The Kick-off Meeting inaugurating the PASIFIC Program took place on November 5^th, 2020.  

The online event was attended by representatives of the Polish Academy of Sciences, including Prof. Jerzy Duszyński (President of the PAS), Prof. Paweł Rowiński (Vice-President of the PAS and the PASIFIC Project Coordinator), and Ewa Kuśmierczyk (Director of the PAS Excellence in Science Department and the PASIFIC Project Manager). Also, we had the honour to host members of the PASIFIC Advisory Board: Prof. Michael Giersig (Freie Universität Berlin, Institute of Fundamental Technological Research, PAS), Prof. Jerzy Paszkowski (University of Cambridge), Prof. Barbara Romanowicz (University of California, Berkeley) and Prof. Oliver Jens Schmitt (Austrian Academy of Sciences). Moreover,  other prominent guests also appeared, such as Prof. Zbigniew Błocki (Director of National Science Centre in Poland), Prof. Andrzej Rychard (Director of the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology, PAS), and Dr. Anna Orłowska – a beneficiary of  the POLONEZ 2 grant scheme, affiliated with the PAS Institute of History. Dr. Chris Reeves moderated the meeting. 

Details regarding the PASIFIC Fellowship Programme were presented to potential fellows, supervisors and directors of Host Institutes during three discussion sessions attended by guests. Also, short videos explaining the main principles of the PASIFIC Programme were shown. 

Prof. Jerzy Duszyński opened the event with a speech about the impact of the PASIFIC Programme on the development of the Polish Academy of Sciences. The first session concerned what the Programme offers and was addressed to potential fellows and their supervisors. It was attended by Prof. Paweł Rowiński, Prof. Jerzy Paszkowski, Prof. Michael Giersig, and Dr. Anna Orłowska. Participants discussed the advantages of academic mobility and internationalization, sharing their experiences. Moreover, Prof. Paweł Rowiński discussed the benefits for scientists resulting from the Programme and the various opportunities the chosen researchers will have during their stay at the PAS have. 

During the second session, Prof. Paweł Rowiński, Prof. Andrzej Rychard, and Prof. Oliver Jens Schmitt discussed the advantages of international research teams for scientific institutes. The participants shared their experiences regarding the positive influence of research staff exchange on the functioning of institutes, both at the PAS and the Austrian Academy of Sciences. Prof. Paweł Rowiński explained what forms of support would be provided to the PAS Institutes participating in the PASIFIC Programme. 

The third session was attended by Prof. Zbigniew Błocki, Prof. Barbara Romanowicz, and Director Ewa Kuśmierczyk. They discussed the success of the POLONEZ grant scheme, its impact on Polish scientific institutes and its complementarity to the PASIFIC Programme. Furthermore, Prof. Barbara Romanowicz stressed the PASIFIC Programme’s expected impact on the number of ERC applications at Polish research institutions. The meeting concluded with a Q&A session, with answers being provided by Prof. Paweł Rowiński and Director Ewa Kuśmierczyk. 

More than 200 people viewed the transmission. We warmly wish to thank all the participants and viewers!