Pre-announcement of the long-awaited fifth call for two interdisciplinary Dioscuri Centres of Scientific Excellence for outstanding researchers from around the world up to 15 years after their PhD.

The Dioscuri Programme aims to strengthen international standards of scientific excellence in Central and Eastern Europe and to support the on-going scientific transformation processes in the EU-13 countries. The person-centered programme was initiated by the Max Planck Society (MPS) and is jointly managed MPS and the National Science Centre Poland (NCN). Funding for the programme is provided by the German Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR), funding for the Centres of the 5th call is provided by the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education (MNiSW) through the National Science Centre Poland.

Eligible applicants

The 5th Call for two interdisciplinary Dioscuri Centres of Scientific Excellence in Poland is directed at internationally competitive and scientifically outstanding scientists from all scientific disciplines and all nationalities, who have proven their ability to conduct innovative research independently, who:

• completed their PhD no longer than 15 years prior to the application deadline;
• have proven international mobility over the course of their scientific career;
• pursued their PhD and Post-doc(s) at different research institutions;
• who have not been employed at the Host Institution during the last three years prior to the application deadline;
• is able to propose excellent interdisciplinary proposal (10 pages excl. references and budget plan) with significant impact on two out of the three domains:
  • Humanities, Social Sciences and Art Sciences (HS)
  • Life Sciences (NZ)
  • Physical Sciences and Engineering (ST)
• will closely cooperate with a scientific partner from Germany of its choice from a German research institution;
• will establish an international Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) to his or her Dioscuri Centre.

Funding and structure of the Dioscuri Centres

Dioscuri Centres of Scientific Excellence in Poland established under the 5th call are funded with up to € 300,000 p.a. each for an initial five years and can be extended for another five years after successful external evaluation.

Dioscuri Centres will be embedded within the structures of the Polish Host Institution (HI), which will contribute to the Centre both financially and infrastructurally by

• providing additional funding of EUR 25,000 per annum;
• providing administrative support, and access to the necessary research equipment;
• providing necessary office and/or lab space;
• providing additional full-time employment for a program coordinator with administrative and research management responsibilities.

No overheads costs are foreseen for HI under the programme. An invitation for Polish research institutions to submit proposals for the establishment of Dioscuri Centres of Scientific Excellence will be launched in mid-March 2026, accompanied by a series of informational meetings.      

Important dates

• The 5th Call for two interdisciplinary Dioscuri Centres of Scientific Excellence in Poland with its full documentation will be published mid-April 2026.

• The application must be submitted until 15 September 2026.
• The invitation for Polish research institutions to submit proposals for the establishment of Dioscuri Centres of Scientific Excellence will be launched in mid-March 2026.
• Series of online information meetings will be organized in the period of Mid-April until mid-June 2026.

Dioscuri Leaders of the Polish and Czech Dioscuri Centres of Scientific Excellence

Dioscuri Leaders

• Dioscuri Centre for RNA-Protein Interactions in Human Health and Diseases: Prof. Gracjan Michlewski
• Dioscuri Centre for Modelling of Posttranslational Modifications: Dr. Mateusz Sikora
• Dioscuri Centre for Metabolic Diseases: Dr. Grzegorz Sumara
• Dioscuri Centre in Topological Data Analysis: Dr. hab. Paweł Dłotko
• Dioscuri Centre for Stem Cell Biology and Metabolic Diseases: Dr. Peter Fabian
• Dioscuri Centre for Chromatin Biology and Epigenomics: Dr. Aleksandra Pękowska
• Dioscuri Centre for Single-Molecule Optics: Dr. Barbora Špačková
• Dioscuri Centre for Structural Dynamics of Receptors: Dr. Przemysław Nogły

Not in the picture:

• Dioscuri Centre in Random Walks in Geometry and Topology: Dr. Mikołaj Frączyk
• Dioscuri Centre for Spin-Caloritronics and Magnonics: Dr. Helena Reichlová

The National Science Centre, in cooperation with the M-ERA.NET network, has launched the M-ERA.NET Call 2026 for international research projects in the area of material science and material engineering in support of the European Green Deal.

