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Ministry of Science
and Higher Education

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Information on the launch of the call for candidates for members of the international team of experts under the “Initiative of Excellence - Research University” programme

13.03.2025

We would like to inform you that the Minister of Science and Higher Education has launched a call for candidates for members of the international team of experts under the “Initiative of Excellence - Research University” (Polish acronym: IDUB) programme.

The second competition will be announced in 2026. As in the first competition, applications will be evaluated by an international team of experts with significant scientific or artistic achievements, appointed by the Minister.

Candidates for team members can be proposed by the the Council of Scientific Excellence (Polish acronym: RDN), The General Council for Science and Higher Education (Polish acronym: RGNiSW), The Conference of Rectors of Academic Schools in Poland (Polish acronym: KRASP), Science Policy Committee (Polish acronym: KPN), the Council of the National Centre for Research and Development (the NCBiR Council), the Council of the National Science Centre (the NCN Council) and national scientific associations.

The team's tasks will be primarily to evaluate the universities' final reports from the first IDUB competition, assess plans for the second IDUB competition, evaluate the competition applications of the universities eligible to participate in the second edition of the aforementioned competition, to participate in the team's meetings, and create evaluation reports on the degree of implementation of the programme.

The Ministry is looking for candidates who:

  • have strong expertise and outstanding achievements in policy development and implementation in the field of higher education and science, at university or national levels, or
  • are research leaders with a recognised track record of outstanding research achievements in different fields of science (including research on higher education).

The Ministry is looking for candidates who are (or used to be) employed outside Poland in an internationally renowned university or research centre, or in an institution working for the higher education and science system. Preference will be given to candidates with experience in evaluating higher education reforms or university strategies, or in assessing applications in programmes similar to the Excellence Initiative.

The candidate must not be employed by a university eligible for this competition.

The received candidatures will be analysed and the selected experts will be proposed to the Minister for approval in order to appoint the team in the form of an order of the Minister. The final list of team members to be included in the order will be determined by the Minister, who will take into account the candidatures submitted by the above-mentioned entities as well as individual declarations of candidates submitted in response to the invitation issued by the Minister.

Applications for candidacy, together with a justification, abbreviated curriculum vitae and the consent of the proposed person to become a candidate, may be submitted to the Minister until April 18, 2025.

The final list of members of the team shall be determined by the Minister taking into account the applications of candidates submitted by the aforementioned entities and the declarations of candidates submitted in response to the invitation issued by the Minister.

About the IDUB programme

The IDUB programme is one of the key initiatives introduced by the new Act of 20 July 2018 – Law on Higher Education and Science, the aim of which is a comprehensive reform of the Polish higher education and science system. The aim of the IDUB programme is to encourage the best Polish universities to be on a par with the leading European universities in the field of research, thereby increasing the international importance of their work.

The programme has allowed to select 10 universities, from among 20 universities entitled to participate in the competition. Ten winning universities are receiving additional funding (equals 10% of a regular subvention from the public budget) for a period of 7 years (2020–2026) for the implementation of development plans included in applications submitted to the competition. The funding is granted based on a performance agreement. The implementation of the development plans will be subject to assessment. The first mid-term assessment was carried out in 2023, and the final assessment will be carried out in 2026.

The first IDUB competition

In 2019, the Ministry of Science and Higher Education held the first competition under the IDUB programme. The selection of the winners of the first IDUB competition was a turning point for the higher education system and science.

Twenty best universities in the country were qualified to participate in the first IDUB competition. All of them met the statutory conditions regarding scientific categories obtained during the last comprehensive assessment of scientific units in relation to the number of fields of study and disciplines in which a university conducts scientific activity. Furthermore, a negative assessment of the Polish Accreditation Committee for any of the fields of study developed at a university was regarded as disqualifying. All applying universities presented a 6-year development plan in which they declared objectives and related activities resulting in significant enhancement of: research impact on world science, international collaboration with world-class research centres, quality of higher education and doctoral training as well as quality of management. The plans identified priority research fields that are the target of intensified efforts as the plan is implemented.

Each of the 20 universities was assessed by 15 outstanding experts. Among them were rectors, presidents or vice-rectors of leading European universities, including University of Göttingen, University of Amsterdam, Aarhus University, University of Manchester, and University of Southampton. The team was composed of scientists of high standing in the international scientific community. In the expert selection process, participation of representatives of each field of science was ensured. The team members had professional  experience in institutions from various countries, including Germany, the U.K., France, Spain, the Benelux, Scandinavia, Switzerland and Hungary.

Applications were assessed against 4 criteria:

  • overall quality of an application, i.a. its conciseness, quality of SWOT analysis;
  • relevance and sustainability of the objectives defined in the development plan, including the degree to which they allow for meeting the programme’s expected outcomes;
  • adequacy and feasibility of planned actions, including their relevance in the context of the objectives;
  • potential of the applying university in terms of research, international collaboration, educational provision and doctoral training, as well as management and HR policy.