The Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange (NAWA,

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

: Narodowa Agencja Wymiany Akademickiej) is a governmental agency in Poland established to carry out tasks related to the

academic mobility Academic mobility refers to students and teachers in higher education moving to another institution inside or outside of their own country to study or teach for a limited time. The Bologna process regulates academic mobility within European hig ...

between Poland and other countries. Since November 2018 the agency is part of

Academic Cooperation Association The Academic Cooperation Association (ACA) is an international think tank in the area of international cooperation in higher education. Since 1993, ACA has worked to promote innovation and internationalisation of European higher education in colla ...

. It primarily provides grants to individuals and organizations rather than through its own staff.

History

NAWA was founded partially out of concerns about brain drain from Poland. The legislation to create NAWA was prepared by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education. NAWA was created by an legislation from 7 July 2017 and began operating on 1 October 2017. Changes to the authorizing legislation were made in 2018 and 2019. Grażyna Żebrowska, a physicist, was appointed director of NAWA on May 8, 2020.

Tasks

NAWA improves Polish education by facilitating the integration of Polish universities with academics worldwide by arranging conferences, facilitating cooperation on international research projects, and assisting foreign students. NAWA provides scholarships to people of Polish ancestry to study in Poland. NAWA funds research performed by Polish Universities in partnership with foreign collaborators. NAWA encourages Polish scientists living abroad to return to the country. NAWA supports foreign scientists to do post-doctoral work in Poland. Alternately, NAWA provides funding for Polish scientists to do internships abroad. NAWA funds student support services for foreign students in Poland. NAWA provides both Polish and foreign students, researchers and

higher education Higher education is tertiary education leading to award of an academic degree. Higher education, also called post-secondary education, third-level or tertiary education, is an optional final stage of formal learning that occurs after completi ...

institutions with scholarships and grants in four different fields, with the main focus on mobility: * programs for students * programs for scientists * programs for institutions * Polish language programs Additionally, the agency disseminates information about the Polish system of tertiary education and science. NAWA also serves to improve the international

public relations Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. P ...

of Poland.

Promotional campaigns

NAWA runs two campaigns promoting Poland abroad at the moment. The Ready, Study, Go! Poland (RSGP) campaign is aiming at delivering the information about Poland as a prospective study and research destination to all candidates in the world.

Research in Poland Research is "creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge". It involves the collection, organization and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular attentiveness t ...

campaign promotes Poland as a perfect destination for researchers and university graduates willing to start or continue their research career abroad.

Structure

NAWA is overseen by the Minister of Science and Higher Education. The director is appointed by the Prime Minister. NAWA's Council is an advisory body which makes proposals for the organization's direction and development.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange Science and technology in Poland 2017 establishments in Poland Government agencies established in 2017 Government agencies of Poland Organisations based in Warsaw