‘Solidary with Belarus’ – NAWA Scholarships for Students, Scientists and Teachers
‘Solidary with Belarus’ – NAWA Scholarships for Students, Scientists and Teachers
The Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange (NAWA) is going to support students, scientists and teachers with scholarships as part of the government initiative ‘Solidary with Belarus.’
Together with the Conference of Rectors of Academic Schools in Poland (CRASP), NAWA is going to carry out three support measures dedicated to the Belarusians on behalf of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education. The measures are: ‘Solidary with Students,’ ‘Solidary with Scientists’ and ‘Solidary with Teachers'.
‘Representatives of the academic community in Belarus who are struggling for democratic governance in their country are currently subject to repressions. It is our duty to reach out to them in solidarity and support. In this way, we emphasise that we belong to the same academic world of values, which respects freedom, the rule of law and democracy,’ says Prof. Wojciech Maksymowicz, deputy minister of science and higher education.
The president of the NAWA Council, Prof. Tomasz Pietrzykowski, underlines: ‘It is essential to support Belarus these days. That is why I am happy that the Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange will award scholarships to the best students, scientists and teachers under the joint initiative ‘Solidary with Belarus.’
The measure ‘Solidary with Students’ is going to involve 150 scholarships for the academic year 2020/2021. NAWA will allocate PLN 2 million for this purpose. Belarusian scientists, on the other hand, can count on 25 research fellowships at Polish universities and research institutes. The budget for the ‘Solidary with Scientists’ measure likewise amounts to PLN 2 million.
‘Regardless of their place of residence, students and scientists should have free access to education and research and the freedom to decide about their future,’ says Dr. Grażyna Żebrowska, Director General of the Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange. ‘Scholarships for students, scientists and teachers are not the first activity taken up by NAWA as an act of solidarity with Belarus. We have already offered one hundred people the chance to participate in the programme “Polish language and culture summer courses” free of charge this August,’ Dr. Grażyna Żebrowska adds.
The scholarships will be awarded to students and scientists in cooperation with CRASP.
‘Polish universities have already begun to aid Belarusians under their own programmes. NAWA’s measure expands the offer of help. We trust that the support coming from such diverse sources will be effective and will reach a wider range of those in need,’ says Prof. Arkadiusz Mężyk, president of CRASP.
In addition, NAWA is going to award 15 scholarships to Polish language teachers under the measure ‘Solidary with Teachers.’ The beneficiaries will be able to take up post-graduate studies in the academic year 2020/2021. The budget for this action amounts to PLN 53 thousand. The beneficiaries will be selected by the University of Silesia.
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