The Foundation for Polish Science has announced the list of the 100 most talented Polish researchers under the age of 30. They are the winners of the 2025 edition of the Foundation’s START programme, which for over 30 years has recognized outstanding representatives of the young generation of scientists. This year marks the 33rd round of scholarships awarded under the programme.
The START programme, run by the Foundation for Polish Science, is the oldest scholarship initiative in Poland dedicated to supporting the most promising early-career researchers across all fields of science. Its goal is to promote scientific excellence among young scholars and encourage their continued academic development. Winners of the 2025 edition of the START programme will each receive a one-year scholarship of PLN 30,000. The total funding allocated by the Foundation in this 33rd edition of the programme exceeds PLN 3 million.
“Supporting young researchers is an investment in the future of science and innovation. This year’s START winners demonstrate that Poland has significant research potential and world-class creativity. We are proud to accompany these scholars on their academic journey and believe that their achievements will contribute to meaningful change across many areas of life,” said Professor Maciej Żylicz, President of the Foundation for Polish Science.
This year’s competition received 725 applications. The jury selected the winners of the START programme through a multi-stage evaluation process focused on the quality of their scientific achievements to date. Notably, 32% of the awarded researchers already hold a doctoral degree – an impressive accomplishment considering that the average age for earning a PhD in Poland is around 35.
This year, the largest number of awarded researchers represent the biological sciences, medical sciences, and Earth sciences. FNP granted 30 scholarships in these fields. Once again, the University of Warsaw tops the list of institutions with the highest number of winners, with 15 scholars. The Jagiellonian University follows with 14 awardees, and institutes of the Polish Academy of Sciences collectively account for 13 scholars, placing them third.
Since 2009, the Foundation has also awarded special distinctions within the START programme to candidates whose research achievements the competition reviewers assessed as outstanding. These scholars will receive an increased scholarship amount of PLN 38,000. This year, the following researchers received distinctions:
- Jędrzej Chrzanowski (Medical University of Łódź, Faculty of Medicine) – life and medical sciences
- Sc. Jakub Zakrzewski (Jagiellonian University in Kraków, Faculty of Chemistry) – chemical and materials sciences
- Sc. Sebastian Borówka (University of Warsaw, Centre of New Technologies) – physical and technical sciences
- Sc. Michalina Kowala (Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, Faculty of Law and Administration) – humanities and social sciences
As part of the START programme, the Foundation also awards the Barbara Skarga Scholarship. This distinction goes to a researcher whose work boldly crosses disciplinary boundaries, opens new research perspectives, and contributes new value to science. This year’s recipient is M.Sc. Alexandra Staniewska (Faculty of Anthropology and Cultural Studies, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań).
Since 2015, the Foundation for Polish Science has also awarded the Professor Adam Sobiczewski Distinction as part of the START programme. FNP grants this honor to a laureate conducting research in the fields of mathematics, theoretical physics, or astronomy. The primary criterion for the award is the exceptionally high quality of the candidate’s scientific achievements. This year, FNP awarded the distinction to M.Sc. Stanisław Kurdziałek (Faculty of Physics, University of Warsaw).
In this year’s competition, FNP awarded the Professor Wacław Szybalski Distinction for the fourth time. The Foundation grants this distinction to an outstanding young researcher conducting studies in fields pursued by the Patron, namely biotechnology, genetics, or molecular biology. This year, FNP awarded the distinction to M.Sc. Paulina Kamińska (Faculty of Biology, University of Warsaw).
The funds for the scholarships awarded in the 2025 competition will come both from the Foundation’s budget and private and institutional donors, including the TVN Foundation and the PKO Bank Polski Foundation, as well as 1.5% personal income tax donations.
The call for applications for the next competition will begin this fall.
START 2025 in Numbers
- PLN 3,056,000 – the total amount allocated by the Foundation for Polish Science for scholarships in the 33rd edition of the START programme
- 725 applications submitted
- 100 laureates (13.8% of all applicants)
- 67 men and 33 women among the laureates
- 32% of laureates (32 individuals) hold a doctoral degree at the time of application; including 13 women and 19 men
- Most represented fields among laureates: biological, medical, and Earth sciences (30 scholarships); chemical and materials sciences (23 scholarships); humanities and social sciences (18 scholarships); technical sciences (17 scholarships); physical and mathematical sciences (12 scholarships)
- Institutions with the highest number of scholars: University of Warsaw (15), Jagiellonian University in Kraków (14), Polish Academy of Sciences (13), Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań (10), Wrocław University of Science and Technology (8), University of Gdańsk (5)
- Cities with the most scholarship recipients: Warsaw (27), Kraków (22), Wrocław (15), Poznań (13), Gdańsk (11)
- Scientific institutions affiliated with the scholars: universities – 87 (including 18 from technical universities) and institutes of the Polish Academy of Sciences – 13