Notes From Poland • 27th October 2022

“We have nowhere to go”: Russians in Poland - even opponents of Putin - struggle to renew residence

Olesya Sergeiko, an English-language teacher from Moscow, is half Russian and half Ukrainian. She moved to the Polish city of Gdańsk with her family in 2021 because of her opposition to the Kremlin’s policies. Back in Russia, Olesya attended protests against Vladimir Putin’s regime and unfair elections.

“I have always fought for fair elections. However, my experience has shown that to somehow influence the situation, we need many more people who care. It became clear to me that a change of powe

Notes From Poland • 1st June 2022

Ukrainian refugees fill gaps in Polish labour market but risk getting stuck in low-skilled jobs

The fast recovery of the economy from the impact of Covid has increased staff shortages in industries ranging from construction and catering to healthcare and education.
In an effort to plug those gaps, the government has rushed to integrate refugees from Ukraine, including by relaxing requirements to enter the labour market, for example suspending the need to obtain a work permit and making it easier for certain qualifications to be recognised.

Kafkadesk - Ultra-local news from Central Europe • 20th March 2022

As Poland calls for help, Gdańsk volunteers work day and night to support Ukrainian refugees

Gdansk, Poland – People rushing and lining up in front of help centres, crowds at the main train station, and yellow-blue flags popping up everywhere: Polish cities like Gdańsk have opened their arms to Ukrainians escaping the war.

The solidarity and mobilisation of Polish volunteers have been instrumental in managing the first weeks of one of the worst refugee crises on the European continent in decades. But as more people cross the border, Poland struggles to accommodate everyone in need.

Kafkadesk - Ultra-local news from Central Europe • 7th March 2022

Blame-game continues as Poles face sky-high gas prices - Kafkadesk

Gdansk, Poland – Poland has long been seeking to diversify gas supplies as its long-term contract with Russian state giant Gazprom is scheduled to expire at the end of 2022.

But as the energy crisis in Europe deepens and the Russian-Ukrainian war rages just across its border, Poland faces galloping commodity prices directly impacting households and businesses still reeling from two years of the pandemic.

Science|Business • 27th October 2025

Studies seek to promote healthier lifestyle in youth

SmartCHANGE, a Horizon Europe project to support healthy lifestyles and reduce the risk of chronic diseases in children and adolescents, has launched feasibility studies to test AI-based tools in real-world healthcare contexts.

Science|Business • 18th October 2023

Poland’s election result sparks hope for brighter future for science and research

Academics in Poland say the election result could help research and higher education move towards a greater degree of academic freedom, better dialogue with the scientific community, and a gradual resolution of enduring problems in the sector.

Poland’s right-wing Law and Justice party (PiS) won the most votes for a single party, but failed to secure a parliamentary majority in the high stakes parliamentary election on Sunday. Opposition leader Donald Tusk told supporters that “this is the end o

Science|Business • 12th June 2023

Academics in Poland raise the alarm over latest threat to academic freedom

Academics in Poland have hit out against a government decision to withhold funding for the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology of the Polish Academy of Sciences, after the renowned Holocaust scholar and Director of the Polish Centre for Holocaust Research, Barbara Engelking said Polish Jews received little support from their fellow citizens in the Second World War.

The Institute lost approximately €180,000 after Engelking’s remarks were criticised by the education and science minister Przemys

Science|Business • 27th October 2022

Poland risks slowdown in R&D and innovation, as the dispute over EU funds lengthens

Academics in Poland are starting to question how the dispute with the EU over access to €35.4 billion from the pandemic recovery will impact research, investment in innovation, and industry/academic collaborations at national and international levels.

Poland has been waiting months for money it is due to receive to help rebuild the economy after the COVID-19 pandemic. But Brussels says it will not be forthcoming until the country implements “milestones” that include reforms to the judicial syst

12th March 2024

Taste of Malaga's architecture

I came to Malaga intrigued by Arab influence, but the city's architecture surprised me with its mosaic of styles. Wandering around the streets lined with orange trees, I stopped at every corner: by churches, the market, and even the bank resembling a museum. Exploring this architectural kaleidoscope felt like traveling through time, and I made a couple of stops to savor local delicacies along the way.

Go World Travel Magazine • 16th July 2023

The Fairy Tales of Malaga

I came to Malaga, the favorite Spanish city of Hans Christian Andersen, known as the father of the modern fairy tale, to explore the Andalusia region known for its sunny weather and hospitality of the locals, walk the Caminito del Rey, which used to be one of the most extreme hiking paths, and climb to the ramparts of an ancient castle.

Andersen wrote that in no other part of Spain did he feel so happy and so at home as in Malaga. Today, the statue of the writer is to be found by the promenade

10th January 2023

Freelancers by choice

The number of freelancers in Poland has now reached 300,000, so WBJ sets out to discover: Who is freelancing in Poland, and why do they prefer self-employment to a stable job?

11th November 2022

Workcations: blending work and travel comes into vogue

Tempted by the thought of taking your work with you on holiday? You are not alone. Working vacations are an increasingly popular option for busy professionals who are willing to pack their laptops when heading out for a change of scenery. by Anna Rzhevkina

Science|Business • 22nd May 2024

Polish Academy of Sciences reform sparks worries about autonomy of its institutes

The reform of the Polish Academy of Sciences could impact the autonomy of its institutes, diminishing their decision-making power, warns Przemysław Urbańczyk, professor of archaeology at Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in Warsaw.

