Second WIB competition: the call for applications ended

Eight applications for a total amount of nearly PLN 357 million – the call for applications in the second competition of the Virtual Research Institute (WIB) has ended. There is another chance for scientists to obtain financing for innovative research in the field of medical biotechnology – oncology.

The call for proposals for the second WIB competition lasted from 19 to 30 September 2022. Teams of scientists employed in Polish scientific and research units could participate in it. As part of the competition, eight applications were received, with a total value of nearly PLN 357 million. Scientists from 26 scientific and research units from all over Poland were involved in their preparation. Łukasiewicz – PORT Polish Center for Technology Development from Wrocław, acting as the Managing Entity in the WIB program, is responsible for the organization and course of the competition.

The application evaluation procedure, which has already started, will consist of several stages. The submitted projects will first be subject to formal verification. Then, an international group of experts will analyze them in terms of content, both in terms of science and business.
The commercialization potential of the assumed research results (innovative technologies, drugs, and therapies), which can be implemented into production and contribute to the development of Polish oncology, will be of particular importance.

The announcement of the results of the second competition of the Virtual Research Institute will take place on March 2023.

In the first competition, which was concluded in October 2021, experts selected the project “Horizon of Excellence in Matrix RNA applications in immunoOncology [HERO]” for funding. A research team led by prof. Andrzej Dziembowski received nearly PLN 70 million. The project was submitted by scientists from a consortium combining the best scientific and research units in the country: the International Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology in Warsaw (Research Team Leader unit), University of Warsaw, Medical University of Warsaw, and the Institute of Physical Chemistry of the Polish Academy of Sciences. Research work is ongoing.

For more information about the WIB program, go here.