Polish researchers are able to participate in M-ERA.NET calls through two grant agencies: the National Science Centre and the National Centre for Research and Development. NCN funding can only be requested by Polish applicants for basic research projects (TRL 1-4). Researchers whose projects start from TRL 3-6 and achieve TRL 5-8 may apply for NCBR funding. Involvement of a Polish industrial partner is required.

The call covers the following topics in the field of material science and material engineering:

• Materials for energy storage and distribution systems
• Materials for energy conversion
• Innovative surfaces, coatings and interfaces
• Innovative functional materials with defined architectures
• Materials addressing environmental challenges
• Next generation materials for electronics

Funding proposals may be submitted by international consortia composed of at least 3 research teams from at least 3 countries participating in the call. The principal investigator of the Polish research team must be at least a PhD holder.

Countries participating in the call: Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Israel, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Norway, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan and Turkey (some countries participate in the call regionally).

Under the M-ERA.NET Call 2026, funds may be awarded to cover salaries for members of the research team, salaries and scholarships for students and PhD students, purchase or manufacturing of research equipment and other costs crucial to the research project.

The NCN Council has decided to allocate EUR 1,500,000 for research projects carried out by Polish research teams under the M-ERA.NET Call 2026.

Call timeline

International level (two-stage procedure)

• Stage 1: 12 May 2026 (12:00 noon CEST): submission deadline for pre-proposals
• Stage 2: 18 November 2026 (12:00 noon CET): submission deadline for joint full proposals

National level (single-stage procedure):

• 25 November 2026: submission deadline for NCN UNISONO domestic proposals by the Polish research teams.

Call results will be published in February 2027.

February 2027: publication of the list of projects recommended for funding

We have just concluded MAESTRO 17 for advanced researchers and SONATA BIS 15 for researchers aiming to form new research teams. 77 projects will be awarded funding of over PLN 250,000,000.

Best minds in science

MAESTRO is the NCN’s flagship programme designated to fund pioneering research projects conducted by experienced researchers, including interdisciplinary research, which are significant for the development of science, go beyond the current state-of-the-art and have a potential for scientific discoveries. MAESTRO is open to researchers with a PhD, who have significant research achievements evidenced with publications in renowned academic press or journals and experience in leading major grant projects. Projects may last 3, 4 or 5 years and must result in high-quality basic research and training. The call results impose an obligation on principal investigators to employ PhD students or post-docs for a total period of at least 72 months.

Under MAESTRO 17, NCN received 83 proposals for a total of over PLN 323,000,000. Funding was awarded to 7 projects with a total value of nearly PLN 26,600,000. The numerical success rate was 8.43%, while the financial success rate was 8.22%.

New research teams

SONATA BIS is important for Polish science, as it enables researchers with a PhD degree conferred within 5 –12 years to establish their own independent research groups and carry out ambitious basic research projects lasting 3 –5 years. The project budget may include funds for salaries for principal investigators and co-investigators, purchase of research equipment, devices and software, materials, outsourced services, business trips, consultations and other costs crucial to the project. A researcher can be the principal investor in a SONATA BIS call only once.

Under SONATA BIS 15, NCN received 481 proposals for a total of over PLN 1,300,000. A total of PLN 223,700,000 was awarded to 70 projects. The financial success (17.01%) was higher than the numerical success rate (14.55%).

Ranking lists

Ranking lists in PDF format for download: MAESTRO 17, SONATA BIS 15

Greater needs

MAESTRO 17 and SONATA BIS 15 received the largest number of proposals over the past 5 years compared to the previous editions. It proves that researchers employed at the Polish research institutions are more active, have brilliant ideas and ambitious research objectives. Although their projects are very well planned and highly rated by the experts, they are often denied funding due to NCN’s restricted budget.

