded by the European Union.

With an estimated total budget of €28 million, the EUP OHAMR Joint Transnational Call 2027 will bring together 33 funding organisations from 26 countries to support international research collaborations aimed at improving our understanding of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) transmission and developing effective strategies to prevent its emergence and spread across the One Health spectrum.

The call will focus on preventing the emergence and spread of antimicrobial resistance, one of the most pressing global health challenges affecting humans, animals and the environment. Although significant efforts have been made and new technologies have emerged, current approaches remain insufficient to reduce the burden of AMR. A deeper understanding of transmission dynamics is essential to strengthen prevention and control strategies.

Novel and improved measures are urgently required to tackle AMR more effectively, informed by a deeper understanding of the mechanisms driving the emergence, evolution, selection, persistence and transmission of resistance within and between the One Health sectors.

To address these challenges, the JTC 2027 will fund transnational research projects within the following topics:

• Topic 1: Model AMR transmission dynamics to predict the risk of AMR emergence and spread to support decision-making of public authorities.
• Topic 2: Understand and characterise the role of host commensal micro-organisms (including fungi) in AMR dynamics and develop solutions aiming at selective decolonising of resistant organisms in the host (human and animals) to prevent transmission.
• Topic 3: Develop or improve tools and methods to reduce resistant bacteria, fungi, and resistance genes in environmental hotspots, and investigate the impact of these tools and methods on AMR transmission.

Piotr Achinger, Dawid Kobiałka and Paweł Sikorski are the winners of this year’s NCN Award. This most prestigious distinction for early-career researchers was presented at the Wawel Castle on 14 October. 

The awarded researchers work in Warsaw and Łódź. Piotr Achinger is a Professor at the Institute of Mathematics, Polish Academy of Sciences, the biologist Paweł Sikorski is a Professor at the University of Warsaw, and the archaeologist Dr Dawid Kobiałka is based at the University of Lodz. 

Fourteenth NCN Award and first ceremony at Wawel Castle

Since 2013, the NCN Award has been presented to researchers whose work pushes the boundaries of knowledge and makes a significant contribution to the world of science, in recognition of their outstanding basic research projects conducted at Polish research institutions. The winners are selected in three categories: Humanities, Social Sciences and Art Sciences (HS), Physical Sciences and Engineering (ST) and Life Sciences (NZ). This year, for the first time, the Award ceremony was held at the Wawel Castle, marking the fourteenth presentation of the award, and highlighting the celebrations of NCN’s fifteenth anniversary. 

Tying strings in the realm of pure algebra

Piotr Achinger specialises in algebraic geometry. He received the NCN Award for his ground-braking research of algebraic varieties over fields of positive characteristic and non-Archimedean fields. 

 “My field of mathematics reveals surprising connections between seemingly unrelated areas, such as algebra and topology, or number theory and mathematical physics. I seek to describe the shapes of algebraic varieties and their surprising connections with number theory. Fundamental groups lie at the heart of my work. These mathematical objects describe how strings can be tied together in a given space. This is a challenging task because in the realm of pure algebra, strings do not exist, and the spaces we study often resemble clouds of cosmic dust,” he says.

Piotr Achinger has authored a series of eight papers that address classical problems in geometry in a new and more challenging setting. He has demonstrated that a broad class of geometrical objects has a surprisingly simple structure. Before, little was known about the structure of even very simple objects of this kind.  His research refers to the so-called mirror symmetry and explores concepts studied by the Fields Medal Winners Peter Scholze and Pierre Deligne.

His research findings were published in leading research papers and attracted attention of the world’s most distinguished mathematicians. His award nomination provided that “the methods employed in his papers skilfully combine technical algebraic and topological concepts with deep geometrical insight.” Piotr Achinger emphasises that “the purpose of mathematics is not merely to produce theorems but to foster human understanding.”

Since 2025, Piotr Achinger has worked in Warsaw and at the same time at a newly established Department of Mathematics at Kyiv School of Economics.

He was conferred his PhD at the University of California, Berkley, and he earned his habilitation from the Institute of Mathematics, Polish Academy of Sciences. He completed a post-doctoral fellowship at Institut des Hautes Études Scientifiques in France. On numerous occasions, he conducted research at renowned academic institutions in Austria, Germany, United States, Japan and Australia. He has also carried out research project funded by the National Science Centre and by the European Research Council. 

New way of documenting difficult heritage

Dawid Kobiałka was awarded for his interdisciplinary archaeological studies of World War II mass-murder sites. His research studies include forensic archaeology, archaeology of crime, archaeology of the recent past and contemporary armed conflicts, as well as heritage studies, and public and community archaeology.

