Webinar ‘Science for EU 2030 Biodiversity Strategy’

Polish Science Contact Agency ‘PolSCA’ of the Polish Academy of Sciences is pleased to invite you for the online seminar ‘Science for EU 2030 Biodiversity Strategy’ wchich will take place on May 21, 2021! The event is opened to everyone interested in biodiversity protection and forest-related R&I actions.

Webinar ‘The Mission Starfish 2030: Let’s restore our water resources and oceans’

As part of a joint initiative of the PolSCA Office and the representative office of the National Center for Research and Development (NCBR) in Brussels – Business Science Poland – on 10^th May, an online meeting was held on one of the areas of European missions implemented under Horizon Europe. The Mission Starfish 2030 will support new ideas, research and innovation in the field of the protection of the aquatic environment.

Webinar: Mission STARFISH 2030: Restoring our water resources and oceans

On behalf of the organizers – the Polish Science Contact Agency PolSCA of the Polish Academy of Sciences and the NCBR Office in Brussels – Business & Science Poland – we cordially invite you to participate in the webinar entitled ‘Mission Starfish 2030: Let’s restore our water resources and oceans’, which will take place on May 10, 2021 from 1:00 p.m. – 3:15 p.m.

Ocean, sea, coastal and inland waters constitute one system which covers approx. 71% of the Earth’s surface. The European Mission Starfish 2030 under Horizon Europe will support new ideas, research and innovation to develop and scale up solutions that can change the way we care for our blue environment.

The report prepared by the Starfish 2030 Mission Council is a proposal of actions that should be taken to improve the situation of the aquatic environment, and a tool to raise awareness of their importance among citizens. Inspired by the shape of a starfish, the mission will be devoted to five overarching goals, including stopping pollution and regenerating nature.

The meeting will be attended by: a representative of the European Commission, who will talk about the main assumptions and goals of the Starfish 2030 Mission, Ms. Klara Ramm, member of the Starfish 2030 Mission Council, and excellent speakers – experts in the field of water policy and water protection, who will participate in two discussion panels on regeneration of marine and aquatic ecosystems and containment of pollution. On the side of the Polish Academy of Sciences, the speakers will be: prof. Paweł Rowiński, Vice-president of the Polish Academy of Sciences, and prof. Jan M. Węsławski, Institute of Oceanology of the Polish Academy of Sciences. There will be a question and answer session with speakers at the end of the meeting.

We invite everyone interested in the topic of European missions to take part in this event, the agenda of which can be found here.

Registration link is available here.

Training for managers of European research projects “V4 Training”

On April 26-28, another edition of the training for managers of European research projects “V4 Training” took place, which was organized by PolSCA together with the Czech National Agency for International Education and Research (CZELO), the National Office for Research, Development and Innovation in Hungary (NRDIO) and the Slovak Liaison Office for Research and Development (SLORD).

The second virtual edition of the event was attended by 36 experts dealing with projects financed from European funds, who came from Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary. In addition, the training was also attended – through the IGLO network – by representatives of R&D organizations in Lithuania, Estonia, Belgium, Switzerland and Austria. Among Polish participants, we hosted seven female leaders from the following centers:

• Julia GOŚCIAŃSKA-ŁOWIŃSKA, director of the Łukasiewicz-Industrial Institute of Agricultural Machines in Poznań
• Katarzyna KOPAŃCZYK, director of the Department of International Research Programs at the University of Life Sciences in Wrocław
• Anna LEŚNODORSKA, Head of the TCS AH Executive Office at the Institute of Geophysics of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Krakow
• Joanna PRZEDRZYMIRSKA, deputy director for organization and development at the Institute of Oceanology of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Sopot
• Izabela RASZCZYK, director of administrative matters at the International Center for Research on Anticancer Vaccines at the University of Gdańsk
• Agnieszka TADRZAK, Director’s Plenipotentiary for Research and Development Funding at the Institute of Physical Chemistry of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw
• Monika SKOWRON, legal advisor at the Institute of Metallurgy and Materials Science of the Polish Academy of Sciences A. Krupkowski in Krakow

During the three-day training “V4 Training”, the following topics were discussed: new elements introduced to the Horizon Europe framework program, innovation ecosystems of the European Innovation Council (EIC) and the European Institute of Innovation & Technology (EIT), and the comitology procedure in the EU European Union, preparation of Work Programs or Open Science policy. The issue of best practices was also discussed, incl. in the areas of communication, dissemination and valorisation of project results. In addition, the director of the PolSCA Office – Dr. Tomasz Poprawka – discussed the subject of awareness of stakeholders such as R&D organizations with the participants of the training. on the example of associations and networking organizations.

