15 September 2025

The National Science Centre (the “NCN”) has launched the OPUS 30 LAP/Weave call for research projects. The call is open to proposals for research projects carried out in international bilateral or trilateral cooperation under the Weave programme as well as projects carried out with the use of large international research equipment by the Polish research teams. The call is addressed at researchers at researchers at any stage of their academic careers, who are planning:

• research projects without foreign participation (OPUS proposals),

EXAMPLE: A research project carried out by a research team affiliated with a Polish institution.

• research projects implemented by Polish research teams with the use of large international research equipment (OPUS proposals),

EXAMPLE: A research project carried out by a research team affiliated with a Polish institution, using data from the Gaia space mission launched by the European Space Agency in 2013.

• research projects with participation of foreign partners that do not apply for funding for that purpose under the Weave programme (however, foreign teams may apply for funding under other research-funding programmes that are not co-launched by the NCN pursuant to the LAP under the Weave programme) (OPUS proposals),

EXAMPLE: A research project carried out by a research team affiliated with a Polish institution (applying for NCN funding of the Polish part of the research project), in partnership with Spanish partners that seek independent funding for the Spanish part of the project from other sources.

• research projects in additional partnership with foreign partners that do not apply for funding for that purpose under the Weave programme and with additional use of large research equipment (OPUS proposals),

EXAMPLE: A research project carried out by a research team affiliated with a Polish institution (applying for NCN funding for the Polish part of the research project), using data from the Gaia space mission launched by the European Space Agency in 2013, in partnership with Spanish partners that seek independent funding for the Spanish part of the project from other sources.

• research projects within the framework of LAP cooperation under the Weave programme, i.e., in cooperation with foreign research teams from Austria, Czechia, Slovenia, Germany, Switzerland, Luxembourg or Belgium-Flanders that seek parallel funding of the projects from their respective research-funding agencies under the Weave programme, i.e., to FWF, GAČR, ARIS, DFG, SNSF, FNR or FWO (OPUS LAP proposals),

EXAMPLE: A research project carried out by a research team affiliated with a Polish university (applying for NCN funding of the Polish part of the project) in partnership with a German research team that seeks funding from the DFG within the framework of the Weave programme.

• research projects within the framework of LAP cooperation under the Weave programme, in partnership with foreign partners that do not seek funding for that purpose under the Weave programme or with the additional use of large research equipment (OPUS LAP proposals).

EXAMPLE: A research project carried out by a research team affiliated with a Polish institution (applying for NCN funding of the Polish part of the project) in partnership with a German research team applying for DFG funding within the framework of the Weave programme and in partnership with Spanish partners that seek independent funding for the Spanish part of the project from other sources.

International cooperation is not mandatory under OPUS 30 and proposals submitted in partnership with foreign partners will not be given preferential treatment over proposals submitted without such partnerships.

The call budget is PLN 550 million.

Proposals must be submitted electronically via the OSF submission system (https://osf.opi.org.pl/en/) pursuant to the proposal submission procedure.

The proposal form will be accessible in the OSF submission system as of 17 September 2025, and the deadline is 15 December 2025, at 2:00 p.m.

OPUS LAP proposals drafted by a Polish research team in partnership with foreign research teams must be submitted via the OSF submission system by 15 December 2025, at 2:00 p.m. Furthermore, each foreign research team involved in a project within the framework of Weave cooperation, must also submit a funding proposal, including a set of required documents, to its respective research-funding agency, by the date and according to the terms specified thereby. Proposals must be submitted as follows:

• research teams from Austria: to the FWF;
• research teams Czechia: to the GAČR;
• research teams from Slovenia: to the ARIS;
• research teams from Germany: to the DFG;
• research teams from Switzerland: to the SNSF;
• research teams from Luxembourg: to the FNR; and
• research teams from Belgium-Flanders: to the FWO.