 He is originally from Chojnice. As a child, he spent a lot of time with his friends at the site he now studies. During the war, it was called the Death Valley. “This site is a landscape of terror, where mass executions were conducted during World War II. Three decades later, I returned to the site as a doctoral researcher together with a group of researchers, volunteers, civic activists and IPN prosecutors, to locate the victims’ remains. The research enabled us to locate the remains of almost 700 victims, 700 Polish citizens, our parents, grandparents and great grandparents,” he says.

Archaeological research conducted in the Death Valley by Dawid Kobiałka’s team contributed to the location of mass graves of victims of crimes committed in 1939 and 1945.

In autumn of 1939, the victims of mass murders in the Gdańsk Pomerania region included people with mental illnesses. Most of their graves were burnt in 1944 during the so-called Aktion 1005. The grave discovered near Chojnice in 2024 was the only one that remained intact. 

In January 1945, more than one hundred Polish prisoners were murdered by the Germans. The recovery of their remains in 2021 was the first such excavation in Poland conducted in accordance with archaeological standards. Some victims were identified.

Dawid Kobiałka’s international research team also studied other places. More remains were found in the Szpęgawski Forest and by the Lake Borówno. In total, the team found, documented and studied the remains of more than one thousand victims of the World War II murders.

The researchers also studied the Lamsdorf camp (Łambinowice), where 60 Italian prisoners died between 1943 and 1944. They were all identified by name. The researchers managed to reach some of their descendants and, at the request of some of them, the remains were transported to Italy.

Dawid Kobiałka’s research has social implications and allows to fully describe the history of land where mass murders were committed during the war and acknowledge the victims who have so far remained in the shadow of Auschwitz. Conversations with witnesses and residents of sites of mass murder combine archaeology with contemporary studies. “We develop the idea of archaeology of mass murders as a multidimensional, multilevel interdisciplinary approach which aims to offer a new way of addressing and documenting the difficult heritage of the World War II. This research has a social, cultural and humanitarian dimension. It is a mission we wish to pursue in the future,” he says.  

Dawid Kobiałka’s research is funded by, among others, the National Science Centre and the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage. Dawid Kobiałka was conferred his PhD in archaeology at the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań. He also worked at the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology, Polish Academy of Sciences. As part of his PhD studies, he received a scholarship from the Swedish Institute at the Linnaeus University in Kalmar.

Understanding RNA’s unique language

Paweł Sikorski received the NCN Award for his research into how cells recognise double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) and convert the signal into a precise biological response. 

 “RNA has been with me through my scientific career. In my research, I try to understand how cells recognise RNA and respond to it. In our laboratory, we study how cellular response is impacted by various features of RNA, such as structure, length, or chemical modifications. We are particularly interested in double-stranded RNA which can be generated during viral infections but can also be produced in our cells. What is important, cells do not respond to each such RNA in the same way. They can recognise RNA features and, on this basis, activate various immune responses. Hence, I try to understand RNA’s unique language and determine which molecular features dictate how cells respond to RNA,” he says.  

Double-stranded RNA alarms cells by activating the innate immune system which is the body’s first line of defence. This response must be carefully regulated, as an overactive immune response can damage cells and contribute to the development of autoimmune diseases. Paweł Sikorski demonstrated that a cellular response depends on certain features of RNA molecules, such as their length, end structures, and chemical modifications. Components of the response can be activated independent of each other. For example, the inflammatory signal may be independent of the inhibition of protein production or RNA degradation. Paweł Sikorski also demonstrated that chemical modifications affect cellular RNA recognition and the activation of the immune response.

His research has potential practical application. RNA properties, such as stability, translation efficiency, and the ability to trigger an immune response, can be precisely controlled. This opens up the possibility of designing RNA molecules with predefined biological and therapeutical parameters. “The knowledge gained through our research not only enhances our understanding of the fundamental mechanisms of cell biology, but also enables us to design RNA-based therapeutics more deliberately,” he underlines.

“What fascinates me most about science is the moment when experimental results make us look at a problem differently than we initially anticipated, when the most interesting questions arise,” he says.

Paweł Sikorski is a professor at the Faculty of Biology at the University of Warsaw and head of the research group of the Laboratory of Epitranscriptomics at the Biological and Chemical Research Centre, University of Warsaw. In 2024, he received the Prime Minister’s Award for his research achievements, which formed the basis for his habilitation. He is a part of the NCN Generation comprising researchers whose careers were launched with NCN grant funding. He carried out his first research project before earning his PhD, and has led five NCN-funded research projects so far. 