The PolSCA office hosted the second day of the training, which was devoted to investing in scientists and their networking, mainly based on the instruments of Horizon Europe. The first meeting on attracting and developing talents was led by Ewa Kocińska-Lange from NCBR / Business Science Poland together with Marcela Groholova from the Research Executive Agency, Marie Curie Actions. Then, Ewa Kocińska-Lange spoke again about supporting international cooperation through the Horizon Europe program, this time with Katalin Alföldi from COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology). Finally, Anne Pépin from DG Research and Innovation presented the topic of Gender Equality Plans.

These issues were raised again by the same panellists during interactive sessions in the form of exchanging experiences, in which participants of previous V4 Training also took part. From Poland, they were Anna Pawlus, coordinator of the research group at the Institute of Physical Chemistry of the Polish Academy of Sciences, and Anna Stachowiak-Szrejbrowska, head of the Grant Application Support Section at the Adam Mickiewicz University.

We invite you to participate in the next edition of “V4 Training”, which – also in the online version – will take place in the second half of November 2021!

PolSCA webinar series on Horizon Europe :: pillar II – clusters, missions and partnerships

The Polish Science Contact Agency (PolSCA) of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Brussels is hosting a second meeting within “Webinar series on Horizon Europe”. Main goal of theses online meetings is to strengthen the knowledge about the next EU framework programme for research and innovation – Horizon Europe (HE) among representatives of the scientific community of the Polish Academy of Sciences . These activities are carried out in synergy with the PASIFIC programme, where the PolSCA Office is involved in building and strengthening an informal support network dedicated to scientists and research managers of PAS Institutes in the context of the Horizon Europe.

The main focus of the 2^nd webinar within the series will be on Pillar II of Horizon Europe “Global challenges and European industrial competitiveness”, its overall construction and logic of intervention. During the event, participants will be provided with a rather general introduction regarding 6 thematic clusters. The strategic planning process shall be explained, with its results to be set out in a multiannual strategic plan for preparing the content of the work programmes. The current state-of-play will be provided regarding research & innovation Missions. Participants will also be given an overview of a renewed landscape of HE Partnerships, with an insight into Polish national-level preparatory actions.

The webinar is by invitation only and it is addressed to the academic and research support staff of the Polish Academy of Sciences. It will be held on Friday, April 23, 2021 at 13.30 am in the online formula. The language of the meeting is English.

The detailed agenda of the meeting is available here.

Webinar: Cultural Heritage in Digital Age

Polish Science Contact Agency ‘PolSCA’ of Polish Academy of Sciences and the Polish Institute Brussels are delighted to invite you to the webinar Cultural Heritage in Digital Age to be held on 21 of April 2021!

The main purpose of the webinar is to get unique insights from decision makers and various practitioners representing European networks, Cultural Heritage Institutions, research institutes and research centers about the value of collaboration to provide efficient digital solutions to the real needs of accessing, protecting and preserving cultural heritage. This event represents also an opportunity to highlight European funded research projects or other relevant initiatives on the digitisation of Europe’s cultural heritage, and to debate on actions that could be undertaken in the future.

Please find the agenda of the event here.

The webinar is opened to everyone interested in the process of digitisation of European cultural heritage, so do not hesitate to distribute this invitation further. We look forward to seeing you online soon!

When: Wednesday, 21st April 2021, 9:15 AM – 11:15 AM

How: WEBEX

Registration link: https://forms.gle/BDU8APTqTVzhMUMR8

Registration deadline: Monday, 19th April 2021 (EOB)

Meeting of the Programme Council of the Polish Science Contact Agency PolSCA

On 13^th April 2021, for the fourth time and again as an online event, the Meeting of the Programme Council of the Polish Science Contact Agency PolSCA was organised.

