The Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange (NAWA) has announced the results of this year’s call for applications for the ‘STER Internationalisation of Doctoral Schools’ programme.
International doctoral studies, summer schools and research visits abroad – those are only some of the activities organised by universities that will be funded under NAWA’s ‘STER Internationalisation of Doctoral Schools’ programme. NAWA allocated almost PLN 20 million for the university projects.
Ten Universities with NAWA Grants
Funds under the STER programme amounting to almost PLN 20 million in total will go to ten universities. These are: Jagiellonian University in Kraków, Wrocław University, AGH University of Science and Technology in Krakow, Gdańsk University of Technology, Lodz University of Technology, Silesian University of Technology, Warsaw University of Technology, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Wrocław University of Science and Technology, and Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań.
Objective of NAWA’s STER Programme: Internationalisation of Doctoral Schools
The ‘STER Internationalisation of Doctoral Schools’ programme is directed at Polish universities and scientific institutions that run doctoral schools. The objective of the programme is to support the internationalisation of doctoral schools that involves, among others:
- improving the quality of education in doctoral schools and the quality of research carried out by PhD students by means of international exchange of good practices and experiences,
- increasing the international mobility of doctoral students,
- developing activities aiming to internationalise universities that consist in e.g. organising teaching visits of foreign professors and trainings that enhance the competences of doctoral students and academic staff,
- supporting long-lasting international cooperation of doctoral schools,
- attracting foreign doctoral students and thesis supervisors from abroad,
- offering scholarships to doctoral students who carry out PhD projects in international cooperation and who strive to obtain joint or double degrees,
- conducting international research projects by doctoral students.
Examples of Winning Projects
Under the STER programme, universities will carry out various activities compatible with the programme’s objectives. For instance, the Wrocław University’s project ‘Internationalisation as a Quality of the New Doctoral School’ that will be funded by NAWA entails extending cooperation with the universities in Bochum, Ostrava, Florence, and Tomsk. In addition, the university is planning to grant scholarships to PhD students, hold summer schools and organise study visits abroad.
The AGH University of Science and Technology in Krakow, in turn, is going to carry out its project titled ‘Expanding the Internationalisation of the AGH Doctoral School,’ which will enable it to enhance its current activities. The university boasts 225 agreements with research centres in 50 countries, 27 agreements concerning double (Polish and foreign) PhD degrees as well as several programmes (such as INTERDOK, BIOTECHNAN, ENGINE, or RENOIR) under which half of the doctoral students have foreign thesis supervisors and about 70% have been on a fellowship abroad.
Gdańsk University of Technology is going to receive funds for its project ‘STE(E)R-ING towards International Doctoral School.’ The university has already signed an agreement with the University of Palermo. The cooperation will entail running a joint PhD programme. In addition, the programme provides for foreign research visits for doctoral students as well as scholarships for those who do their PhD projects simultaneously in Poland and at a foreign university.