Based on Article. 19 paragraph 1 of the Act on the Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange of 7 July 2017, the Director of the National Agency for Academic Exchange announces the call for proposals for participation in Exchange programme for students and scientists - departure offer - the academic year 2022/2023 (hereinafter "the Programme").

The objective of the Programme is to increase the internationalization of Polish higher education through the exchange of students, doctoral students and academic teachers based on international agreements between Poland and the partner countries indicated in the regulations as well as bilateral cooperation at the national or departmental level. Scholarship mobilities under the Programme will allow to establish or enhance the already existing cooperation between academic centres in Poland and abroad as well as to increase the specialist competences of the representatives of the academic community participating in them. Thanks to the exchange of students and scientists under international agreements, relations between partner countries will be developed and mutual understanding, trust and respect will be strengthened.

The list of countries with which the exchange is conducted under the Programme, together with the description of the available forms of stay in a given country, is attached as Annex 1 to the Announcement.

Note: it is possible that the above-mentioned departure offer will be extended, if further international agreements and cooperation programs enter into force, if Poland undertakes bilateral cooperation with other countries or, if the Agency receives a scholarship offer through diplomatic channels.

If a partner country withdraws from cooperation, the departure offer may be withdrawn, also after the substantive assessment of the applications is completed. Information about the above situation will be immediately available on the website www.nawa.gov.pl.

Belarus

20 December 2021

Bulgaria

20 December 2021

China

20 December 2021

Croatia

20 December 2021

Czech Republic

20 December 2021

Egypt

20 December 2021

Greece

20 December 2021

Japan

31 March 2022

Kazakhstan

20 December 2021

North Macedonia

20 December 2021

Mongolia

20 December 2021

Romania

20 December 2021

Serbia

20 December 2021

Slovakia

20 December 2021

Slovenia

20 December 2021

Taiwan

20 December 2021

Ukraine

20 December 2021

Hungary

20 December 2021

Vietnam

20 December 2021

Method of submitting the application

The application shall be submitted only in electronic form in the Agency’s ICT system. In order to submit an application, the account has to be established in the Agency's ICT system.

Language of the application form

The application should be completed in Polish. Attachments to the application may be drafted in the Polish or English language version. It is allowed to submit a copy of a doctoral diploma in Latin.

Maximum number of applications which may be submitted by the Applicant

The Applicant may submit only one application in a given call for proposals under the Programme, covering departure to one Host Centre. If more than one application is submitted in the call for proposals, only the one submitted as the last shall be subject to assessment.

Under the Programme, the departure mobilities shall be eligible, the objective of which is:

1)        completion of a research stays;

2)        completion of partial studies;

3)        completion of university studies (second cycle or doctoral studies[1]);

4)        study visit (i.e. a short study stay from 5 to 21 days);

5)        participation in the summer school of the partner's country's language and culture (i.e. summer language courses);

6)        teaching classes in the host centre;

7)        other form or forms of scientific or academic activity related to the implementation of studies, preparation of a doctoral dissertation or scientific publication.

In the application, the Applicant shall present one or more of the above-mentioned activities which he/she intends to implement in the foreign host centre, indicating their objectives, importance for his/her studies or the development of his/her scientific career, and justifying the selection of the host centre for the planned activities.

The acceptable form of activities carried out during the stay shall depend on the country of departure. The list of countries with which cooperation is conducted, together with the description of the forms of action available in individual countries, is attached as Annex 1 to the Announcement.

Deadline

The Offer under the Programme applies to departures which will take place in the academic year 2022/23[1] (in justified cases - from 15 August 2022) as well as to summer schools and summer language courses which will take place in the summer of 2022.

Mobility under the programme may last from 5 days to 12 months in a given academic year - depending on the provisions of the agreement on the basis of which international (bilateral) cooperation is conducted.

Project implementation period

Project implementation should be carried out on a continuous basis. As a rule, the allowed period of stay outside the host centre may not be longer than 1/5 of the total duration of the stay (including conferences, holidays, occasional trips and other absences).

For participation in the Programme may apply the following natural persons:

1)    attending first-cycle studies, uniform master’s studies (at least the second year of study - except for summer language courses, which may also be applied for by first-year students) or second-cycle studies at Polish universities, or

2)    enrolled in doctoral schools or pursuing doctoral studies at:

a)        Polish universities referred to in the Act of 20 July 2018 - Higher Education and Science Law in connection with art. 279 section 1 of the Act of 3 July 2018 - Regulations Introducing the Act - Higher Education and Science Law,

b)        scientific institutes of the Polish Academy of Sciences, operating on the basis of the Act of 30 April 2010 on the Polish Academy of Sciences,

c)        research institutes operating pursuant to the Act of 30 April 2010 on Research Institutes,

d)        institutes operating within the Łukasiewicz Research Network pursuant to the Act of 21 February 2019 on the Łukasiewicz Research Network;

e)        international research institutes established on the basis of separate acts operating in the territory of the Republic of Poland, or

3)    being university graduates who obtained their diploma not earlier than two years before the announcement of the call for proposals and who plan to travel to the country for which the cooperation terms provide for the payment of the scholarship by the receiving party, or

4)    being academic teachers or - in special cases - other employees at a Polish university, a scientific institute of the Polish Academy of Sciences, a research institute or an international research institute.

