Hopefully not. We assume that the first PASIFIC fellows will arrive in Poland in January 2022. We hope that the pandemic will already be over by then. If not, we will consider other possibilities to enable PASIFIC fellows to carry out their projects.

The information about eligible research costs as well as other details regarding the PASIFIC Programme will be announced once the first call is open (March 15th, 2021). 

The Guide for Applicants will be published on the website together with detailed regulations regarding the PASIFIC Programme once the first call is open (March 15th, 2021). 

The PASIFIC Programme does not favor either. It is open to projects from all scientific disciplines, dealing with both fundamental and applied sciences.

Yes. The PASIFIC Programme is open to researchers from all over the world, who have a PhD or at least four years of equivalent research experience. However, they must comply with the MSCA Mobility Rule, meaning that they have not resided or worked in Poland for more than 12 months during the three years prior to the call’s deadline. See more: https://pasific.pan.pl/for-applicants/who-can-apply

Yes. The PASIFIC Programme is open to researchers at all stages of their academic careers. They must hold a PhD or have at least four years of equivalent research experience.  

Yes. The PASIFIC Programme is open to researchers of any nationality, representing all scientific disciplines. They must comply with the MSCA Mobility Rule, meaning that they have not resided or worked in Poland for more than 12 months during the three years prior to the call’s deadline. See more: https://pasific.pan.pl/for-applicants/who-can-apply/

The PASIFIC candidates must comply with the MSCA Mobility Rule, meaning that they must not have resided, worked or studied in Poland for more than 12 months during the three years prior to the call’s deadline. Both deadlines are in 2021, and so if you left Poland in 2017, for instance, and worked, lived, and studied in other countries in the meantime, you are eligible to apply for the PASIFIC Programme.

The system for applications will be open once the first call is announced. The submission of applications through the online system will be possible from March 15th, 2021 to June 30th, 2021 (Call 1) and from September 15th, 2021 to December 30th, 2021 (Call 2).

Firstly, before applying for the PASIFIC Programme, you should identify a suitable PAS institute and a potential supervisor, who will commit to supporting your research. Once they agree to facilitate your research at the respective institute of the Polish Academy of Sciences, you will need to obtain a letter of support signed by both the Director of the Host Institute and the prospective supervisor. 

Secondly, you will need to fill in an online application. It will include the following documents: 

• CV and a track record of early achievements 
• Description of the research project (max. 10 pages) 
• Supervisor’s CV and a short description of the impact of a PASIFIC Fellow’s project on the scientific environment offered by the institute (to be prepared together with representatives of the institute) 
• Ethics self-assessment (if necessary) 
• Scanned PhD diploma or documents confirming the equivalent 4-year research experience 
• Scanned letter of support from your prospective supervisor and Host Institution 

See more: https://pasific.pan.pl/for-applicants/how-to-apply/  

The list of potential supervisors published on the website provides contact information for researchers who have agreed to potentially supervise PASIFIC fellows. Nevertheless, the PASIFIC supervisor may be any individual in possession of a PhD, employed at one of the institutes of the Polish Academy of Sciences. Thus, should you not find the right person listed, please identify your potential supervisor directly on the institutes’ websites.   

Please note that during the evaluation process, both candidate’s achievements and the supervisor’s scientific profile will be assessed. 

No. Within the PASIFIC Programme, we accept only individual research projects. 

The evaluators for the PASIFIC Programme will be selected from the outstanding and recognized researchers from all disciplines. We will identify them in two ways. Firstly, by using the network of researchers related to the Polish Academy of Sciences. Secondly, an open call for the PASIFIC evaluators will be announced. 

They are equally important. Both the PASIFIC candidate’s CV and the research project will be evaluated according to the following criteria:

• The scientific excellence of the research project and the researcher.The PASIFIC Programme aims to promote innovative and bold ideas. Thus, the proposed research projects should tackle a clearly defined, engaging, and timely research problem. To prove their excellence, researchers should demonstrate an outstanding record of research achievements, including publications in leading journals, reviewed monographs, and presentations at international conferences. Experience in conducting research projects will also be an asset. For this criterion, each project can receive up to 50 points.
• Impact on the respective field of study, researchers career and host institute.The PASIFIC candidate should demonstrate how their project will change the respective discipline, to what extent the results of their project will be relevant to other fields of research as well as whether their idea has groundbreaking potential. Also, they should discuss the impact of the project on their careers and the host institutes. For this criterion, each project can receive up to 35 points.
• Feasibility of the project and adequate choice of supervisor.The candidate should prove that even though their project is bold and innovative, it is also feasible. Hence, they should demonstrate that the scope of their project is realizable within the timeframes and resources offered by the PASIFIC fellowship. Another important aspect is the role of the supervisor. For this reason, their CV will also be evaluated. For this criterion, each project can receive up to 15 points.

To find out more about the evaluation process, please watch this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqAnLkFyF38&feature=youtu.be&ab_channel=PolskaAkademiaNauk

The PASIFIC Programme is looking for groundbreaking, innovative, and bold research projects. However, the criterion of feasibility will also be taken into consideration.

There are no constraints for reapplication. Hence, PASIFIC candidates who were not successful in the first call are encouraged to apply again, with a more polished project or a completely new research idea.

Yes. In the case of interdisciplinary projects, PASIFIC Fellows are encouraged to establish cooperation with two supervisors. Both supervisors should be employed at the Polish Academy of Sciences institutes. However, they do not necessarily have to be based at the same institute.

Projects will be evaluated on their merit; however, ethical issues will also be assessed. A research project that is not in accordance with the ethical rules in force in Poland and the European Union may be rejected.

The required ethics self-assessment. Each PASIFIC candidate will be asked to fill in a table of issues in order to identify which ethical problems may appear in their projects. Once an ethical issue is identified, a PASIFIC candidate should write an ethic self-assessment in which they describe how it will be handled.

If a researcher decides to relocate to Poland with their family, apart from the monthly allowance of approx. €2,500 net, they can receive an additional family allowance of approx. €165 monthly net. 

No. Only the PASIFIC candidates’ family status on the closing date of the call will be taken into account. In other words, only researchers that have families when they apply may be entitled to the family allowance.

PASIFIC fellows will be employed at the respective institutes of the Polish Academy of Sciences based on a contract of employment for a period of two years. Therefore, they will be entitled to holiday leave in accordance with the labor law regulations in Poland.

In such cases, PASIFIC fellows will need to apply for an extension of their fellowship. However, it will be possible to extend fellowships only until the end of the PASIFIC Programme, i.e. February 2025.

The PASIFIC fellows should arrive in Poland from one month to three or four months after signing the employment contract with the Polish Academy of Sciences.

Please find the timelines here: https://pasific.pan.pl/for-applicants/about-the-fellowship/

PASIFIC fellows have the possibility of spending up to six months on secondments to the non-academic sector. There are no limitations as to where this may take place, meaning that it can also be outside of Poland. However, secondments should be planned already at the application stage and included in the project description, as this will be assessed by the evaluators.

No. All fellowships offered under the PASIFIC Programme should last two years. We want the PASIFIC fellows to integrate with the institutes of the Polish Academy of Sciences and provide opportunities for further scientific cooperation. Moreover, we are convinced that shorter projects do not have the same impact on either the researcher’s career or the host institution.