The competition aims to support research projects carried out within the framework of international cooperation, with Ukraine as a key partner. It is focused on strengthening the integration of the Ukrainian research and innovation system with the European Research Area (ERA).

Research proposals should address one of the following four topics:

Energy: Sustainable and renewable energy and energy security
Cybersecurity: Cyber resilience of critical infrastructures and adaptive cybersecurity systems
Medical and health research: Telemedicine, biomedical research
Social sciences and humanities: Social reconciliation, sustainable social development, and human capital restoration
Countries participating in the competition: Ukraine, Poland, Austria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Moldova, Romania, and Turkey.

International consortia consisting of at least three entities from different countries participating in the program may participate in the competition, with at least one partner based in Ukraine.

The head of the Polish team must hold at least a doctoral degree.

The total amount of funding allocated by the NCN for all Polish research teams selected in the competition is EUR 750,000.

Funding application process:

international level: preparation by the Polish research team, in cooperation with foreign partners, of a joint application in English, which must be submitted via the PT-Outline electronic application system.
National level: preparation by the Polish research team of a national application concerning the Polish part of the project, which must be submitted to the NCN in electronic form via the OSF system within 7 days after the deadline for submitting joint applications at the international level.
Deadline for submitting joint applications in the PT-Outline system: May 15, 2026, 11:59 p.m. CEST

Deadline for submitting national applications in the OSF system: May 22, 2026.

Complete applications prepared in the OSF system may be submitted for verification by the Science Department at least 10 days before the above-mentioned deadlines for submitting applications in the system.

By that time, you should:

make the completed application available to the Science Department staff in the OSF system,
submit the application form signed by all persons required by the form to the Science Department, link.
Detailed information is available on the NCN website

and on the project website.