The call results will be published as follows:

Significant modifications:

• the principal investigator is required to spend at least 50% of the project duration period in Poland or at the foreign division of the participating entity, and be available to the participating entity;
• the qualifications and scientific achievements of the principal investigator will not be evaluated by external experts; 
• the post-doc’s remuneration rate has been updated to PLN 140,000 - 210,000 per year;
• it is no longer required to justify post-doc’s remuneration over PLN 140,000 per year;
• the post-doctoral fellowship can now be pursued during the course of studies and its duration has been reduced from 10 to 9 months;
• there is a new maximum limit on salaries and scholarships for students and PhD students of PLN 8,500 for each student or PhD student under NCN-funded research projects;
• the doctoral scholarship rate has been increased to PLN 6,500;
• the restriction on receiving NCN full-time salary alongside pension benefits has been extended to include equivalent foreign benefits (the modification applies to all types of full-time salaries for principle investigators, post-docs, senior researchers, and supporting staff);
• the policy of open access publication of research results has been updated;
• the definition of a collective investigator has been modified.

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Who may apply for funding?

Which proposal should be submitted (OPUS or OPUS LAP)?

Who may act as a principal investigator?

What is the Weave Programme?

Are there any restrictions on submitting proposals for research projects under NCN calls?

What topics can research projects cover?

What is the project duration?

What type of positions are held by the research team members?

How should the Polish project budget be planned?

Open Access publication of research results

Proposal form

Can proposals in this call include application for state aid?

What is the proposal evaluation procedure?

What is reviewed in the merit-based evaluation of proposals?

Who performs the merit-based evaluation of proposals?

When and how will the results be announced?

Where can additional information be found?

Useful information

The NCN Council emphasises the urgent need to increase NCN funding by 400 million PLN in 2026. Without this increase, the grant system cannot continue to grow, opportunities for early-career researchers will be curtailed and the overall innovativeness of Polish research will decline. This statement refers to the draft state budget released on August 28.

In its resolution of September 21, the Council of the National Science Centre expressed deep concern that the draft state budget for 2026, initially adopted by the Council of Ministers at the end of August, maintains funding for NCN research projects at an unchanged level.

The Council firmly states that the level of the earmarked subsidy set out in the draft means that:

• the success rate in NCN’s main calls in 2026 will be twice as low as the corresponding rate in national calls run by European grant agencies,
• it will not be possible to adequately adjust project budgets, including remuneration and the equipment purchase limit, which has remained unchanged since 2012,
• the NCN Council will be forced to maintain restrictions on the frequency of calls for proposals and may even have to consider reducing the range of funding opportunities.

The NCN Council stresses that the low success rate in calls, caused by insufficient funding by the Centre:

• excludes a significant part of the research community from competing for grants, which considerably reduces the innovativeness of scientific research in Poland as well as the quality of education at universities;
• in the case of open calls, reduces the chances of younger researchers;
• privileges stronger research centres and limits the expansion of islands of excellence at universities that do not receive funding under the Excellence Initiative;
• prevents the development of doctoral schools at PAS institutes, which can in practice finance scholarships almost exclusively through research projects;
• disrupts the process of reliable evaluation of scientific disciplines.

The NCN Council therefore calls for an increase of 400 million PLN in NCN funding, stressing that additional resources for grant competitions will not only strengthen the national research system but also enhance the ability of Polish researchers to secure European funding. At the same time, the Council notes that the advantage of countries such as the United States and China in the field of key innovations – both civilisational and defence-related – results above all from consistent support for scientific research, including fundamental research.

Full text of the NCN Council resolution

Professor Marcin Zajenkowski from the University of Warsaw has been awarded an Ig Nobel Prize in psychology for his research on the impact of feedback about intelligence levels on temporary feelings of narcissism. His research has been supported by the NCN for many years.

Professor Zajenkowski received the award jointly with Gilles Gignak from the University of Western Australia. They were recognised for their publication titled “Telling people they are intelligent is correlated with a sense of narcissistic uniqueness,” which appeared in the journal Intelligence. The researchers’ study shows that praise regarding a person’s IQ can boost self-esteem and feelings of uniqueness, while negative comments tend to lower these aspects.

The research by Prof. Zajenkowski was carried out with the support of the National Science Centre under the OPUS 12 grant. He is currently continuing his work, in part thanks to two additional OPUS grants.

The Ig Nobel Prize is a humorous counterpart to the Nobel Prize, aimed at highlighting unusual aspects of scientific work and promoting science. The awards are given to research that may seem amusing at first glance, but above all encourages deeper reflection. Importantly, all awarded studies have genuine scientific value and are published in peer-reviewed, prestigious journals. This year, Ig Nobel Prizes were awarded, among others, to researchers studying lizards’ pizza preferences, the effect of a mother eating garlic on the sensations of a breastfed child, whether cows painted with zebra-like stripes can avoid fly bites, and the impact of alcohol consumption on the ability to speak a foreign language.

