Ulam NAWA – to support visits of foreign scientists

The aim of the Ulam Programme is to increase the internationalisation of Polish institutions of science and higher education. The Programme will allow both recognised and promising scientists who hold at least a doctoral degree, to visit Poland in order to strengthen the scientific potential of Polish entities and to participate in their scientific activities, primarily research projects and didactics.  The Programme will allow to invite scientists regardless of their age, from all around the world and representing all fields of science, including Polish scientists working permanently abroad (they may constitute a maximum of 10% of Fellows in the call). HEIs, scientific and research institutes as well as other eligible entities will have the opportunity to invite specialists from their priority areas to Poland – they will make a significant contribution to the research conducted by a given institution, strengthen didactics or support the institution in applying for prestigious grants.

The application under the Programme shall be submitted individually by a scientist with at least a doctoral degree or an equivalent degree obtained abroad, who, together with the institution of the Polish higher education and science system, has obtained the Seal of Excellence certificate under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Individual Fellowships programme, 2021 edition (hereinafter referred to as "MSCA-IF").  NAWA recognizes the SoE certificate as a binding verification of the quality of the application.

The call for applications under the Programme will be conducted from 10 February to 10 May 2022 until 3:00 PM according to the official time in Poland.

The application and its attachments shall be drawn up in English. Submitting a copy of the doctoral diploma in Polish shall be acceptable.

The Applicant may submit only one application for financing in a given call under the Programme, covering a visit to one Host Institution.

As part of the Programme, possible visits are those whose objective include:

1)             completing the first or a subsequent post-doctoral fellowship;

2)             conducting scientific research;

3)             obtaining materials for research or a scientific publication.

In addition to the above activities, the visit may also include conducting didactic classes at the Host Institution.

The Applicant submits a plan for the scientific stay in Poland covering one or more of the above-mentioned activities that they intend to implement at a Host Institution, by indicating its goals, relevance to the development of their academic career and justifying the Host Institution’s choice for the planned activities and benefits of the stay for both the scientist and the institution. The Applicant encloses an invitation from the Host Institution confirming the willingness to host them for the requested period and indicates the person responsible for coordination of the planned activities and Applicant's visit and for supporting the Fellow in the successive completion of these activities.

The visit under the Project cannot start earlier than on 1 January 2023 or later than on 1 October 2023.

The length of stay may be from 6 to 24 months.

The Project should be implemented on a continuous basis.

It is possible to suspend the Project for a total period of not more than 3 months with the consent of the Host Institution, and the suspension is only possible after the project has started. No funds are granted during the suspension of the Project implementation. Suspension of the Project implementation do not constitute grounds for increasing financing.

The period of stay outside the Host Institution cannot be longer than 10% of the overall duration of stay. The period of stay outside the Host Institution cannot be used in full or for the most part at the beginning or end of the Project implementation period (it cannot be used to shorten the Project implementation period).

Authorised Applicants:

The Programme can be attended by a natural person who:

1.             jointly meets the following conditions:

1)             is a scientist with at least a doctoral degree (should have a PhD degree at the time when the deadline for applications expires. Applicants who have successfully defended their doctoral thesis but who have not yet formally been awarded the doctoral degree will also be considered eligible to apply);

2)             is employed at a foreign HEI or a foreign scientific/research centre or completed their previous employment contract after 31 August 2021. The employment is not required for persons who obtained their doctoral degree after 31 August 2021;

3)             had not studied or worked in Poland within 3 years before the deadline of the call and did not live during this period in Poland continuously for more than three months (work in Poland is understood as employment under an employment contract in an entity based in the territory of the Republic of Poland or managing a research grant with an affiliation to the Polish scientific institution, if in this respect the salary was paid);

4)             if the Applicant has implemented other NAWA projects, it is possible to apply when the scholarship has been settled and the agreement is considered as completed;

5)             has minimum 3 achievements (from not earlier than 2017) out of the following:

a)             a publication in English, as the main author (especially first or correspondence), in journals included in one of the following international databases: Scopus, Science Citation Index Expanded, Social Sciences Citation Index, Arts & Humanities Citation Index; or

b)             a reviewed research monograph published in English; or

c)              a publication in English in reviewed materials from an international conference listed by the Computing Research and Education Association of Australasia (CORE), indexed in the international DBLP Computer Science Bibliography database; or

d)             a publication in English in reviewed materials from an international conference, indexed in the Web of Science Core Collection or Scopus database.

e)             for the representatives of art studies – a proof of having made presentation of work of art in a foreign institution or an academic centre or having received a distinction in an international competition.

The Applicant can demonstrate 3 achievements under the same point (a, b, c, d or e), as well as 3 various achievements from among the indicated ones in point a-e.

6)             has an invitation from the Host Institution, which is a national entity holding a scientific category.

2.      has at least a doctoral degree or an equivalent degree obtained abroad, and has submitted together with the institution of the Polish higher education and science system, the application under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Individual Fellowships programme, which received the Seal of Excellence certificate, and has an invitation from the Host Institution, which is a national entity having a scientific category.

List of information and attachments required in the application

1.          A scientific resume of the Applicant according to the application form.

2.          Scan of the doctoral diploma or a certificate of having attained a doctoral degree with an officially certified translation into English if the original is issued in a language other than English or Polish.

