Third FNP Competition for Polish-Ukrainian Scientific Projects

Dodano: :: Kategorie: Latest news, Programme news, FNP for Ukrainian Researchers
-A A+

The Foundation for Polish Science continues its efforts to support the Ukrainian scientific community by organizing the third competition in the FOR UKRAINE programme. Thanks to this initiative, scientists from Ukraine can establish cooperation with Polish researchers to undertake joint research. The deadline for applications is April 4, 2023.

The FOR UKRAINE programme was launched by the Foundation for Polish Science in March last year.

“Faced with the brutal Russian aggression against Ukraine, we immediately decided to support our neighbors the best way we can, which is by funding scientific research. We wanted to help Ukrainian researchers to continue their scientific work interrupted or severely hampered by warfare. The interest in our program has exceeded our wildest expectations, proving that this initiative was and is much needed not only in the short but also in the long term. In the context of securing Ukraine’s future and the promotion of research of momentous social importance, the initiative is crucial for Ukraine, Poland, and the entire region. Therefore, despite the original plan to organize only two competitions, we decided to continue the programme,” says Prof. Maciej Żylicz, President of FNP.

The programme is addressed to scientists with a doctoral degree, regardless of nationality, who on the day the war in Ukraine began – February 24, 2022 – were working at institutions conducting scientific research in Ukraine, along with scientists employed in institutions that conduct research in Poland.

The program is open to pairs of scientists: one from Ukraine (regardless of where they currently reside) and one employed in Poland. On their joint behalf, the application is submitted by the person working in Poland, together with the Polish scientific institution where the project will be implemented (host unit).

Themes of the projects submitted to the competition should include issues related to the development of civil society, democracy, European integration, or security. The projects must deal with matters of importance to both countries.

The budget for an annual research project is PLN 268,800, which includes both salary and research-related expenses. Three projects are planned to be selected for funding in the current competition. An international jury will evaluate the applications.

For more information about the programme and detailed regulations, visit the website of FOR UKRAINE programme.

So far, the Foundation has held two calls for applications in the programme and awarded six grants.

In the first competition, one-year grants for project implementation were awarded to:

  • Dr. Anna Wylegała (Institute of Philosophy and Sociology, Polish Academy of Sciences) and Dr. Nataliia Otrishchenko (Center for Urban History of East Central Europe, Lviv); project title: “24.02.2022, 5 am: Testimonies from War.” The primary aim of the project is to collect and archivize personal stories of refugees from Ukraine who became victims of Russian’s aggression in 2022. In order to document the human dimension of this war, dozens of interviews will be conducted and archivized. The interviews will be recorded in Ukraine and countries that have taken in Ukrainian refugees. Partners involved in the project – from Luxembourg and the UK, among others – will make it easier to reach wider audiences.
  • Dr. hab. Agata Chudzicka-Czupała, Prof. of SWPS University (SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Katowice, Poland) and Professor Nadiya Hapon(Ivan Franko National University of Lviv); project title: “Strengthening people’s commitment to volunteering for refugees from Ukraine. Motivations of volunteers and intentions behind volunteering – the role of psychological and social factors.” The aim of the project is to learn about the motivations of volunteers who have assisted refugees, examine other selected psychological and social determinants underlying volunteering, and build a holistic model of volunteer engagement. The project’s outcome will be reports and guidelines concerning volunteering for NGOs and local governments.
  • Dr. hab. Slawomir Łukasiewicz, Prof. of KUL University (John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin) and Dr. Mykola Riabchuk(I. F. Kuras Institute for Political and Ethnic Research of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Kyiv); project title: “From discourse of “Europeanness” to EU membership: integration narratives in Poland and Ukraine in a comparative perspective. Merging theoretical and utilitarian approaches.” The main goal of the project is to compare historical experiences of European integration, find answers to the questions of how history and politics affect the mutual understanding of narratives of integration and dialogue, and examine main tendencies in pro-integration attitudes in Polish and Ukrainian society. The project will also help prepare students from Ukraine for the country’s EU negotiation and accession process.

In the second competition, the winners were:

  • Dr. hab. Magdalena Szyszko (WSB University in Poznań) and Dr. Olena Motuzka (National Academy of Statistics, Accounting and Auditing, Kyiv), project title: “Policy Communication, Tools, and Effects during the War: The case of Ukraine and Poland.” The researchers will seek to identify and evaluate changes in monetary policy in terms of communication, tools, and short-term effects during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Qualitative and quantitative tools will allow for delineating wartime policy determinants – in the invaded Ukraine and the supporting Poland – by providing a case study of policy actions and communication with society, along with an assessment of central banks’ wartime roles, including a historical perspective and short-term policy effects in both economies.
  • Dr. hab. Michal Federowicz (Institute of Philosophy and Sociology at the Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw) and Dr. Serhii Terepyshchyi (Drahomanov National Pedagogical University, Kyiv), project title: “Democratic Values in Educational Practice: The Extended Presence of Ukrainian Children and Youth in Polish Schools after February 24, 2022.” The researchers will document social creativity emerging in schools under unprecedented circumstances and describe its interaction with institutional constraints. The School Support Center the researchers will organize will explore the creative solutions used in the education and care of Ukrainian children that were developed by Polish teachers with Polish and Ukrainian education experts. Polish teachers will receive the opportunity to conceptualize their own experiences. Moreover, they will acquire tools and resources to scale their activities. Furthermore, the project will aim to understand and interpret the complexity of the processes inherent in school ecosystems and local communities of the cities that have received refugees.
  • Dr. Ewa Wroblewska-Trochimiuk (Institute of Slavic Studies at the Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw) and Dr. Yana Hladyr (Kryvyi Rih National University), project title: “Visual Narratives of Civil Society: The Modern Ukraine Project.” The aim of the research is to create an archive of visual communication from selected accounts published by Ukrainian public institutions and to develop a catalog of values associated with the collected images – based on materials posted on Ukrainian social media. The researchers assume that the axiological system of the designed new Ukrainian society focuses on cultural and ideological convergence with its international audience, emphasizes its closeness to the political culture of the West, while constructing a modern image of Ukrainian society – in clear opposition to the set of characteristics attributed to the mentality of “Homo Sovieticus.”

Support Researchers from Ukraine

Researchers from Ukraine still need our support to continue their scientific work. The Foundation for Polish Science at https://pomocukrainie.fnp.org.pl/ is running a special collection that everyone can join at any time.

Funds raised from the donations will be used exclusively to involve people from Ukraine to conduct projects in the FOR UKRAINE programme.

Moreover, the programme gives institutions and companies the opportunity to create partnerships with the FNP aimed at improving the situation of Ukrainian researchers or enabling them to conduct scientific projects.