NCN Award Ceremony Partner:

Media patronage

On Wednesday, 14 October, the winners of the 2026 NCN Award will be announced during the ceremony at the Wawel Castle. The ceremony will be broadcast live on our YouTube channel, starting at 6:30 p.m. 

The NCN Award is the most prestigious distinction for early-career researchers in Poland. Every year, it is granted to three researchers for their outstanding basic research in three categories: Humanities, Social Sciences and Art Sciences, Physical Sciences and Engineering and Life Sciences. This year, the Award will be presented for the fourteenth time. The Award Chapter composed of the NCN Director and NCN Council members selected the winners from among 102 nominees.

This year, the award will highlight the celebrations of NCN’s fifteenth anniversary and, for the first time, will be held at the Wawel Castle, which is an event partner. The event will be hosted by Dr Łukasz Lamża from the Copernicus Center.

The event will be held under the patronage of Science in Poland (Nauka w Polsce). 

1. Under the Weave-UNISONO call, if a joint proposal is submitted to the SNSF as the lead agency by 1 October 2026, an NCN proposal must be submitted electronically via the OSF submission system as soon as possible following the submission of the joint proposal to the SNSF, by 8 October 2026 at the latest.

2. Once the work on the NCN proposal has started in the OSF submission system, the Polish research team has 45 calendar days to complete the proposal and submit it to the NCN. After that, the proposal can no longer be edited, in which case a Polish research team that has not sent its proposal to the NCN must prepare a new proposal and complete it in the OSF submission system which may impact the budget for research tasks performed by the Polish research teams specified in the NCN proposal (see points 3 and 4 below). 

   The 45-day period applies only to the period during which NCN proposals may be edited in the OSF submission system. Under Weave-UNISONO, NCN proposals must be submitted to the NCN via the OSF submission system as soon as possible following the submission of joint proposals to the lead agency, within 7 calendar days at the latest.

3. NCN proposals processed in the OSF submission system:

   • by 30 September 2026 (inclusive), may include research projects that will be carried out by the Polish research teams from 2027 onwards.

     The following years will be included in the project budget, depending on the project implementation period:

     2027-2028 for two-year projects,

     2027-2028-2029 for three-year projects and

     2027-2028-2029-2030 for four-year projects;

   • from 1 October 2026 (inclusive), may include research projects that will be carried out by the Polish research teams from 2028 onwards.

     The following years will be included in the project budget, depending on the project implementation period:

     2028-2029 for two-year projects,

     2028-2029-2030 for three-year projects and

     2028-2029-2030-2031 for four-year projects.

4. In the case of joint proposals submitted to the lead agencies covering Polish team budgets from 2027 onwards, make sure that:

   • the work on NCN proposals in the OSF submission system starts before 30 September 2026 and
   • NCN proposals are submitted to the NCN within 45 days of the date that the work on the proposal has started in the OSF submission system.

   If the work on NCN proposals in the OSF submission system starts before 30 September 2026, with project performance scheduled beginning in 2027, and the NCN proposal is not completed and submitted within 45 days of the date the work on the proposal has started in the OSF submission system, a new proposal must be created. A new NCN proposal (created after 1 October 2026) may cover research projects with a start date in 2028. If a joint proposal has already been submitted to the lead agency for a research project involving 2027 funding, information in the NCN proposal will be inconsistent with information in the joint proposal and may result in the proposal being rejected on the grounds that it does not meet the eligibility criteria.

5. The budget of the Polish part of the project in the joint proposal should be calculated according to the following exchange rate:
   • In joint proposals, for which NCN proposals are processed and submitted via the OSF submission system by 31 December 2026: 1 EUR=4,2626;
   • In joint proposals, for which NCN proposals are processed and submitted via the OSF submission system from 1 January 2027 onwards: 1 EUR=4,3180 PLN;
6. NCN proposals processed in the OSF submission system in 2026, to which the exchange rate of 1 EUR=4,2626 PLN applies, must be completed and submitted via the OSF submission system by 31 December 2026, 23:59:59. Otherwise, the proposal can no longer be edited, in which case the Polish research team must prepare a new proposal and complete it in the OSF submission system, to which the exchange rate 1 EUR=4,3180 PLN will apply. If a joint proposal has already been submitted to the lead agency, in which the budget of the Polish part of the project was calculated according to another exchange rate, information in the NCN proposal will be inconsistent with information in the joint proposal and may result in the proposal being rejected on the grounds that it does not meet the eligibility criteria.

The National Science Centre (NCN), in cooperation with the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC), plans to launch the fifth edition of the call for research projects carried out by Polish and Chinese research teams.

