The Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange (NAWA) has announced the results of the 7th edition of the Polish Returns programme. Eleven scientists will come back from abroad, among others from Oxford University and the University of Strasbourg , to carry out research in Poland.
This prestigious NAWA programme creates attractive conditions under which scientists of Polish origin can come back and take up research at Polish scientific and higher education institutions.
The scientists participating in this year’s programme will come from the following countries: USA, Germany, Switzerland, UK, Romania and France. Three have chosen the University of Warsaw and two the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań as the place for their projects. Other scientists participating will also be employed by: Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in Warsaw, Ignacy Łukasiewicz Rzeszów University of Technology, Jagiellonian University, Silesian University of Technology, Institute of Computer Science Basics of the Polish Academy of Sciences and SWPS University in Warsaw.
The scientists will conduct their research in several disciplines, with the majority focusing on materials engineering and physical sciences. In addition to this, funding was given to projects in earth and environmental sciences, biological sciences, history and archaeology, chemical sciences, psychology and general medicine.
One of this year’s beneficiary of the Polish Returns programme is Professor Krzysztof Wieczerzak from the Empa – Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, who chose the Ignacy Łukasiewicz Rzeszów University of Technology as the place for his project.
During the six editions to date, 71 researchers have benefited from the Polish Returns programme. They are carrying out projects at 28 Polish universities and research institutes. Most scientists who have returned to Poland come from Germany, the United Kingdom and the USA. So far, nearly PLN 100 million has been allocated to the programme.
The amount of NAWA funding for the 11 new projects is more than PLN 16,500,000.
Thanks to NAWA’s cooperation with the National Science Centre and the National Centre for Research and Development, a start-up grant is also available for participants in the programme to cover research costs during the first 18 months of the implementation of the Polskie Powroty grants.