The 2025 Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony

1. Under the Weave-UNISONO call, if a joint proposal is submitted to the SNSF as the lead agency by 1 October 2025, 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 SNSF, by 8 October 2025 at the latest.
2. 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 which may impact the budget for research tasks performed by the Polish research teams specified in the NCN proposal (see points 3 and 4 below).

   The 45-day period applies only to the period during which NCN proposals may be edited in the OSF submission system. Under Weave-UNISONO, NCN proposals must be submitted to the NCN via the OSF submission system as soon as possible following the submission of joint proposals to the lead agency, within 7 calendar days at the latest.

3. NCN proposals processed in the OSF submission system:
   • by 30 September 2025 (inclusive), may include research projects that will be carried out by the Polish research teams from 2026 onwards. The following years will be included in the project budget, depending on the project implementation period:
     • 2026-2027 for two-year projects,
     • 2026-2027-2028 for three-year projects and
     • 2026-2027-2028-2029 for four-year projects;
   • from 1 October 2025 (inclusive), may include research projects that will be carried out by the Polish research teams from 2027 onwards.The following years will be included in the project budget, depending on the project implementation period:
     • 2027-2028 for two-year projects,
     • 2027-2028-2029 for three-year projects and
     • 2027-2028-2029-2030 for four-year projects.
4. In the case of joint proposals submitted to the lead agencies covering Polish team budgets from 2026 onwards, make sure that:
   • the work on NCN proposals in the OSF submission system starts before 30 September 2025 and
   • NCN proposals are submitted to the NCN within 45 days of the date that the work on the proposal has started in the OSF submission system.

   If the work on NCN proposals in the OSF submission system starts before 30 September 2025, with project performance scheduled beginning in 2026, and the NCN proposal is not completed and submitted within 45 days of the date the work on the proposal has started in the OSF submission system, a new proposal must be created. A new NCN proposal (created after 1 October 2025) may cover research projects with a start date in 2027. If a joint proposal has already been submitted to the lead agency for a research project involving 2026 funding, information in the NCN proposal will be inconsistent with information in the joint proposal and may result in the proposal being rejected on the grounds that it does not meet the eligibility criteria.

5. The budget of the Polish part of the project in the joint proposal should be calculated according to the following exchange rate:
   • In joint proposals, for which NCN proposals are processed and submitted via the OSF submission system by 31 December 2025: 1 EUR=4.2717;
   • In joint proposals, for which NCN proposals are processed and submitted via the OSF submission system from 1 January 2025 onwards: 1 EUR=4,2626 PLN;
6. NCN proposals processed in the OSF submission system in 2025, to which the exchange rate of 1 EUR=4,2717 PLN applies, must be completed and submitted via the OSF submission system by 31 December 2025, 23:59:59. Otherwise, the proposal can no longer be edited, in which case the Polish research team must prepare a new proposal and complete it in the OSF submission system, to which the exchange rate 1 EUR=4,2626 PLN will apply. If a joint proposal has already been submitted to the lead agency, in which the budget of the Polish part of the project was calculated according to another exchange rate, information in the NCN proposal will be inconsistent with information in the joint proposal and may result in the proposal being rejected on the grounds that it does not meet the eligibility criteria.

For more than a decade, the NCN Award has honoured researchers who, at the outset of their careers, have achieved significant accomplishments in basic research. The winners of this year’s edition will be announced on 15 October.

NCN 2024 Award Ceremony This year, more than 3,800 individuals were eligible to nominate candidates for the NCN Award 2025. A total of 185 applications were submitted, covering 125 candidates:

• 41 individuals (53 nominations) in the Humanities, Social Sciences and Art Sciences (HS),
• 57 individuals (87 nominations) in the Physical Sciences and Engineering (ST),
• 27 individuals (45 nominations) in the Life Sciences (NZ).

The Award was established by the NCN Council in 2013 as a distinction for researchers employed in Poland who have achieved significant success in the field of basic research. Each year, the Award is presented in three fields: Humanities, Social Sciences and Art Sciences (HS), Physical Sciences and Engineering (ST) and Life Sciences (NZ). Winners receive a prize of 50,000 PLN.