The Programme is open to students, doctoral students and academic teachers representing all fields of science, unless a given international agreement provides otherwise.

Before submitting your application, read the notes on the country-specific criteria (e.g. age of applicants). For some countries, a list of universities where the scholarship can be implemented is included in the country's offer. Having an invitation or confirmation of existing cooperation constitutes a prerequisite for obtaining the scholarship (unless the specific conditions of the exchange with a given country specify otherwise). This does not apply to summer courses. Scholarships for summer language courses are intended primarily for students and academic teachers of foreign philology who wish to master their knowledge of the language of studies.

NOTE: Scholarship holders of previous editions of the Exchange programme for students and scientists as part of bilateral cooperation - departure offer, shall be allowed to re-apply for financing after the waiting period, lasting 1 subsequent call for proposals under the Programme.

This requirement shall not apply to persons who participated in summer language courses and persons who were qualified for departure under the 2020 edition of the Programme, however, due to the difficult epidemiological situation, they were not able to start implementing the qualified projects. The condition for awarding funds under the call for proposals shall be submission of resignation from the financing obtained in the above-mentioned editions of the Programme and the reimbursement of the received funds (if applicable).

The application has to be accompanied by:

1)        students of first-cycle, second-cycle or uniform master’s studies and university graduates who obtained their diploma not earlier than two years before the current call for proposals:

a)        letter from the university supporting the Applicant's participation in the Programme, issued by the competent foreign cooperation office or another university’s unit appointed for this purpose, along with a certificate of the average grade from the last year of study; model letter is attached hereto as Annex 2 to the Announcement[1]

b)        CV of the student taking into account his/her special achievements

c)        research plan of the stay - the scope of tasks planned for implementation, together with the justification for the selection of the host centre

d)        cover letter justifying the intention to implement the stay and describing the expected impact of participation on the further academic career

e)        copies of diplomas with grades (applies to graduates of first or second cycle studies)

f)         opinion of the superior academic or supervisor from the Polish unit - opinion about the candidate and the planned project/programme of the departure mobility

g)        copy of confirmation of admission to internships or studies by the foreign partner - unless the detailed description of the offer for a given country contains other information (the requirement does not apply to language courses);

2)        Doctoral students, academic teachers and research workers:

a)        letter from the university supporting the Applicant's participation in the Programme, issued by the competent foreign cooperation office or another university’s unit appointed for this purpose, in the case of doctoral students, the letter has to contain confirmation of the doctoral student status; model letter is attached as Annex 3 to the Announcement

b)        CV of the Applicant, containing, among others: information on education, the course of research work with the indication of the institutions and role in the projects, research stays, awards, additional scientific activities (membership in scientific societies and organizations) - with the volume of no more than 3 pages

c)        list of publications - maximum 10 publications not older than 2016

d)        research plan of the stay describing the activities planned to be carried out in the host institution together with the justification for the selection of the host institution

e)        the expected impact of participation in the programme on the development of the Applicant’s scientific career

f)         opinion of the superior academic or supervisor from the Polish unit - opinion about the candidate and the planned project/programme of the departure (this does not apply to persons with habilitation and the title of professor)

g)        copy of the highest diploma obtained

h)        copy of the confirmation of admission to the internship from the foreign partner or copy of correspondence with the centre to which the candidate is departing (not applicable to language courses)

General assumptions

Applications shall be subject to formal and substantive assessment.

Formal assessment

It is carried out in accordance with the rules set out in the Regulations (Chapter IV, section 5.1 of the Regulations of NAWA programmes for natural persons).

The application may be rejected for formal reasons also at a later stage of the assessment, after the formal assessment is completed.

Substantive assessment

Substantive assessment is carried out by the Evaluation Team appointed by the Agency Director and leads to the establishment of a ranking list of applications. Substantive assessment is carried out for applications which have met the formal requirements.

The ranking list of applications established by the Team shall be approved by the Agency Director.

The following criteria shall apply to students and graduates:

The following criteria shall apply to doctoral students and academic teachers:

The application which has obtained a total of at least 60 points shall receive a positive substantive assessment.

The source of financing depends on the provisions of the agreement on the basis of which international (bilateral) cooperation is conducted. If the international agreement provides for the payment of the scholarship by the sending party, the Programme shall provide funds in the form of a scholarship in connection with the Scholarship Holder’s stay in the foreign Host Centre in the amount depending on the country of stay and the stage of the Scholarship Holder’s academic career.