3.          Scans of three required achievements in the form of attached PDF documents. For publications, the full text of the publication should be attached. For monograph, please attach a file containing the cover page, page with the ISBN number, editorial page, table of contents and a selection of extracts containing the author’s most important theses – no more than 20 pages in total. For representatives of the fine arts field, please attach the copy of a catalogue bearing the ISBN number confirming the fact of having made presentation of artwork at a foreign institution or an academic institution or a copy of a distinction received in an international competition, or any other formal confirmation of an artistic achievement.

4.          Scan of employment confirmation issued by the human resources department or other document confirming the employment status at a foreign HEI or a foreign scientific/research centre after 31 August 2021; document should be in English and issued with the current date (not earlier than the date of announcement of the call). The document is not required if you obtained your doctoral degree after 31 August 2021.

5.          Scan of the invitation from the Host Institution, a template of which constitutes an attachment to the Announcement. The invitation should be issued with the current date and signed by the person authorised to represent the Host Institution. The document shall be attached with a scan of power of attorney for such person.

PLEASE NOTE THAT:

*In the event that there is a break in connection with a maternity, parental or health leave, please indicate the number of months by which the period of scientific achievements is extended and why.

*If the provided information or attached documents exceed the indicated limits - only the items within the limit which are listed first will be taken into account in the course of the merit-based evaluation.

*When attaching a scan of a document the Applicant should veil the photo. Attaching a document with a visible photo shall be tantamount to the consent to the processing of personal data in this regard.

List of information and attachments required in the application for a special application track for scientists with certificate Seal of Excellence

1.       Electronic version of the application submitted to the MSCA-IF.

2.       Reviews obtained as a result of the evaluation of the application submitted to the MSCA-IF.

3.       Electronic version of the Seal of Excellence certificate

4.       Scan of the invitation from the Host Institution, a template of which constitutes an attachment to the Announcement, confirming the possibility of hosting the Fellow for the purpose of implementing by him/her the project within the full substantive extent planned in the application submitted to MSCA-IF, and signed by the person authorised to represent the Host Institution. The document shall be attached with a scan of power of attorney for such person.

Project budget:

The Programme provides financing for a Scholarship that covers the Fellow’s living allowance of PLN 10,000 a month, along with a mobility allowance. The amount of the Scholarship may be increased if the visit includes the Fellow’s spouse or minor children, and for a Fellow with severe or moderate disability – his/her Personal assistant. Additionally, the Scholarship may be increased by PLN 5,000, if the Fellow declares participation in a Polish language course.

1.      The calculation of the Scholarship shall take into account:

1)             living allowance in an amount of PLN 10,000 monthly for each full month of stay of the Fellow at the Host Institution. The length of the stay shall be specified in the application, giving the number of full months of the stay, the stay starting from the first day of the month. The amount of the living allowance of the Fellow may be increased if his/her spouse participates in the visit – by PLN 2,000 monthly, unless the spouse undertakes employment in the course of the Scholarship (which means employment both under a contract of employment and under a civil law agreement). This amount may also be increased if the Fellow is accompanied by underage children – by PLN 1,000 monthly for each underage child.

2)             one-off mobility allowance in the amount of:

a)             PLN 7,000 for visits from European countries, if only the Fellow is participating in the visit and an additional PLN 2,000 for each person, if the scientist is accompanied by the spouse or underage children of the Fellow;

b)             PLN 12,000 for visits from non-European countries, if only the Fellow is participating in the visit and an additional PLN 5,000 for each person, if the scientist is accompanied by the spouse or underage children of the Fellow.

3)             financing the costs of training – costs of learning Polish for applicants who are not of Polish origin in the form of a one-off training allowance at maximum PLN 5,000. Polish language learning should take place in the institution with the NAWA Accreditation. The list of accredited entities is available on the webpage https://nawa.gov.pl/jezyk-polski/akredytacja-nawa. If in the Host Institution, where the Fellow holder implements the Project, there is no accredited unit, the Polish language course should be conducted as part of university courses.

2.      Financing of the visit of the family members shall be possible only if their stay continues for at least 3 months.

3.      Insurance costs and cost of a visa, if required, shall be borne by the Fellow.

4.      The Scholarship amount may be increased only if during the stay or before its commencement the Fellow has a new child which will participate in the visit of the Fellow. Such situations will be considered by the Director individually, depending on the financial resources available.

5.      If the Fellow has a certificate of severe or moderate disability, and is not accompanied by his/her spouse during the visit, but by a Personal assistant, the amounts referred to in 1(1) and (2) may be increased, under such conditions as if the spouse participated in the visit.

6.      Pursuant to Article 21(1)(39a) of the Act of 26 July 1991 on personal income tax (i.e. Journal of Laws of 2019, item 1387, as amended) Scholarships and other funds referred to in Article 18(2)(1) of the Act on NAWA are free from income tax.

The programme does not provide any financial resources for the institution (indirect money) or for any research (e.g. materials, reagents or conferences). Such costs should be covered from other sources.

Link to call documentation: https://nawa.gov.pl/naukowcy/program-im-ulama/ogloszenie

Persons interested in preparing an application in the above call are kindly asked to send a notice by e-mail to; awn@wum.edu.pl.