POLONEZ BIS invites researchers from all over the world to move to Poland for 24 months to carry out basic research projects at Polish Host Institutions. It is not an ordinary grant but a comprehensive programme that integrates research, short-term cross-sectoral secondments and soft skills training.

POLONEZ BIS is addressed to PhD holders or researchers with at least 4 years of full-time research experience, who have not lived, studied or been employed in Poland for at least 2 out of 3 years before the call announcement. Applicants are free to choose the topics and disciplines of the research proposals which they will submit jointly with the Polish Host Institutions in an academic or non-academic sector – their future employers.

The programme guarantees successful Applicants (Principal Investigators) a full-time employment and attractive financial terms. In addition to a gross monthly salary of 4,465 euro, researchers will receive up to 100,000 euro to cover the direct costs of their research projects.

The Host Institution will employ and provide the Principal Investigator with the support of a mentor in the chosen field of research and an administrative assistant to help successfully manage the project. The Host Institution can receive up to 20% of total direct costs to spend on indirect costs related to project management.

How to find Principal Investigators?

The easiest way is to use own network of professional contacts. It is also worth publishing a recruitment offer on the institution’s website and social media channels.

Guide for Institutions – POLONEZ BIS

Representatives of institutions searching for relevant research partners are welcome to use a dedicated POLONEZ BIS Partner Search Tool. Just create a profile and answer some questions. Then, with one click, you can publish your Expression of Interest in the open part of the database and view profiles of scientists who are looking for a host institution in Poland. One institution may create several profiles.

Prospective Principal Investigators can also be found on the partnering page of the EURAXESS portal, the Polish National Contact Point for Research Programmes and the Net4Mobility network – the latter two enable the publication of advertisements for institutions interested in hosting scientists.

Eligible Host Institutions

All legal entities with a registered office in Poland are eligible as fellowship host institutions, regardless of the sector they represent. This includes:

• universities;
• federations of science and Higher Education (HE) entities;
• research institutes of the Polish Academy of Sciences, operating pursuant to the Act on the Polish Academy of Sciences of 30 April 2010;
• research institutes operating pursuant to the Act on Research Institutes of 30 April 2010;
• international research institutes established pursuant to other acts and acting in the Republic of Poland;
• the Łukasiewicz Centre operating pursuant to the Act on the Łukasiewicz Research Network of 21 February 2019;
• institutes operating within the Łukasiewicz Research Network;
• the Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences;
• other entities involved in research independently on a continuous basis;
• scientific and industrial centres laid down in the Act on Research Institutes of 30 April 2010;
• research centres of the Polish Academy of Sciences laid down in the Act on the Polish Academy of Sciences of 30 April 2010;
• scientific libraries;
• companies operating as R&D centres within the meaning of the Act on Certain Forms of Support for Innovative Activity of 30 May 2008;
• legal entities with their registered office in Poland;
• and companies conducting research in another organisational form than described above.

The profile of the selected institution should reflect the nature of the research project.

A Host Institution is ineligible if:

• it granted the Applicant the PhD degree unless since the PhD award the Applicant completed a documented postdoctoral fellowship(s) outside Poland, lasting a total of at least 3 years, including at least one postdoctoral fellowship lasting an uninterrupted period of 12 months;
• it has employed the Applicant within 3 years before the proposal submission deadline (15 June 2022). Please note an exception for Applicants who arrived in Poland  on or after 24 February 2022 as a result of the military aggression of Russia against Ukraine – they  may choose their employer in Poland as POLONEZ BIS Host Institution if their employment contracts started on or after 24 February 2022;
• it constitutes a group of entities;
• it is under receivership, in liquidation or subject to bankruptcy proceedings.