Based on Article 19 section 1 of the Act on the Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange of 7 July 2017, The Director of the Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange announces the call for proposals for participation in the Banach Scholarship Programme – second-cycle studies (hereinafter „the Programme”).

The Programme aims at supporting the socio-economic development of developing countries through increasing the level of education and professional qualifications of citizens of the countries eligible for participation in the Programme by way of offering them a scholarship to undertake second-cycle studies in Poland.

The Programme constitutes a joint initiative of the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange implemented as part of the Polish development cooperation programme.

Deadline for submitting the application

The call for proposals shall be conducted till 21 June 2021 3:00:00 pm of the local time (Warsaw)

Method of submitting the application

Only in electronic form in the Agency's ICT system, // FILL IN THE APPLICATION //

Language of the application

The application shall be prepared in Polish or in English

Maximum number of applications which may be submitted by one Applicant

1

The Programme offers the scholarship for full-time second-cycle studies conducted in Polish or English at the universities supervised by the Minister of Education and Science in the field of engineering and technical sciences, agricultural sciences as well as natural sciences, defined on the basis of the Regulation of the Minister of Science and Higher Education of 20 September 2018 on the fields of science, scientific disciplines and artistic disciplines.

For the citizens of the following countries: Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Moldova, Serbia, Ukraine and Uzbekistan the Programme offers opportunity to complete second-cycle studies also in the field of humanities and social sciences, with the exception of philological studies in the field of the mother tongue of the beneficiary's country of origin.

It shall not be possible to participate in the Programme within other fields of science.

The Programme allows for:

1. starting full-time studies conducted in Polish (Polish-language path) or English (English-language path) at public and –non-public universities in the areas covered by the Programme.

The choice of the educational path shall take place at the stage of submitting applications for the Programme and shall be binding throughout the entire period of participation in the Programme. In exceptional and justified cases, the Agency may agree to change the educational path.

2. participation in a preparatory course preceding studies in Poland (the Polish-language path) or a summer Polish language and culture course (the English-language path) financed by the resources granted by the Director of NAWA.

The possibility of completing the preparatory course applies only to Applicants within the Polish language path. The purpose of the course is to expand the knowledge of the Polish language and knowledge within major courses related to the future field of study.

Summer Polish language and culture course is offered only to scholarship holders within the English-language path enrolled in 2021 and shall be conducted after completion by them of their first year of studies (or the first semester of studies, in accordance with the educational programme applied at the university). The course shall last three weeks during the holiday season. The declarations of scholarship holders on participation in the Polish language and culture course shall be admitted in the summer semester of the academic year 2021/2022.

Applicants qualified to participate in the Programme shall attend the course at a centre indicated by NAWA. Assignment to the centres conducting the preparatory course shall depend in particular on the planned field of study and the availability of free places in the centres.

Foreigners who meet all of the following criteria at the time of the call for proposals may apply for a scholarship under the Programme:

1. are citizens of one of the following countries: Albania, Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Montenegro, Ethiopia, Philippines, Georgia, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Iran, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Colombia , Kosovo, Lebanon, North Macedonia, Mexico, Moldova, Nigeria, Palestine, Peru, South Africa, Senegal, Serbia, Tanzania, Tunisia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Vietnam;

2. do not have Polish citizenship and have not applied for Polish citizenship;

3. are planning to start second-cycle studies or a preparatory course in the academic year 2021/22;

4. at the time of submitting the application to the Programme are students of the last year of first-cycle studies in the field of engineering and technical sciences, agricultural sciences as well as exact and natural sciences, or have a first-cycle studies diploma in the above-mentioned fields obtained in a country covered by the Programme not earlier than in 2019. For candidates from Europe, Central Asia and the South Caucasus, first-cycle studies diplomas obtained in the field of social sciences and humanities shall also be allowed;

5. have not obtained a diploma of completion of second-cycle studies or long-cycle  master's studies; If there is no system of two-cycle studies commonly applied in the candidate's country of origin, candidates with a diploma of master's studies or equivalent shall be admitted;

6. have a documented knowledge of the Polish language minimum at the B1 level, or English minimum at the B2 level.

Start date and duration of the Scholarship

The implementation of education under the Programme has to begin in the academic year 2021/2022 by taking up a preparatory course preceding studies or by taking up second-cycle studies.

General assumptions

Applications shall be subject to formal and substantive assessment.

Formal assessment

The purpose of the formal assessment is to verify the applications in terms of meeting the formal criteria set out in this Announcement and in the Regulations of NAWA Programmes for students.

Substantive assessment

The purpose of the substantive assessment is to verify the applications in terms of meeting the quality criteria indicated in this Announcement.

List of required attachments

1.  scan of a valid passport with the Applicant's personal data, confirming the Applicant's citizenship,

2.  scan of the first-cycle studies diploma in the field eligible for the countries covered by the Programme, i.e. in the field of engineering and technical sciences, agricultural sciences or natural sciences; in the case of candidates from Europe, Central Asia and the South Caucasus - also in the field of social sciences or humanities, including information on the arithmetic average of grades throughout the course of the studies and information on grades obtained for completed courses (or a supplement to the diploma).

If there is no average grade on the diploma, NAWA shall determine it based on the grades presented in the diploma or in the supplement.

Applicants who, at the time of submitting the application, are students of the last year of first-cycle studies, shall submit a scan of the university's certificate confirming the arithmetic average of grades obtained in the first-cycle studies as at the date of submission of the application.