Since 2022, the criterion of chronological age has been replaced with that of academic age. Candidates for the Award must be researchers within 12 years of obtaining their PhD degree. This period may be extended to account for career breaks due to illness or childcare.

Winners are selected by a committee composed of NCN Council members and the NCN Director. Nominees may be presented by, among others, former members of the NCN Council, past winners of the Award, principal investigators (PI) of MAESTRO and SONATA BIS projects, and experts who have reviewed proposals in selected calls.

The NCN Award ceremony will be held on 15 October 2025 at 6:30 p.m. at the Manggha Museum of Japanese Art and Technology in Kraków. The event will be hosted by Karolina Głowacka from Radio Naukowe. A live broadcast of the ceremony will be available online.

In the following weeks, the winners will take part in the series Science at the Centre, organised by the Copernicus Centre and the NCN.

Media patronage

We are launching the thirtieth edition of the OPUS call for national and international research projects, as well as the twenty-first edition of the SONATA call for researchers holding a PhD degree. The total funding available amounts to 720 million PLN.

The National Science Centre funds research projects through open calls, carried out in the field of basic research, understood as experimental or theoretical work undertaken primarily to acquire new knowledge about the foundations of phenomena and observable facts. Basic research does not need to be aimed at immediate commercial application, yet it forms the foundation for further applied research and serves as the driving force for innovation.

In NCN calls, researchers may receive grants to conduct research at Polish institutions. Project budgets may include funding for the remuneration of the principal investigator and salaries for research team members, scholarships, post-doctoral fellowships, research equipment, devices and software, travel, visits, consultations, outsourcing and other costs crucial to the research.

OPUS with the International LAP Track

The largest NCN grant programme, OPUS, offers researchers at all stages of their careers the opportunity to secure funding for full-scale research projects.

The call allows for planning both national projects and those carried out in international collaboration.  In the autumn edition of OPUS, we are additionally launching the LAP (Lead Agency Procedure) track, which enables collaboration with partners from Austria, Czechia, Slovenia, Germany, Switzerland, Luxembourg or Belgium–Flanders. Partners apply for funding in their own countries for carry out research within programmes organised in cooperation with the NCN. Proposals submitted to OPUS LAP will be evaluated by NCN experts alongside other OPUS proposals, and the results of their evaluation will be approved by the partner agencies.

The principal investigator’s track record must include at least one paper published or accepted for publication. The call does not impose minimum or maximum requirements regarding the principal investigator’s academic degree or research experience, the budget of an individual project or the composition of the project team.

OPUS projects may be planned for 12, 24, 36 or 48 months, while OPUS LAP projects may run for 24, 36 or 48 months, depending on the country where the partner team is based.

The total budget OPUS 30+LAP/Weave for OPUS 30 amounts to 550 million PLN.

SONATA for Researchers with a PhD Degree

The SONATA call is intended for researchers who obtained their PhD degree 2 to 7 years ago. It provides an opportunity for early-career researchers to gain experience as leaders of a research team. The principal investigator’s track record must include at least one paper published or accepted for publication.

SONATA projects can be planned for 12, 24 or 36 months. In addition to the principal investigator, any number of team members may be involved in the project, including students, PhD students and post-docs. The budget of an individual grant is not capped; however, as in other NCN calls, its relevance is assessed by experts.

A researcher may serve as the principal investigator on a SONATA-funded project only once.

The total budget for SONATA 21 amounts to 170 million PLN.

Changes to Team Members’ Remuneration

With the autumn call announcement, we are updating the salary limits for team members involved in project implementation. For postdoctoral positions, the maximum annual salary may now reach 210,000 PLN (previously 140,000 PLN). The total amount of salaries and scholarships received by a student or PhD student from grants may not exceed 8,500 PLN per month (previously 5,000–6,500 PLN). We have also increased the doctoral scholarship rate to 6,500 PLN per month for the entire duration of the project.

Evaluation Process and Criteria

Applications submitted to the NCN will first undergo an eligibility check, followed by a two-stage merit-based evaluation.

In the first stage, applications will be reviewed by members of Expert Team appointed by the NCN Council. Decisions on whether to recommend an application for the second stage or to reject it will be made collectively by the Team during the first Team meeting. In the second stage, applications will be reviewed by at least two reviewers. The final recommendation will be prepared by the Team, based on the external reviews and discussions during the second Team meeting.