Under the SHENG 5 call, proposals may be submitted for funding of research projects in selected scientific disciplines:

PLANNED CALL TIMELINE:

• Call announcement: 15 December 2026
• Proposal submission deadline in the OSF system: 15 March 2027
• Proposal submission deadline to NSFC: 15 March 2027
• Announcement of the call results: November 2027
• Earliest project start date: January 2028

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS:

• Proposals must involve basic research and include joint Polish–Chinese research plan. Research equipment or networking activities can only be funded within projects with a basic research focus. Projects consisting solely of the purchase or development of equipment or solely of activities within scientific networks do not meet the funding criteria and will be rejected.
• State aid can be applied for under SHENG 5.
• A person may be indicated as the Principal Investigator in only one proposal submitted in the given edition of the call.
• Under SHENG 5, research projects may be planned for a period of 36 months.
• Entities eligible to apply for NCN funding for the Polish part of the research project must be those specified in Article 27(1) of the Act on the National Science Centre of 30 April 2010 (Journal of Laws of 2026, item 101).
• At the time of submission, the Polish Principal Investigator must be at least PhD holder.
• Project budgets must comply with the cost eligibility rules applicable at NCN and NSFC, respectively.
• A budget limit of PLN 1,000,000 is planned to be introduced for the Polish part of the project.
• The budget of the Chinese part of the project may not exceed RMB 1,500,000.

• In proposals submitted under the SHENG 5 call, no collaboration may be planned between Polish entities and the following Chinese institutions belonging to the group of Seven Sons of National Defence:

  • Beijing Institute of Technology;
  • Harbin Institute of Technology;
  • Beihang University formally known as Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics;
  • Northwestern Polytechnical University;
  • Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics;
  • Nanjing University of Science and Technology;
  • Harbin Engineering University.

  Any planned collaboration with the above-mentioned institutions will result in the proposal being rejected on formal grounds.

PROPOSAL SUBMISSION RULES:

• The core application document will be a Joint Project Description (JPD) prepared in English, which must be submitted in identical versions to both funding agencies.
• Significant differences between the joint Polish-Chinese funding proposals submitted to NCN and NSFC may be rejected on the grounds of ineligibility.

PROPOSAL EVALUATION PROCEDURES:

• Eligibility checks and merit-based evaluations under the SHENG 5 call will be carried out in parallel by NCN and NSFC.
• Only proposals that successfully pass the eligibility check conducted by both NCN and NSFC will be admitted to the merit-based evaluation stage.
• At NCN, proposals admitted to the merit-based evaluation stage will be evaluated in accordance with NCN's evaluation procedures and criteria.
• At NSFC, proposals admitted to the merit-based evaluation stage will be evaluated in accordance with the evaluation procedures and criteria applicable at NSFC.
• Only proposals receiving a positive funding recommendation from both NCN and NSFC will be recommended for funding.

This announcement is for information purposes only. Detailed conditions will be set out in the official call text.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Polish side: NCN

Coordinators:

• Humanities, Social Sciences and Art Sciences: Magdalena Sobas, PhD
• Physical Sciences and Engineering: Joanna Baran PhD

General enquiries:
Jadwiga Spyrka, PhD

Chinese side: NSFC

Mulong DU, PhD

Returning scientists can now submit their funding proposals for research components under TOP200 NAWA call.  

TOP200 NAWA call is an initiative of the Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange (NAWA) aimed to strengthen the potential of Polish science and higher education by attracting outstanding research talent to Poland from universities ranked among the world’s top 200 in the Academic Ranking of World Universities, QS World University Rankings or Times Higher Education World University Rankings.

Due to TOP200 grants, foreign researchers will have the opportunity to take up stable positions at Polish universities and research institutions for a period of 2 to 4 years, enabling them to establish their own research teams and pursue their research. 10 successful applicants were selected in the first pilot edition of the programme. Nine of them will carry out basic research components funded by the National Science Centre. The tenth component will be financed by the National Centre for Research and Development.

CALL TEXT: TOP200 NAWA RESEARCH COMPONENTS  

The NCN call for proposals is open to researchers who have received funding under NAWA TOP200 and whose projects include basic research components positively evaluated by the NAWA review panel. 

Research components can be implemented over the first eighteen months of the project duration. The maximum funding of one research component is PLN 400 thousand. The NCN Council has allocated PLN 4 million for research components under NAWA TOP200. 

Funding proposals must be submitted via the OSF submission system. NCN performs the eligibility check of proposals only, while NAWA is in charge of their merit-based evaluation.