Following members of the Program Council 2019-2022 took part in the meeting:

• Prof. Marek Konarzewski, Institute of Biology, University of Białystok, member of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Chairman of the Program Board of the PolSCA Office,
• Prof. Bogusław Buszewski, Faculty of Chemistry, Nicolaus Copernicus University Torun, member-correspondent of the Polish Academy of Sciences,
• Prof. Agnieszka Dobrzyń, Director of the Nencki Institute of the Polish Academy of Sciences,
• Dr. Agnieszka Cianciara, Professor at the Institute of Political Studies of the Polish Academy of Sciences,
• Magdalena Pszczółkowska, Deputy Director of the Polish Institute in Brussels,
• Agata Janaszczyk, Research Advisor, Permanent Representation of the Republic of Poland to the EU,
• Dr. Tomasz Poprawka, Director of the PolSCA Office.

Additionally, the event was attended by: Prof. Roman Słowiński (Vice President of the Polish Academy of Sciences), Dr. Anna Plater-Zyberk (Director of the Office of International Cooperation at the Polish Academy of Sciences), Maria Rogala (Deputy Director of the Office of International Cooperation at the Polish Academy of Sciences) and representatives of the PolSCA Office team in Brussels.

The main part of the meeting was the presentation of reports on the activities of the office for the past six months – since the last meeting in October 2020 – with a discussion on the plans for  2021. Director Tomasz Poprawka, supported by two experts from the office, Dr. Justyna Kramarczyk and Joanna Komperda, presented main activities of the PolSCA Office: monitoring of the EU research policy, communication and dissemination of information as well as support of participation in EU programmes, especially among the scientific community of the Academy.

Participants discussed the events, planned activities as well as challenges and priorities of the PolSCA Office in Brussels.

The next meeting of the Program Council is scheduled for October 2021.

PolSCA webinar series on Horizon Europe :: kick-off meeting

The Polish Science Contact Agency (PolSCA) of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Brussels is organizing an event inaugurating the “Webinar series on Horizon Europe”, the main goal of which is to strengthen the knowledge about the next EU framework programme for research and innovation – Horizon Europe (HE) among representatives of the scientific community of the Polish Academy of Sciences . These activities are carried out in synergy with the PASIFIC programme, where the PolSCA Office is involved in building and strengthening an informal support network dedicated to scientists and research managers of PAS Institutes in the context of the Horizon Europe.

During the meeting, the President of the Polish Academy of Sciences – Prof. Jerzy Duszyński will present the Academy’s priorities in the context of Horizon Europe. Participants will also learn about other activities supporting PAS community in the context of R&I framework programmes. The representative of the European Commission – Mr. Stefan Weiers, will provide an overview of the Horizon Europe and its integration with the European Research Area. On the other hand, Mrs. Magdalena Bem-Andrzejewska – director of the National Contact Point for Poland, will introduce the national support system for enhanced participation in Horizon Europe. Finally, PolSCA activities designed as webinar series devoted to the Horizon Europe will be presented.

The webinar is by invitation only and it is addressed to the academic and research support staff of the Polish Academy of Sciences. It will be held on Wednesday, March 31, 2021 at 9.30 am in the online formula.

The detailed agenda of the meeting is available here.

International research funding through the JPIs’ and ERA-NETs’ funding schemes. Portfolio of the National Centre for Research and Development

In February, on our website, we published an article on supporting research and innovation through funding schemes announced by cross-national networks such as Joint Programming Initiatives (JPIs) and ERA-NET networks. At that time, we presented the call portfolio of the National Science Centre, and on this occasion a PolSCA webinar dedicated to this topic was held. This time, we would like to encourage you to familiarize yourself with the current offer of era-net calls of the National Centre for Research and Development (NCBR), which supports mostly applied research and new technologies. The NCBR portfolio in that matter was discussed during another webinar organised by PolSCA. All funding schemes presented during both webinars and described below are still under the Horizon 2020 framework program.

Webinar: International NCN call Weave-UNISONO

Polish Science Contact Agency (PolSCA) of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Brussels in cooperation with the National Science Centre invite you to the webinar on international Weave-UNISONO call for bilateral or trilateral research projects for teams from Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Switzerland, Germany and Poland as part of the multilateral program WEAVE. The aim of the training is primarily to present the basic assumptions of the WEAVE program and explain what the lead agency procedure is, and what is particularly interesting – to present the process of applications’ submission and evaluation of proposals.

The webinar is addressed to the academic and administrative staff of the Polish Academy of Sciences and will be held on Monday, March 22, 2021 in the online formula.

The detailed agenda of the meeting is available here.