On 4^th March, the National Science Centre (NCN) celebrated its 5^th anniversary. A central event of the celebration was the conference entitled Best practices in supporting outstanding scientists and helping them successfully apply for ERC grants. The conference was organised jointly by the NCN and the ERC and took place at Jagiellonian University’s Collegium Novum. The event was addressed to researchers conducting their research in Poland, representatives of Polish universities and research institutes, as well as European research funding organisations.