Applicants who, at the time of submitting the application, have not yet obtained a first-cycle graduation diploma, shall submit a scan of the university's certificate confirming completion of the first-cycle studies and the arithmetic average of grades obtained during the first-cycle studies.

The above certificates have to contain:

1) full name of the Applicant,

2) information on the average grade (arithmetic average rounded to two decimal places),

3) list of all completed courses with their final grades (on the basis of which the arithmetic average of grades was calculated),

4) name of the university issuing the certificate,

5) stamp/seal of the university issuing the certificate.

Model certificate is attached to this Announcement.

3. scan of a document confirming the knowledge of Polish/English language.

In the case of Polish language: scan of a document confirming the knowledge of the Polish language minimum at B1 level, e.g. a language certificate, a certificate/diploma or other documents confirming completion of secondary school or first-cycle studies with Polish as the language of instruction or a certificate of completion of a Polish language course.

In the case of English language: scan of a certificate confirming the knowledge of English language minimum at B2 level (certificate valid as at the day of submitting the application; the list of recognized certificates is attached to this Announcement) or other documents confirming the completion of the first-cycle studies with English as a language of instruction. Citizens of the Programme countries in which English is an official language shall be exempt from submitting a document confirming their knowledge of English.

4. Recommendation letter drafted by a Polish diplomatic mission in accordance with the accreditation area of ​​the institution or by a non-governmental organization or by a university - optional element, however taken into account at the substantive assessment of the application. 

If the attachments are drafted in a language other than Polish or English, a translation into Polish or English shall be required. A sworn translation or a translation certified by a Polish diplomatic and consular mission shall only be allowed. In the case of countries where there is no sworn translator or no Polish diplomatic or consular mission, the translation of the documents made by a Polish language teacher or an ordinary translator, certified by the translator's seal shall be allowed.

Description of the substantive assessment criterion

Evaluation Team

1.

Recommendation by a diplomatic and consular mission, non-governmental organization or university.

Weight 40%

2.

The arithmetic average of grades for the first-cycle studies on the diploma of completion of the first-cycle studies or on the certificate confirming the arithmetic average of grades.

Weight 60%

Principles of substantive assessment

The result of the substantive assessment shall be determined as the sum of the products of individual criteria and their weight.

The condition for receiving a positive substantive assessment by the Applicant shall be achievement of the minimum average grade, i.e. the threshold of 60% according to the assessment scale applicable in the country of obtaining the first-cycle studies diploma. This threshold shall be set separately for each of the Programme countries.

Applicants whose average grade does not meet the above condition shall be given a negative substantive assessment.

NAWA Director's scholarships shall be awarded based on the result of the substantive assessment of applications within the limits of places for individual Programme countries, determined by the Evaluation Team. The available scholarship places shall be divided evenly among the Programme countries, taking into account in particular the proportion of formally correct applications under the call for proposals to the number of Applicants with a given citizenship as well as the objectives of Polish foreign policy and Polish development cooperation. Information on the scholarship placement limits for individual Programme countries shall be published on the NAWA website by 30 June 2021.

Within the limits for individual countries, scholarships under the Programme shall be awarded to the Applicants who obtained the highest substantive assessment result.

In the event that the limit of places is not wholly utilized, redistribution shall be carried out by the Evaluation Team, taking into account in particular the results of the substantive assessment of the Applicants and an equal distribution of places between countries.

The Programme offers:

1. monthly scholarship of the NAWA Director during the statutory period of education,
2. exemption from tuition fees at public universities.

The financial conditions of education at non-public universities supervised by the Minister of Education and Science shall be determined by the universities. In such cases, the issue of tuition fees should be agreed individually between the Scholarship Holder and the non-public university which hosts him/her. The issue of exemptions from tuition fees shall remain within the competence of the host non-public university.

The scholarship shall be paid during the statutory period of education for a maximum of 12 months in the academic year, starting from the first month of classes during the preparatory course or the studies.

The scholarship shall amount to:

1. PLN 1700 per month during the preparatory course (the scholarship holder shall not have the status of a student, which shall prevent him/her from taking advantage of discounts applicable to students, e.g. in public transport);

2. PLN 1,500 per month during second-cycle studies.

During their studies, the scholarship holders shall also receive:

1. in the first year of studies, the first monthly scholarship increased by PLN 500,

2. in the last year of studies, the last monthly scholarship increased by PLN 500.

In the event of a documented fortuitous event, the NAWA Director may, upon a written request of the Scholarship Holder, increase the scholarship by PLN 500 once.

The NAWA Director's scholarship shall be paid through the centre which conducts the course or the university where the Scholarship Holder is studying.

The total allocation for the call for proposals is approximately PLN 7,870,000, while the Agency reserves the right to change the allocation of funds.

1.    The Applicant shall be obliged to conclude the scholarship agreement under the Programme no later than within 30 days from the date it is made available in the NAWA ICT system.

2.    The scholarship holder shall be obliged to submit the annual report after completing education in a given academic year, not later than by 31 October of each year.

The first report should be submitted after the completion of the preparatory course and, in the case of Scholarship Holders not participating in the course - after completing the first year of studies under the Programme. For scholarship holders starting their studies from the summer semester, the first report shall be the semester report.

The results of the call for proposals shall be announced by 31 August 2021

Special-purpose reserve of the state budget earmarked for development cooperation