On June 10-11 the Fourth Polish-German Science Meeting 2024 was held. The event was organized by the Foundation for Polish Science (FNP), the National Science Centre (NCN) and the German Research Foundation (DFG).
A number of science meetings was aimed at strengthening bilateral relations between Polish and German institutions that fund and conduct research. In the framework of the event common positions, actions and measures of both countries are identified to address the main challenges of today in Europe and beyond.
After successful events in Munich (2017), Krakow (2019) and Berlin (2022), the event 2024 was held in Warsaw with the main topic: “Science for Policy – Policy for Science. Improving the framework conditions for addressing current challenges for bilateral and European research cooperation”.
Currently, the most relevant trends for research and funding organizations in Poland, Germany and other countries are the following: science and research are becoming increasingly dependent on (global) political circumstances and challenges, therefore politics and science need each other more and more to address current issues, including the situation in Ukraine.
Together with other representatives of national and private research foundations, research management bodies, governmental and non-governmental organizations working in the field of research funding and management, as well as representatives of international organizations and initiatives, Olga Polotska, Executive Director of the National Research Foundation of Ukraine (NRFU), joined the event at the invitation of the organizers.
During the two-day event, Olga Polotska took part in a number of discussions and meetings with representatives of the Polish and German governments. The participants discussed planned national, bilateral and European events, current challenges and programs, as well as opportunities for mutual support, in particular for Ukraine.
Although the event was bilateral, much attention was paid to the support of Ukrainian researchers and institutional cooperation with the NRFU by both German and Polish partners. Thus, one of the most important results was that during the event, the President of the German Research Foundation (The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG) Prof. Dr. Katja Becker officially announced the expansion of cooperation with the NRFU and the preparation of a joint DFG-NRFU call with the financial support of the German Research Foundation.
This became possible as a result of negotiations and consultations that took place between representatives of the institutions in recent months. The call will be aimed at supporting researchers based in Ukraine.
Previously, the DFG has already supported Ukrainian researchers through a joint call for research projects held in 2017 (DFFD-DFG F81). Now the Foundations will continue to collaborate and coordinate their efforts to promote and develop research relations between Ukraine and Germany.
In order not to miss the announcement of the launch and details of the call, please follow the news on our official website and social media.