WIB: the call for applications is starting

Nearly half a million zlotys – this amount will soon be added to Polish science, giving an impulse to the development of an extremely important field, which is medical biotechnology – oncology. On March 1, 2021, the call for applications for the Virtual Research Institute (WIB) program started.

The Virtual Research Institute is a unique project on a national scale – the first program of this type of financing research with high commercialization potential. The government decided to allocate a record amount of PLN 450  000 for its purpose and indicated the area of ​​research: medical biotechnology – oncology, as particularly important from the point of view of the public interest.

The open tender competition under the WIB program lasts from 1 to 12 March 2021. Projects may be submitted by teams consisting of Polish and foreign specialists employed in scientific institutions operating in Poland. Ultimately, the program will finance the work of up to 10 research teams over up to 10 years.

– The WIB program is directed to the most outstanding and talented scientists operating at the highest world level – says Andrzej Dybczyński, director of Łukasiewicz – PORT Polish Center for Technology Development, one of the leading institutes of the nationwide Łukasiewicz Research Network, which acts as the Managing Entity of the Virtual Research Institute program. – We put great hopes in the quality of scientific and research projects submitted to the competition because their high level is a prerequisite for the success of the entire undertaking – he adds.

Applications submitted in the competition will be assessed by an international team of experts. Among the criteria taken into account, the most important are the socio-economic and commercialization potential of the assumed research results. The expected result of research carried out under the WIB are innovative products or technologies that can be introduced to the market, which may interest investors, contributing to the development and increase in the competitiveness of the Polish economy.

More information about the Virtual Research Institute program can be found here.