The Polish Children's Fund (, KFnrD) is a Polish

non-government organization A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...

which supports highly

gifted Intellectual giftedness is an intellectual ability significantly higher than average and is also known as high potential. It is a characteristic of children, variously defined, that motivates differences in school programming. It is thought to pe ...

schoolchildren. It was established in 1981 by Ryszard Rakowski and late

Jan Szczepański Jan Szczepański can refer to: * Jan Szczepański (boxer) (1939–2017) Polish boxer * Jan Szczepański (sociologist) (1913–2004) * Jan Alfred Szczepański (1902–1991), film and theatre critic * Jan Józef Szczepański (1919–2003), writer {{ ...

. The Polish Children's Fund organizes the national stage of the

European Union Contest for Young Scientists The European Union (EU) Contest for Young Scientists is a science fair, initiated by the European Commission. It is a part of the European Union Framework Programmes for Research and Technological Development, and is managed by the Directorate Gen ...

Scholarship programme

The Polish Children's Fund gives scholarships for pre-university students skilled in the sciences, humanities, musics or ballet. Every year around 550 children receive the scholarship. Instead of financial aid, KFnrD gives its participants unique opportunities to participate in lectures, workshops and research projects in cooperation with some of the most eminent scholars both from Poland and other European countries. Most of the scientific camps are devoted to a single discipline and have its further qualification. They are organized by various institutions of the

University of Warsaw The University of Warsaw (, ) is a public university, public research university in Warsaw, Poland. Established on November 19, 1816, it is the largest institution of higher learning in the country, offering 37 different fields of study as well ...

, the

Polish Academy of Sciences The Polish Academy of Sciences (, PAN) is a Polish state-sponsored institution of higher learning. Headquartered in Warsaw, it is responsible for spearheading the development of science across the country by a society of distinguished scholars a ...

Jagiellonian University The Jagiellonian University (, UJ) is a public research university in Kraków, Poland. Founded in 1364 by Casimir III the Great, King Casimir III the Great, it is the oldest university in Poland and one of the List of oldest universities in con ...

and the

Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń or NCU (, UMK) is located in Toruń, Poland. It is named after Nicolaus Copernicus, who was born in Toruń in 1473. History The beginnings of higher education in Toruń The first institution of higher ...

. One of the central events is a general camp, which takes place in

Serock Serock is a town at the north bank of the Zegrze Lake, Zegrze lake in the Legionowo County, Masovian Voivodeship, Poland, around north of Warsaw. It has 4,109 inhabitants (2013). History The stronghold was founded in the 10th century, shortly ...

(near

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

) from April to June (previous locations included

Otwock Otwock (Yiddish: אָטוואָצק) is a city in the Masovian Voivodeship in east-central Poland, some south-east of Warsaw, with 43,895 inhabitants (2024). Otwock is part of the Warsaw metropolitan area. It is situated on the right bank of the ...

and Jadwisin). The participants have opportunity to attend lectures and workshops related to their interests. Also, they take part in the activities not connected with any particular field of study: sport games, psychological workshops, movie projections, concerts, and meetings with intellectuals, often pertaining to profound themes of philosophy, religion and developing one's worldview. During the summer the Polish Children's Fund scholars are sent to various scientific camps, including: *

Research Science Institute The Research Science Institute (RSI) is an international summer research program for high school students. RSI is sponsored by the Center for Excellence in Education (CEE) and hosted by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, ...

- a highly competitive research camp which takes place at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

, *

European Space Camp European Space Camp (ESC) is a summer camp for youths aged 17–20, which focuses on giving a hands-on experience into the field of aerospace engineering and space sciences. Participants from all over Europe and the world stay at the Andøya Spac ...

- astronomic camp in

Lofoten Lofoten ( , ; ; ) is an archipelago and a Districts of Norway, traditional district in the county of Nordland, Norway. Lofoten has distinctive scenery with dramatic mountains and peaks, open sea and sheltered bays, beaches, and untouched lands. T ...

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, * XLAB International Science Cam

at the

University of Göttingen The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen (, commonly referred to as Georgia Augusta), is a Public university, public research university in the city of Göttingen, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1734 ...

, *

London International Youth Science Forum The London International Youth Science Forum is a two week residential forum held at Imperial College London and The Royal Geographical Society. Overview Each year almost 500 students aged 16-21 years attend the forum from both the United Kin ...

. In 2014, Polish Children's Fund together with

and

Copernicus Science Centre Copernicus Science Centre () is a science museum standing on the bank of the Vistula River in Warsaw, Poland. It contains over 450 interactive exhibits that enable visitors to single-handedly carry out experiments and discover the laws of sci ...

organises EUCYS finals, which are being held in Warsaw.

External links

fundusz.org - Polish Children's Fund - Non-profit NGO
*
Krajowy Fundusz na rzecz Dzieci
*
How does Fund work? A short video

An independent camp for high school geeks
(31 August 2012) - an article on gifted education using Polish Children's Fund as a reference

References

* * * * Gifted education Polish educational societies {{edu-org-stub

Scholarship programme

See also

External links

References