Experts will assess, among other factors, the scientific quality and innovative nature of the research, the potential impact of the project on the development of the discipline, the feasibility of its implementation and its prospective significance. Scientific performance of the Principal Investigator will be evaluated solely by members of the Expert Team. For OPUS LAP applications, additional evaluation will focus on the balanced and complementary contribution of all teams to the project, scientific achievements of the Principal Investigators of foreign teams and their execution of other research projects.

Deadlines

The submission of applications in the OSF system will open on 17 September and remain available until 15 December at 2:00 p.m. Decisions for OPUS and SONATA applications will be announced within six months of the close of the submission period, i.e., no later than June 2026. Results for LAP applications will be announced later, as they are approved by the partner agencies within the Weave programme.

In cooperation with the European Biodiversity Partnership BIODIVERSA+, we invite submissions for international, interdisciplinary research projects in the field of biodiversity conservation sciences.

The BiodivConnect call supports innovative research that contributes to the restoration of ecosystems and habitats in a sustainable, resilient and integrated manner, from the local to the global level. Its aim is to generate knowledge and practical solutions that enable effective biodiversity restoration, taking into account ecological, socio-economic and cultural aspects.

Call Topics:

• Setting restoration targets and measuring success
• Transferability and scaling of nature restoration efforts
• Resilience and sustainability of restoration efforts

Applications for the call may be submitted by international consortia comprising at least three research teams from at least three countries participating in the call.

Countries participating in the call: Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Israel, Lithuania, Latvia, Moldova, Germany, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tunisia, Turkey, Hungary, Italy (Province of Bolzano), Faroe Islands.

Countries that have declared their participation in the call: Greece, Iceland and Portugal.

Polish research teams may receive funding for their part of the work from the National Science Centre. The budget may include funding for the salaries of the research team members, salaries and scholarships for students or PhD students, purchase of research equipment and materials, costs of services, travel and other related expenses. The principal investigator of the Polish team must hold at least a PhD degree. Projects may be planned for a duration of three years.

In the first stage of the call, the Polish team, together with its international partners, must submit a pre-proposal proposal, which will be evaluated by an Expert Team jointly appointed by the research funding agencies. The most promising teams will be invited to submit joint full proposals in the second stage. The results of the call will be announced by the end of November 2026.

Research on environmentally friendly methods for enhancing soil properties, utilising waste generated in other sectors of the economy, will be funded under the Weave-UNISONO programme. The project will be carried out jointly by researchers from Poland and Germany.

The 2023 United Nations Agenda for Sustainable Development emphasises that contemporary modernisation efforts should focus on eliminating poverty in all its forms, while simultaneously pursuing a range of economic, social and environmental goals. One of the recommendations outlined in the agenda, in the context of the state and use of the planet’s resources, is to produce new materials, wherever possible, from waste generated in other sectors of the economy. The aim is to advance a circular economy.

This objective is embodied in the project entitled “Impact of Novel Synthesized Eco-friendly Hydrogel Composites from Insect Breeding Waste on Soil Hydraulics, Stability and Fertility,” which has received funding under the Weave-UNISONO call. The research will be conducted by a team led by Dr. hab. Katarzyna Szewczuk-Karpisz from the Bohdan Dobrzański Institute of Agrophysics of the Polish Academy of Sciences, in collaboration with a partner team from the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz University in Hanover, headed by Professor Stephan Peth. The researchers will work on environmentally friendly hydrogel composites made from waste generated by the insect farming industry. They will investigate their impact on soil properties and plant growth. Their goal is to develop composites with enhanced capacity to mitigate the negative effects of drought and to improve the efficiency of degraded soil reclamation. The budget for the Polish part of the project amounts to nearly 1.1 million PLN.

The proposal was evaluated by the German Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft as the lead agency. The National Science Centre accepted the results of this evaluation and awarded funding to the Polish team.

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. 

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.

“I like to call basic research the fuel for all other types of research: industrial, translational, clinical,” said Sabina Górska, a microbiologist at the Polish Academy of Sciences, in Karpacz. “If Cooper and Miller had not studied the thymus, they would not have discovered T lymphocytes. Consequently, there would be no development of CAR-T therapy, which is revolutionising blood cancer treatment today. Basic research is an investment in the future, the effects of which we see after many years.”

