The University of Gdańsk has come fourth in a ranking of Polish universities and research units where the highest number of individuals received a START Scholarship from the Foundation for Polish Science, which is aimed at the most talented young researchers. This is a great honour for the University and good news for the young researchers. Gdańsk took third place in a city ranking. START is the largest Polish scholarship programme for the best young researchers under the age of 30 from all branches of science.
The START scholarships by the Foundation for Polish Science for the most talented young Polish researchers have been awarded for the 25th time, this year to 100 academics. The annual scholarship is 28,000 PLN, with the total amount allocated to START scholarships by the Foundation in 2017 standing at 3 million PLN. As many as 1,152 applied for the scholarship, the winning 100 representing a mere 8.68% of the total number of applicants.
Among the six young researchers from the University of Gdańsk are:
The awards ceremony for the START scholarships was held on 27 May 2017 at the Royal Castle in Warsaw. Scholarship winners were accompanied by the University of Gdańsk’s Vice-Rector for Development Prof. Krzysztof Bielawski.
With regard to the number of scholarships awarded the University of Gdańsk has come fourth. First place went to the University of Warsaw (18 scholarship winners), second to the Jagiellonian University (14 scholarship winners), third to the Adam Mickiewicz University (7 scholarship winners) and fourth to the University of Gdańsk and the University of Wrocław (6 scholarship winners each).
Gdańsk has fared excellently in a city ranking, which saw Warsaw in first place (31 scholarship winners), Kraków second (17 scholarship winners) and Gdańsk, Wrocław and Poznań in third place (11 scholarship winners each).
START is the largest Polish scholarship programme for the best young researchers and is open to anyone under the age of 30 from all branches of science. It is also the Foundation’s longest running programme. The candidates’ achievement, documented via patents or publications in renowned Polish or international scientific journals, undergoes assessment by scientists who are authorities in their fields. The total number of winners in all competitions, including this year’s, currently stands at over 2,800. The scholarships, which may be used for any purpose, are aimed at assisting young researchers during the difficult beginnings of their academic careers and allowing them to devote themselves fully to science.
The winners of this year’s competition were selected from amongst 1,152 candidates. Their average age is 28 and 48% of the winners have the title of doctor (in Poland the average age for obtaining a doctoral degree is 35).
Information on this year’s results and the programme: http://www.fnp.org.pl/en/stypendia-start-2017-przyznane/
Dr Beata Czechowska-Derkacz, University of Gdańsk spokesperson
