The core tasks of NAWA include initiating and implementing activities that support the internationalisation of Polish universities and research units.
To assist in achieving this objective, the Agency offers programmes that primarily help establish international partnerships, develop institutional capacity in terms of offered programmes, and prepare organisations for internationalisation.
Programme Office Offerings for Institutions
Documentation for Institutional Programmes
The aim of this programme is to create regional networks in each voivodeship among various higher education and research institutions as well as other organisations supporting foreigners.
The goal of these partnerships is to create and promote an attractive environment for doctoral candidates, researchers, and their families coming to Poland. An important element is cooperation with regional offices to streamline procedures for legalising researchers’ and their families’ stay.
Support for European Universities
The purpose of this programme is to support the creation and maintenance of international academic partnerships as a complement to Erasmus+ activities related to the functioning of European University Alliances.
Comprehensive financial support is directed to national higher education and research entities that meet one of the following conditions:
- The institution plans or is preparing to participate in European University Alliances (EUA).
- The institution is already a member of an EUA partnership.
- The institution is part of an EUA partnership whose proposal passed the merit review but was not funded due to allocation limits.
The PROM – short-term academic exchange programme enables students and university staff to gain knowledge and skills in an international environment that can be utilised at various stages of their careers. It also helps Polish universities and research units establish and strengthen cooperation with foreign institutions.
The programme funds short-term mobility lasting 5 to 30 days, including scholarships for students, doctoral candidates, and academic staff. All activities can be conducted on-site, remotely, or in a hybrid format.
The main goal of this programme is to support higher education and research institutions in developing sustainable solutions for teaching, research, and implementation cooperation within strategic international partnerships. Project results should form the basis for long-term collaboration among partners.
Specific objectives include:
1) Establishing and developing long-term, systemic internationalisation relations between the applicant and foreign partners;
2) Building the applicant’s international capacity by promoting innovative solutions and best practices addressed in the project.
This programme aims to internationalise and enhance the competitiveness of Polish higher education and research institutions on the global stage by supporting their capacity to host and serve international participants, including:
- Developing the competencies of administrative, teaching, and research staff in collaborating with and serving international participants;
- Organising and enhancing facilities dedicated to handling international exchanges (students, doctoral candidates, researchers, and foreign staff);
- Providing professional services to exchange participants, including those with special needs;
- Promoting the beneficiary institution as a destination for education, research, and teaching for international participants.
STER – Internationalisation of Doctoral Schools
The main goal of this programme is to improve the quality of doctoral education and research by providing systemic support for the internationalisation of doctoral schools.
NAWA offers a systemic support package aimed at increasing the quality of doctoral training and research, to be achieved through:
- Leveraging international experiences in conducting international doctoral projects;
- Increasing the number of international mobilities for doctoral candidates;
- Enhancing the international and intercultural dimension in doctoral curricula ("internationalisation at home");
- Developing long-term international collaborations for doctoral schools;
- Increasing the number of foreign doctoral candidates and international supervisors.
This programme is targeted at Polish entities running doctoral schools.
CEEPUS – Central European Exchange Programme for University Studies
The primary goal of CEEPUS is to support academic exchange in education and professional development for students and academic staff. It intensifies contacts among higher education institutions in member countries by funding academic mobility.
CEEPUS offers:
- Short-term scholarships for scientific internships within Academic Networks;
- Short-term scholarships for "Freemover" scientific internships;
- Short-term scholarships for summer schools and intensive courses.
KATAMARAN – Development and Implementation of International Study Programmes
This programme aims to support the internationalisation of higher education and research institutions by fostering the development and implementation of international study programmes. Project periods for the call are: 01.10.2024 – 31.03.2026 (Path A) or 01.10.2024 – 30.09.2028 (Path B).
SPINAKER – Intensive International Teaching Programmes
The SPINAKER programme supports the development and implementation of intensive international teaching programmes, which are short (30 to 150 teaching hours) courses conducted in a language other than Polish and primarily intended for international participants such as students, doctoral candidates, and academic staff. Polish participants are also welcome. Activities may include summer/winter schools, specialised courses, trainings, study visits, or involvement of foreign professors, and can be delivered on-site, remotely, or in a hybrid format.
Kierunek EXPO 2025 – call closed!
NAWA, in partnership with the Polish Investment and Trade Agency (PAiH), invites Polish universities and research institutes to participate in the "International Scientific Event at World Expo 2025 in Osaka," promoting Polish science at Expo 2025.