Panel Discussion: Science in Action During this year's Economic Forum in Karpacz the National Science Centre organised its own discussion panels for the first time. On 2 September, the debate “Science in Action. From Basic Research to Practical Solutions” took place with the participation of scientists who have founded companies and develop technologies based on research results: Prof. Piotr Garstecki from the Institute of Physical Chemistry of the Polish Academy of Sciences (PAN), President of Scope Fluidics; Dr. hab. Sabina Górska, Professor at the Ludwik Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences, Prof. Jacek Jemielity, Chemist at the University of Warsaw, founder of ExploRNA and Dr hab. inż. Alicja Kazek-Kęsik, Professor at the Silesian University of Technology and NCN Council member. The discussion was led by Anna Korzekwa-Józefowicz.

The discussion focused on the role of basic research in creating innovation, on the skills and working methods developed in academia that prove effective in business, and on the conditions Poland should establish to compete more effectively in the global innovation ecosystem.

Our Own Forges of Invention

Piotr Garstecki explained why the competitiveness of the economy depends on the level of research. “Business is a race to better meet the customer’s needs. In this race, with a given level of knowledge, we reach a certain plateau – it becomes difficult to go further and gain an advantage. That’s when we need better technological solutions. And to have them, we need to conduct science at a level that is truly innovative. We live in a globalised world. The patent system is a global system. If someone in China, India, the United States or Germany invents and patents something, it doesn’t matter that we come up with the same thing five years later in Kielce or Warsaw. We’ll have to buy that technology from them. Ergo, to have a competitive long-term economy, we need our own forges of invention.”

He also spoke about the need to concentrate resources, comparing the Polish scientific system to the Boston ecosystem. “There, ten times fewer researchers work than in Poland. They use roughly the same amount of funding as all of Polish research, yet they produce four times more high-quality publications. And when it comes to technology companies, Boston alone has dozens of times more than the whole of Poland. It’s like the Amazon jungle, where unique specimens grow that can’t be found anywhere else. And in Poland? We scatter seeds all over the country, funding ten thousand small greenhouses where no tree can fit. What we need, however, is ‘density’. If we want to have a bit of the Amazon jungle, we can’t spread vines across all of Poland,” he emphasised.

“We can afford the vision of building the Central Communication Port, while at the same time financing bus lines or local rail connections, but we can’t afford to create strong research centres. And yet it is precisely the concentration of resources – this “density” – that is critical for conducting research at the highest level,” he added.

Jacek Jemielity questioned the division between basic and applied science. “The most important thing is that it’s good research – research that truly competes with the best research centres in the world. In my field – mRNA chemistry – the line between these two types of research is fluid. I don't know where one ends and the other begins. We try to publish our results in the best possible journals, but first we patent them if they have commercial potential, and then we either license them or implement them ourselves. However, if we want to see real change in Poland, we must increase funding for the first stage – the moment when the idea for a practical application is only just beginning to take shape,” he emphasised. “To reap a rich harvest, we must first sow something – choosing the best possible seeds that can grow into something exceptional on a global scale.”

Anna Korzekwa-Józefowicz, Jacek Jemielity, Alicja Kazek-Kęsik, Piotr Garstecki, Sabina Górska Alicja Kazek-Kęsik also highlighted the importance of funding research at this early stage. “If we enable projects at the lowest TRL levels, 1–2, some of them may turn out to be truly groundbreaking. It is worth supporting bold ideas, even if there is a risk they might not succeed – what matters is that they can be properly evaluated. It is crucial that innovation is not blocked from the very start,” she emphasised. As examples of solutions that grew out of basic research, she cited a method developed by a team at Jagiellonian University for identifying pathogens using mathematical models (combining computer science with microbiology) and T-shirts created at the Silesian University of Technology for monitoring heart activity, which use carbon nanotubes – providing a convenient alternative to traditional Holter monitors.

Researchers in business

The discussion participants also addressed the question of which skills – beyond strictly technical knowledge – gained in academia give researchers an advantage in business.