If the international agreement provides for the payment of the scholarship by the receiving party, the payment of the scholarship shall be made by the receiving party, in the manner and in the amount provided for by the regulations of the receiving country.

SCHOLARSHIP RATES[1]

During the stay, it shall be possible in justified cases for the Scholarship Holder who receives a scholarship paid by the Agency to apply to the NAWA Director for a one-off random allowance in the amount of PLN 1,000.

Under the Programme, the Scholarship Holders are not entitled to any benefits other than those listed above. After the start of the stay, it shall not be possible to increase the funds granted by the decision of the Director. Increasing the scholarship shall also not be possible in the event of a change in the status of the Scholarship Holder after submitting the application (e.g. obtaining a doctoral degree).

The Programme implementation cannot be combined with funding in the form of a scholarship from other sources, including the Erasmus+ scholarship.

In order to receive the full scholarship rate for a given month, the Scholarship Holder should stay in the host centre for at least 15 days in a given month. In the case of a stay between 5 and 14 days in a given month, half of the scholarship rate shall be eligible. For a stay of 1 to 4 days in a given month, the Agency Director's scholarship for that month shall not be granted.

As part of the project, the scholarship shall be transferred:

1)        for stays of up to 6 months - in one payment, not earlier than 60 days before the start of the stay (in accordance with the scheme for making payments under the Programmes, specified in the Regulations)

2)        in the case of stays lasting over 6 months - the first payment for the first 6 months in a given academic year shall be transferred not earlier than 60 days before the start date of the stay, the second and subsequent payments, for the following months due under the agreement, shall be made each time after submitting an interim report.

Conclusion of the scholarship agreement with the Scholarship Holder qualified for the departure to the country where the agreement provides for the payment of the scholarship by the sending party shall take place in the Agency's ICT system, on the basis of the Director's final decision on granting funds under the Programme.

In the event of failure to conclude the scholarship agreement with the Agency by the Applicant selected in the call for proposals, the funds may be awarded to the following Applicant from the ranking list.

If the Applicant is qualified for departure to a country where the agreement provides for the payment of the scholarship by the receiving party, he/she may be obliged by the foreign partner to sign a scholarship agreement with the content specified in the regulations of the host country.

In the case of stays financed from the Agency Director's scholarship longer than 6 months, the Scholarship Holder shall be obliged to submit an interim report via the Agency's ICT system in the form of a certificate of continuation of the internship/studies/partial studies after 5 months of the internship/studies/partial studies, but not later than 6 months after the start of the stay; the certificate should be issued by the Host Centre no earlier than 14 days before the date of its sending.

In the case of studies lasting two years, the reporting procedure according to the above pattern shall be applied in each of the two academic years.

Within 30 days of the end of the foreign stay, the participant shall be obliged to provide the Agency with the report on the stay and the certificate from the host university that the planned stay has taken place.

Failure to submit the final report together with the certificate within the indicated deadline may constitute the basis for not allowing the Scholarship Holder to participate in the next Call for proposals under the Programs managed by the Agency and requesting the Scholarship Holder to reimburse the received funds.

Model interim and final reports for Scholarship Holders implementing departure stays financed by the Agency Director's scholarship constitute Annex 5 to the Announcement.

The obligations of the Scholarship Holder include:

1)        implementation, in accordance with the application, of the study program or  scientific, didactic or other activities indicated in the application;

2)        possession of at least basic health insurance, taking into account in particular insurance of costs of treatment and transport to the hospital, covering the period of the stay in the host centre as well as the travel to this centre and the return travel to Poland; Scholarship Holder who is a citizen of one of the European Union Member States, provided that he/she is insured there, shall be required to have at least the European Health Insurance Card, if the host institution is located in the European Union;

the obligations of the Scholarship Holder who receives the Scholarship paid by the Agency also include:

3)     timely submission of an interim report (if required) and a final report, along with a certificate from the host university that the planned stay has taken place;

4)      immediately informing the Agency about changes in project implementation;

5)     informing the Agency about his/her scientific or didactic successes - both during the project duration and at the stage of reporting and evaluation - including publications created during or as a result of the stay/grant applications/ implementation projects, etc .;

6)     placing the full name of the Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange in Polish or English language on all publications resulting from the stay;

7)     proper performance of the scholarship agreement, in particular settlement of the allocated funds.

The total allocation for the call for proposals is PLN 700,000, and the Agency reserves the right to increase the allocation.

The results of the call for proposals shall be announced on the Polish part by 31 March 2022, unless this Announcement provides for a deadline for submitting applications for departures to a given country later than 20 December 2021.

Applications which receive positive substantive assessment and are qualified for funding, shall be forwarded for further proceedings to partner institutions from the countries with which the exchange is conducted. The Applicants may be asked to submit additional documentation required by partner institutions of the country with which the exchange is conducted. The final decision on accepting candidates shall be made by foreign partners.

National funds.