The programme aims to strengthen the international standing of Polish higher education by initiating collaborations, showcasing innovative projects, and conducting educational activities in Japan, focusing on sectors such as medicine, IT, and green technologies.
Programme Office Offerings for Researchers
The goal of the NAWA-MSCA Network is to foster internationalisation by supporting higher education and research institutions in developing sustainable support solutions for Polish applicants and beneficiaries of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (Horizon Europe) for 2025–27.
- Building capacity to support Polish institutions and individual researchers interested in MSCA participation;
- Building capacity to support Polish institutions and researchers implementing MSCA projects under current and previous frameworks (H2020, Horizon Europe);
- Enhancing collaboration with stakeholders and support networks relevant to MSCA participation, including internationally.
NAWA Intervention Grants – call closed!
The NAWA Intervention Grants programme aims to support international collaboration of research teams or researchers’ mobility in response to sudden, significant, unforeseen social, civilisational, or natural events with global or major regional impact. Projects enable researchers to collect data, gain new insights, and analyse effects as soon as possible after an event.
Polish Language Programme Office Offerings
This programme promotes the Polish language alongside elements of Polish history and culture by funding initiatives that enhance the quality and prestige of Polish as a foreign language, leaving a lasting mark on Poland’s image worldwide. It supports creative, tailored projects aimed at broadening the reach of Polish language education, preferably implemented abroad. Eligible applicants include Polish universities and research institutions engaged in academic-level Polish language promotion.
Since 2021, all universities applying to organise Polish language and culture courses funded under NAWA’s preparatory and summer course programmes must obtain accreditation for the relevant course types:
- NAWA Preparatory Course
- On-site Summer Course for Students and Academic Staff
- Remote Summer Course for Students and Academic Staff
- Intensive Remote Summer Course for Students and Academic Staff
- On-site Summer Course for Foreign Language Instructors
- Remote Summer Course for Foreign Language Instructors
Projects co-financed under FERS
Projects co-financed under POWER:
Title of project: National Agency for Academic Exchange
The project's goal is to support the institutional capacity and functioning of the National Agency for Academic Exchange. Activities include developing operational standards for NAWA, creating cooperation networks, and raising staff competencies and qualifications.
The project runs from January 2018 to December 2020.
The project budget is PLN 4,499,988.50, of which PLN 3,792,590.30 comes from the European Social Fund.
Title of project: Enhancing the competencies of academic staff and the institutional capacity to host foreigners – Welcome to Poland
The project's goal is to support the institutional capacity of Polish universities by enhancing the competencies of academic staff and the institution's capacity to host foreigners, preparing dedicated organisational infrastructure for handling students and academic staff from abroad, and developing in-house internationalisation activities. A key action is also fostering openness and tolerance within the academic community and its social environment.
The project runs from January 2018 to March 2022.
The project budget is PLN 33,333,333.00, of which PLN 28,093,333.05 comes from the European Social Fund.
Title of project: International scholarship exchange of doctoral candidates and academic staff
The project's goal is to create a financial support mechanism for scholarship exchange programmes targeted at doctoral candidates and academic staff. These programmes will enable participation in short forms of education (lasting from 5 to 30 days) aimed at enhancing competencies and qualifications. The project will contribute to improving the accessibility of international education programmes and increase staff mobility both for Polish representatives abroad and incoming scholars to Poland, including non-EU nationals.
The project runs from January 2018 to March 2021.
The project budget is PLN 66,646,516.20, of which PLN 56,169,683.85 comes from the European Social Fund.
Title of project: Supporting the institutional capacity of Polish universities through the creation and implementation of international study programmes
The project's goal is to support the institutional capacity of Polish universities and research units that offer education by creating and implementing high-quality joint second-cycle study programmes leading to a joint or double degree, enhancing the internationalisation of doctoral schools, and increasing the attractiveness of Polish universities among foreign students and doctoral candidates through a compelling programme offer.
The project runs from September 2018 to December 2023.
The project budget is PLN 51,388,888.99, of which PLN 43,310,555.64 comes from the European Social Fund.
Three NAWA programmes are implemented under this project:
- Programme Development of Joint Second-Cycle Study Programmes
- Programme Implementation of Joint Second-Cycle Study Programmes
- Programme STER – Doctoral Fellowships for Foreigners