A competitive research funding system guarantees that high-quality research is funded through public resources. NCN call success rates remain too low to ensure efficient operation of the system. Success rates of 25-30% should be acquired, similarly to other grant-funding agencies around the world. Over the last five MAESTRO calls, success rates at this level were achieved only twice — in 2022 and 2024, the latter thanks to NCN’s one-off budget increase, allowing projects on the waiting lists to be funded. As regards SONATA BIS, the best success rates over the last five years were achieved only once — in 2024, also because projects on the waiting lists were funded.

MAESTRO

SONATA BIS

Peer-review and transparent principles 

MAESTRO 17 and SONATA BIS 15 winners are selected following a multi-stage evaluation process performed by the expert teams and external reviewers. The evaluation process is performed in two stages. Firstly, proposals are evaluated by the expert teams comprising mainly foreign experts. Each proposal receives two reviews, and the final decision follows the panel discussion by the expert team. At the second stage, proposals are reviewed by external (mainly foreign) experts. In addition, the principal investigator is interviewed in English, in NCN headquarters. They are asked about project objectives, methodology and research-related risks. The final list of projects recommended for funding is, as usual, compiled by the expert team at the second meeting.

Service of decisions

NCN Director’s decisions are served on the applicants only and are not communicated to the principal investigator if the applicant is specified in Article 27 (1)-(7) and (9) of the NCN Act. If an individual applies, the decision is not communicated to the participating entity specified in the proposal. More on the service of decisions. 

Lauch of NCN’s international “LUKE Joint Call: R&I Cooperation with Ukraine”

The international LUKE Joint Call has just been launched by the National Science Centre (NCN) in collaboration with international partners in the LUKE project - Linking Ukraine to the European Research Area – Joint Funding and Capacity Building Platform for Enhanced Research and Innovation Cooperation.

The aim of the call is to support research projects involving international collaboration, with Ukraine as the key partner. The call is targeted at strengthening integration of the Ukrainian research and innovation system with the European Research Area (ERA).

Proposals should address one of the following topics:

1. Energy: Sustainable and renewable energy and energy security
2. Cybersecurity: Cyber resilience of critical infrastructures and adaptive cybersecurity systems
3. Medical and health research: Telemedicine, biomedical research
4. Social sciences and humanities: Social reconciliation, sustainable social development, and human capital restoration

The topics are described in more detail here.

Countries participating in the call: Austria, Czechia, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Turkey, Ukraine.

The call is open to international research consortia comprising at least three entities from various countries participating in the programme, of which at least one must be based in Ukraine.

The principal investigator of the Polish team must be at least a PhD holder.

The total NCN budget for all Polish research teams selected in the call is EUR 750,000.

The Polish project budget in the joint proposal will be calculated according to the following exchange rate: EUR 1 = PLN 4.3463.

Under the LUKE programme, funding may be awarded for remuneration of the research team members, salaries and scholarships for students and PhD students, purchase or manufacturing of research equipment, and for other costs crucial to the research project.

The application process consists of:

• International level, during which Polish research teams will draft joint proposals (in English) together with foreign partners and submit them to the electronic submission system PT-Outline
• National level, during which Polish research teams will draft NCN proposals for the Polish part of the project and submit them to NCN electronically via the OSF submission system within 7 days of the date of submission of joint proposals at the international level. 

The call comprises a single stage which means that only joint proposals are submitted at the international level. The proposal submission procedure at the international level is described in detail in the LUKE Joint Call text.

Call timeline:

• Submission deadline for joint proposals in the PT-Outline submission system: 15 May 2026,23.59 p.m..
• Submission deadline for NCN proposals in the OSF submission system: 22 May 2026
• Call results: November 2026
• Project start date: January 2027 – March 2027
• Project end date: December 2028 – March 2029

The principal investigator in the Polish research team drafts an NCN proposal for the Polish part of the project in the OSF submission system, which is then submitted to NCN electronically via the OSF submission system within 7 days of the submission deadline for joint proposals. Information in NCN proposals and in joint proposals must be consistent.

