NAWA research scholarships for 31 health researchers

The National Agency for Academic Exchange (NAWA) announced the results of the 5th edition of the Prof. Franciszek Walczak Scholarship Program. Funding for research scholarships in 8 countries will be provided to 31 researchers in the fields of medicine, pharmaceuticals and health sciences.

As stated in a press release sent to PAP on Wednesday, the Walczak NAWA program, financed by a grant from the Ministry of Health, enables Polish doctoral students and scientists to gain experience and establish contacts in the international scientific community. The scholarships, lasting from one to six months, will allow the winners to do internships in renowned medical centers around the world.

"The aim of the program is to strengthen the potential of Polish scientific units and medical entities by enabling scholarship holders to gain experience in an international scientific environment, conduct scientific research, learn about good research or clinical practices, new methods and technologies or obtain materials for developing a teaching program or scientific work. As a result, the implementation of the program will contribute to the improvement of medical care in Poland," NAWA emphasized in the press release.

Of the 31 scholarship holders, 21 chose the scientific path, 9 the clinical path, and 1 person – the didactic path. The largest group in this year's edition of the program are doctors (14 people) and doctoral students (9). Funding also received six habilitated doctors and two professors.

"125 applications were submitted, of which 120 passed the formal assessment. The success rate was 25%, which indicates the high level of applicants," commented NAWA Director Dr. Wojciech Karczewski, quoted in the press release.

The program provides funding of up to PLN 29,500 for each month of stay at a foreign host center. PhD students and scientists who have chosen a scientific path and decided to stay longer than three months will receive additional one-time financial support of PLN 20,000.

Scholarship holders will go to prestigious universities and research institutions, such as: Harvard Medical School and Mayo Clinic Florida (USA), McMaster University (Canada), University of Cambridge (Great Britain), Karolinska Institutet (Sweden), University Hospital of Geneva (Switzerland), Policlinico Tor Vergata Roma (Italy) or Cancer Science Institute of Singapore (Singapore).

"For Polish medicine to be at the world level, we need to learn from the best. And this program allows young researchers, but also experienced ones, to gain new experience and improve their qualifications, working with the world's best specialists in medicine, pharmacy and health sciences," added Dr. Karczewski.

The patron of the scholarship program, Prof. Franciszek Walczak, the doyen of Polish electrophysiology, for many years headed the Heart Rhythm Disorders Clinic at the Institute of Cardiology in Anin. He performed, among others, the first RF ablation in Poland on an adult (1992) and a child (1994).

Established in 2017, NAWA works for the internationalization of Polish science by supporting and stimulating international research cooperation and academic exchange. It strives to internationalize Polish universities and scientific institutions, as well as to promote Polish culture and language. The agency's task is also to disseminate information about the Polish science and higher education system. NAWA is supervised by the Minister of Science. (PAP)

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