The Copernicus Award is a joint initiative of the Fundacja na rzecz Nauki Polskiej (FNP, Foundation for Polish Science) and the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation). The award is conferred every two years to two researchers, one in Germany and one in Poland, for outstanding achievements in Polish-German research cooperation in all fields of science and the humanities.
According to a statement from the FNP, the winning Polish-German research team will receive a total of €200,000 — €100,000 per laureate. These funds are intended to support further development of their scientific collaboration.
The award aims to recognise researchers active in Polish-German research cooperation who have reached exceptional achievements in their field as a result of that cooperation. In particular, researchers are expected to have rendered outstanding services to Polish-German research cooperation by bringing together complementary skills, expertise and resources in order to jointly address research problems. The results of such cooperation should be of significant relevance for the respective research community and have future potential to open up new perspectives in the respective research field and beyond.
The competition is open to all fields of science, including the humanities and social sciences.
The COPERNICUS Award is granted through a competitive process to two collaborating scientists—one working in Poland and the other in Germany.
Eligible candidates must hold at least a doctoral degree and be employed by a public university or research institution in Germany or by an entity within the Polish higher education and science system. They must also be actively involved in ongoing research projects. Researchers can either apply themselves or be nominated by members of the Polish and German academic communities.
The COPERNICUS Award has been jointly presented by the FNP and DFG since 2006. Named after the renowned astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus (1473–1543), the award symbolizes the strong scientific ties between Poland and Germany. It is granted biennially, and ten outstanding research tandems have been honored so far.
Applications are open until July 15, 2025.
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