Under LUKE, only basic research proposals are eligible for submission to NCN, where basic research is understood as experimental or theoretical endeavours undertaken primarily to acquire new knowledge of the underlying foundations of phenomena and observable facts, without any direct commercial application or use).

Information in NCN proposals that affects the merit-based evaluation (e.g. concerning composition and remuneration of the research team or forecasted costs) must also be included in the joint proposals to enable evaluation of the forecasted costs and project feasibility. If such information is missing, the proposal may be rejected at the stage of eligibility check.

Please read:

• the call documents available on the website of the LUKE Partnership (applicable to all applicants in the call) and
• information for applicants below and annexes hereto (only for applicants requesting NCN funding).

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Eligible applicants

Who may act as a principal investigator?

What are the topics covered by the call?

What is the project duration?

How should the project budget of the Polish part of the project be planned?

Is the number of Polish research team members predetermined?

Can proposals in this call include application for state aid?

What is the proposal evaluation procedure?

Who performs the merit-based evaluation of proposals?

When and how will the results be announced?

Useful information

Where can additional information be found?

As of the March calls, the proposal form will include a new section on retracted articles. The new solution will complement the evaluation of applicants’ publication track record based on the DORA Declaration and will provide a more comprehensive overview of grant applicants’ publication track record.

Since 2018, NCN has been a signatory of the DORA Declaration and has evaluated the publication rack record on the basis of value and originality of research achievements rather than bibliometric indicators, such as the number of publications or citations. Funding proposals must include 1-10 most important papers of the researcher, published or accepted for publication over the past 10 years. The proposal review is based solely on the information included in the proposal, thereby fostering equal treatment of applicants and limiting bias.

New requirement

In order to ensure a more comprehensive overview of the applicants’ publication track record, the NCN Council has introduced a requirement that all researchers must disclose information on retracted papers (Resolution of 12 February 2026).

A retracted paper is an article published or accepted for publication and then formally withdrawn by the journal editors. Retraction may indicate a breach of publication standards. It is identified by the journal editors, has a certain status, reason and context described.

According to the modifications, the proposal form must include information on any articles retracted over the past 10 years, reasons for retraction, co-authors and DOI of retracted articles.

The modification will enter into effect as of the launch date of OPUS 31 and PRELUDIUM 25 (16 March 2026). The new requirement will apply to researchers whose publication track record will be evaluated, i.e. principal investigators, as well as (depending on the call) mentors, senior researchers and PIs of LAP proposals.

The new information will form an integral part of the evaluated proposal and will provide expert-reviewers with a more comprehensive overview of the publication track record of applying researchers without increasing discretion in the process.

Owing to Weave-UNISONO funding, researchers from the Maria Skłodowska-Curie National Research Institute of Oncology together with their German partners will study proteins driving prostate cancer progression.

Prof. Monika Pietrowska will lead the Polish research team in carrying out the project: “Characterization of the ALDH1A1/MMP11 pathway as a potential biomarker and regulator of prostate cancer progression and metastases.” The German research team will be headed by Dr Ielizaveta Gorodetska from the Dresden University of Technology.

Prostate cancer (PCa) is one of the most common cancer in men worldwide and its metastatic form has low survival and limited therapeutic options. Our study describes a new mechanism whereby ALDH1A1 and ALDH1A3 are critical regulators of PCa radioresistance and metastases by activating a pathway using retinoic acid, TGF-β1 and MMP11. MMP11 was found to contribute to the PCa progression, whereas its inhibition enhances prostate cancer cell radio-sensitization. The tumour and plasma MMP11 levels have shown a potential to differentiate between metastatic and non-metastatic, and to predict disease progression and response to therapy. Development of the MMP11 targeting strategy may enhance cancer diagnosis, patient stratification, and treatment efficacy in prostate cancer, especially when combined with radiotherapy.

