NAWA Medic – Support for HEIs Offering Medical Studies – Pilot Edition 2020’ is a new action of the Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange (NAWA). Its aim is to enhance the education of doctors and nurses at Polish medical universities and support Polish medical staff.
Under the pilot action ‘NAWA Medic – Support for HEIs Offering Medical Studies,’ medical universities will be able to invite or hire medical researchers, medical practitioners (including dentists) as well as nurses and midwives from the European Union and from the United Kingdom. The visits can start as soon as this year.
‘We invite doctors and nurses from all EU member states and those looking to continue their careers outside the UK to come to Poland. We are creating conditions for them to use their professional experience in work at Polish medical universities and in the Polish health service, which now needs every support in terms of staff and sharing best professional practices,’ says Prof. Wojciech Maksymowicz, MD, PhD, Deputy Minister of Education and Science. ‘We hope that this pilot programme will encourage our compatriots who left the country at some point and now, in the wake of Brexit, are thinking about coming back to Poland. Poles constitute a large professional group in the English health service. About 10 thousand Poles are estimated to work there,’ Prof. Wojciech Maksymowicz adds.
NAWA will grant the invited medical professionals annual scholarships – PLN 7,500 per month for doctors and PLN 5,000 per month for nurses and midwives. A NAWA scholarship holder can also count on a one-time installation allowance (PLN 12,000) and a mobility allowance (PLN 5,000 for the scholarship holder and PLN 2,000 for each family member).
The NAWA Medic pilot action is open to medical professionals who are licensed to practise their profession, have been working in the EU or the UK for at least one year as practitioners or have been employed in scientific and research institutions, and have the necessary competences to teach students and doctoral candidates. The candidates must also demonstrate command of Polish or English.
‘The new NAWA Medic action will help expand international cooperation in the broad area of medical sciences. This is another NAWA initiative strengthening the internationalisation of medical education and enhancing the potential of medical staff. NAWA’s offer includes, among other things, the Walczak Programme, which is also dedicated to doctors. It is another example of how NAWA, by supporting the mobility of researchers and professionals, responds to the emerging needs of science, universities and society. Currently, there is a need to strengthen the staffing in Polish medicine,’ says NAWA Director Dr. Grażyna Żebrowska.
The budget of the NAWA Medic pilot action in 2020 amounts to PLN 4 million. The budget may be increased in the event of considerable demand among the academic community to expand the programme.
Applications under the action are submitted by universities. They will be accepted until 20 November 2020. The stays of doctors and nurses have to begin by 31 March 2021.
More information here