Apart from international research programmes, international and intersectoral mobility is a key factor in the development of a scientific career, self-improvement and education. As part of the information campaign called “HR Excellence in Research at the UW in June” we are describing university initiatives regarding this issue.
Mobility is believed to allow for professional, cultural, social and language skills upgrading. Further, it facilitates innovation in research and education through a variety of organisation methods and management systems. Graduates, thanks to their mobility experience, tend to obtain higher positions on the labour market as well as enrich their scientific environment.
Outgoing mobility support
“The University of Warsaw offers a number of tools to acquire information on international fellowships, research and training centres for young researchers, internships, and scientific mobility for experienced researchers that are covered from national and international funds. The researchers can search for basic information, e.g. duration of a visit, online application forms and contact details to obtain assistance and support in the process of application for mobility funding,” Diana Pustuła, head of the Office for International Research and Liaison, says.
- Mobility in Research & Education @ the University of Warsaw
The portal is a source of information about international and intersectoral mobility programmes and projects for the academics, doctoral candidates and students of the University of Warsaw, as well as incoming researchers and students. The initiative is coordinated by the four UW offices: Office for International Research and Liaison, as a leader, Research Services Office, International Relations Office, and Office for University Advancement.
– Mobility in Research & Education @ the University of Warsaw (in English) >>
– Mobilność naukowa i edukacyjna na UW (in Polish) >>
As Diana Pustuła explains, “The gathered together information covers national and international programmes, also bilateral agreements and scholarships for mobility of academic teachers, doctoral candidates and students, from national and international funds, EU funding for innovation and research under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions and Structural Funds, including funds by the Foundation for Polish Science. Search results can be sorted by a beneficiary, sector, mobility, programme, abstract, coordinator etc.”
The linked information includes:
– job opportunities and European fellowships of EURAXESS Researchers in Motion, with practical details about documents, mobility contracts, income tax, legalisation of residence etc.;
– National Agency Academic Exchange (NAWA, in Polish);
– Polish-US Fulbright Commission;
– German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD, in German);
– support opportunities for the research activity and internationalisation of the University of Warsaw, as part of the mobility section;
– administration training database, incl. ERASMUS+ exchange.
- mobility support for experienced researchers from the UW funds (IDUB)
This funding is provided to the proposals that are awarded the Seal of Excellence certificate by the European Commission. The projects are conducted in prestigious international research institutions under the Individual Fellowships Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (IF MSCA).
More information can be found on the IDUB Programme website >>
Research career development
The career development of the academic teachers of the University of Warsaw is supported by:
- strategic alliances with recognised international research universities, e.g. 4EU+ Alliance of six European universities which is recognised as the European University.
The 4EU+ Alliance provides funding for international interdisciplinary research groups to carry out joint research and didactic projects within four alliance flagships: Health and demographic change in an urban environment, Europeanness: multilingualism, pluralities and citizenship, Data – Models – Transformations, and Environmental transitions.
The mini-grants programme is also available for joint research teams within the partner alliance universities: University of Warsaw (Poland), University of Copenhagen (Denmark), University of Milan (Italy), Charles University (Czech Republic), Heidelberg University (Germay), ale Sorbonne University (France).
The grants are funded under the “Excellence Initiative – Research University” Programme, action II.1.1. Mini-grants programme for inter-institutional research teams in the framework of strategic partnerships. Since 2020 the competition has had its three editions. The last call for proposals was opened in May 2022, its results should be released in September 2022.
- individual plans for the research career development
The purpose of this action is to ensure an individual approach to the career development of students, doctoral candidates and academic teachers of the UW. “It is crucial to enable harmonious career development by providing professional assistance with planning individual paths as well as possible,” Diana Pustuła says.
Under the actions, advisors for the career development will be employed to help identify missing or incomplete competences, advise on the best instruments for research funding and/or prepare an Individual Research Career Development Plan that complies with the requirements for MSCA-IF applicants and ERC grant holders. The initiative is covered from the IDUB fund.