The successful proposal was evaluated by the German Research Foundation (DFG) and the evaluation results were approved by NCN under the Weave cooperation. The Polish project budget is over PLN 950,000.

Weave-UNISONO and Lead Agency Procedure 

Weave-UNISONO is a result of multilateral cooperation between the research-funding agencies associated in Science Europe and aims at simplifying the submission and selection procedures in all academic disciplines, involving researchers from two or three European countries.

The winning applicants are selected pursuant to the Lead Agency Procedure according to which one partner institution performs a complete merit-based evaluation of proposals, the results of which are subsequently approved by the other partners.

Under the Weave Programme, partner research teams apply for parallel funding to the Lead Agency and their respective institutions participating in the Programme. Joint research projects must include a coherent research program with the added value of the international cooperation clearly identified.

Weave-UNISONO is carried out on an ongoing basis. Research teams intending to cooperate with partners from Austria, Czechia, Slovenia, Switzerland, Germany, Luxembourg and Belgium-Flanders are urged to read the call text and apply for funding.

Dr Aneta Pazik Aybar, Poland’s representative in the EOSC Association and head of NCN’s Open Science Team has been appointed Co-Chair of the EOSC Steering Board.

Aneta Pazik-Aybar On 13 February 2026, nominees-experts from the EU member states and countries associated to Horizon Europe appointed Co-Chairs of the EOSC Steering Board, a key strategic authority of the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC).

The EOSC Steering Board supports the European Commission in guiding the EOSC development and forms a part of the EOSC Tripartite Governance.

This is a huge honour for Aneta, as well as the National Science Centre and our country. Aneta’s involvement and long-term efforts to support open science have a real impact on the EOSC development in Poland and abroad.

In view of the recent International Day of Women and Girls in Science, her success is of particular importance. Aneta’s experience, knowledge and passion serve as an example of the highest European decision-making position of women in the field of research and innovation.

Congratulations to Aneta! We are proud of your accomplishment and wish you every success in developing strong, open and modern European science.

We are pleased to announce that the Slovenian agency ARIS will conduct a call for proposals under the Weave programme between 16 February 2026 and 31 March 2026, with the Slovenian agency acting as the lead agency.

Under the Weave-UNISONO call, if a joint proposal is submitted to ARIS, an NCN proposal must be submitted electronically via the OSF submission system as soon as possible following the submission of the joint proposal to the ARIS, by 7 April 2026, 23:59 p.m. at the latest.

Once the work on the NCN proposal has started in the OSF submission system, the Polish research team has 45 calendar days to complete the proposal and submit it to the NCN. After that, the proposal can no longer be edited, in which case a Polish research team that has not sent its proposal to the NCN must prepare a new proposal and complete it in the OSF submission system.

At the beginning of March 2026, the M-ERA.NET network will launch its next call for international research projects. The call focuses on research and innovation in materials technology, aimed at supporting the European Green Deal and the Sustainable Development Goals.

This year’s edition will cover the following thematic areas:

• Clean energy technologies;
• Circular economy;
• Digital technology integration.

For more information, please visit the official M-ERA.NET program website.

Note: This announcement is for informational purposes only. Detailed terms and conditions will be specified in the official call for proposals.

We are pleased to announce that the Czech agency GAČR will conduct a call for proposals under the Weave programme between 9 February and 31 March 2026, with the Czech agency acting as the lead agency.

Under the Weave-UNISONO call, if a joint proposal is submitted to GAČR, an NCN proposal must be submitted electronically via the OSF submission system as soon as possible following the submission of the joint proposal to the GAČR, by 7 April 2026, 23:59 p.m. at the latest.

PLEASE NOTE: Once the work on the NCN proposal has started in the OSF submission system, the Polish research team has 45 calendar days to complete the proposal and submit it to the NCN. After that, the proposal can no longer be edited, in which case a Polish research team that has not sent its proposal to the NCN must prepare a new proposal and complete it in the OSF submission system.