Piotr Garstecki highlighted curiosity, logic, disciplined thinking and the ability to collaborate. “In research, you have to carefully observe the world, look for opportunities and risks. You can’t stop at superficial explanations – you have to seek the truth. Even if hierarchical structures still exist in academia, good research is based on the exchange of ideas. All of this is extremely valuable in business.” Sabina Górska added: “Researchers know how to write projects – and not just scientific ones. In the PAN institutes, statutory funding is barely enough to buy gloves. So, we must be able to write a strong, convincing project, manage it and optimise resources. We are creative because we work under constrained conditions. Every zloty is examined from every angle, thinking about whether a given test can be used differently. This has made us very resourceful.” Alicia Kazek-Kęsik emphasised the ability to accept criticism: “In research, we learn that criticism is not an attack, but feedback. When entering industry, a researcher must ask: what is truly needed? Sometimes it turns out that the idea is good, but not profitable, or the market is too small. One must be able to accept this information, change direction, and devote time to strictly industrial research. At the same time, we must not lose sight of basic research, because it is the engine of development.” Jacek Jemielity added that his advantage as an entrepreneur developing his own research ideas is his deep understanding of the technology his company works on.

Where do innovations disappear?

What is the biggest obstacle for a researcher-innovator? When asked this question, the panellists pointed to bureaucracy and unstable funding. Jacek Jemielity highlighted the restrictive Public Procurement Law, which prolongs research processes, as well as low salaries and employment regulations that make it difficult to hire the best specialists. Alicja Kazek-Kęsik pointed out the unrealistic expectations placed on research. “It is often assumed that every project must end with implementation. This discourages researchers from taking on ambitious and risky topics, because they fear being held accountable if there is no commercial success,” she emphasised.

Sabina Górska spoke about the difficulties of valuing technology and communicating with business. “When it comes to sales, there’s always the question: are we pricing too low or too high? Often, we don’t speak the same language as business. And when it comes to initiating start-ups, although start-up culture in Poland is developing, there is still a lack of early-stage funding. Investors expect a prototype right away, or better yet proof that something is already being sold, while at this stage scientists often have only an idea,” she explained. She pointed to the TANGO programme, previously run by the NCN and NCBR, as a model example of support. “I used it twice. Thanks to it, we were able to verify our assumptions and sell a licence for a rapid diagnostic test for infections in pregnant women. This programme made it possible to check whether discoveries had industrial potential. Today, such a programme is sorely missing,” she emphasised.

One decision by the Minister

Science as an Investment. How to Win the Future? From the left: Krzysztof Jóźwiak, Wojciech Fendler i Krzysztof Pyrć The panellists were also asked by an audience member what single decision they would recommend to the Minister of Science. Alicja Kazek-Kęsik emphasised that ‘her heart lies with basic research’. “If a long-term plan for financing basic research were created, it would allow the NCN Council to work over a longer horizon on changes to the grant programs, tailoring them to the needs of the scientific community,” she noted. Jacek Jemielity supported Piotr Garstecki’s earlier remarks about the improper distribution of available funds. “I would advise the Ministry of Science and Higher Education to fund research more boldly in a quality-oriented way. If we want to spread money thinly across everyone, we won’t generate any real effect. If financial instruments were designed to promote quality, we could expect better results,” he said. Piotr Garstecki added that it is worth fully embracing the fact that the Ministry’s name combines both science and higher education. “These are two different worlds and should be supported differently. We fund public transport, but when it comes to space travel, instead of a network of regional airports, we need one cosmodrome that can at least get us to the Moon,” he illustrated. “The most important thing is to increase funding and ensure greater stability of the system,” summarised Sabina Górska. “Let’s not change the rules every year or two. We need predictability and support for basic research.

Research as an investment

On the last day of the Economic Forum, 4 September, the panel “Science as an Investment. How to Win the Future?” was held, featuring Professor Wojciech Fendler, President of the Medical Research Agency; Krzysztof Jóźwiak, Director of the National Science Centre (NCN); and Krzysztof Pyrć, President of the Foundation for Polish Science. The discussion focused on the role of the state in funding research and how decisions made today will shape Poland’s position in the coming decades. This topic was also addressed in the first episode of the 4th season of the NCN podcast – available for the first time in video format – featuring the heads of the agency. Krzysztof Jóźwiak also took part in the panel “In Search of Scientific Excellence.” He also discussed work on the National Strategy for the Internationalisation of Science and Higher Education, organised by NAWA.