Urbańczyk’s concerns are that under the draft reform, proposed by the academy in March last year, an elected group of scientists and scholars from its institutes, known as the Corporation of the Academy, will have too much power, while the directors of the institu

Science|Business • 18th October 2023

Audit uncovers ‘corruption mechanisms’ at Polish research funding agency

Poland’s Supreme Audit Office (NIK) has reported finding “numerous irregularities” in the distribution of grants by the National Centre for Research and Development (NCBR) in a fast-track call for digital innovation that was co-funded by the EU.

The report says the irregularities “indicate the existence of corruption mechanisms in NCBR” and called the audit results “alarming”, pointing to an “enormous problem related to the reliability of spending EU funds.”

A day before auditor’s report was p

Science|Business • 20th September 2023

Poland signals stellar ambitions as it increases its contribution to the European Space Agency

Poland is set to drastically increase its contribution to the European Space Agency (ESA) in an attempt to secure a more ambitious role in international space projects. The decision came as a pleasant surprise for the industry, but there are concerns about the absence of clear objectives and whether the higher level of funding will be maintained.

The Polish contribution to ESA for 2023-2025 was initially set at €132 million, of which €81 million is the basic subscription and €51 million was des

FNArena.com • 21st August 2023

Breaking Boundaries: Medical Psychedelics

This story features VITURA HEALTH LIMITED, and other companies. For more info SHARE ANALYSIS: VIT

Australia is the first country in the world to legalise the use of psychedelic drugs for mental illness.

Australian companies are establishing themselves in the emerging market of medical psychedelics after Australia became the first country in the world to legalize the use of psychedelic drugs for mental illness.

From July, psychiatrists can prescribe MDMA, commonly known as ecstasy, and psilocy

Science|Business • 21st June 2023

Widening countries call for greater say in reforming research assessment

Addressing uneven research performance in the EU is among the key objectives of moves to reform research assessment, which has the overall aim of replacing the focus on metrics such as citations and number of papers published, with criteria that better reflect research impact.

Now, researchers in Widening countries are asking for a bigger say in how the reform is shaped.

Martin Bareš, Rector of Masaryk University, says that while the reform clearly reflects the expectations of the global scien

Science|Business • 24th May 2023

Widening countries applaud the contribution centres of excellence make to bridging the innovation divide

One of the key moves to address long-standing disparities in R&D performance across European countries is Teaming for Excellence, introduced as part of the Widening scheme under the Horizon 2020 programme, to set up and foster centres of excellence in Widening countries through strategic partnerships with leading institutions abroad.

Almost a decade after the initiative launched, stakeholders from research, industry, regional authorities, national governments and EU institutions gathered at a r

Science|Business • 10th May 2023

Grassroots push to connect scientists in eastern Europe hits cash hurdles

In the face of decades of brain drain, grassroots movements have sprung up in eastern Europe to help scientists who have moved abroad stay in touch and encourage more international researchers to come and work in the region. But while foundations and private companies have stepped up in support, government backing has been sporadic or non-existent.

As one case in point, the Czexpats in Science initiative, launched in 2018 by three Czech scientists working in the UK and Germany, has expanded and

Notes From Poland • 3rd May 2023

Poland's banking sector weathers global turbulence but faces domestic challenges of its own

The sudden collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Credit Suisse’s takeover by its rival UBS shook global financial markets, amid fears of potential spillover. Poland’s banking sector looks unlikely to suffer such effects, but it is facing local issues of its own that will test its resilience.

The Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) case marked the largest US banking failure since the 2008 financial crisis. SVB relied heavily on deposits of tech startups, which the bank invested into long-term government bon

Science|Business • 30th March 2023

Stop gap measures put in place to help Ukrainian scientists are maturing into closer ties

The Foundation for Polish Science (FNP) recently extended its For Ukraine programme, launching a third call, open for proposals until 4 April from pairs of scientists working in tandem, one from Ukraine who can be living anywhere, and one employed in Poland.

Originally, the Foundation planned to hold only two calls, but with the level of interest exceeding expectations, decided to continue the programme, which is supporting research in humanities and social sciences, with a particular focus on

16th March 2023

Poland invests in climate tech start-ups

For years Poland has resisted the EU’s climate goals, with policymakers seeing a move to renewables as a threat to the country's coal-dependent economy. However, even though climate tech is still at an early stage, Poland is now committed to investing millions in green start-ups.

Science|Business • 8th March 2023

Police in Poland launch investigation into fast-track grants disbursed by national research funding agency

Poland’s anti-corruption bureau (CBA) has launched an investigation into grants distributed by the National Centre for Research and Development (NCBR), after two single companies were due to get a full 22% of the funding available under a fast-track call for digital innovations.

NCBR denied any wrongdoing and said it will fully cooperate with CBA. It also stressed the funds have not been distributed yet, and that financing can be withdrawn at any stage of a project’s implementation if there are

Science|Business • 25th January 2023

Poland to rework research assessment scheme

In 2018, Poland adopted the Constitution for Science, a major reform of the higher education system aiming to bring it closer to the EU standards. As part of the reform, new criteria for research assessment were introduced.

That led on to the publication of the results of the first assessment carried out in the four-year cycle in August 2022. The standing of each discipline in each institution was evaluated on three major criteria: the quality of research output; securing external research fund

Science|Business • 30th November 2022

Poland’s sweeping science reform gets mixed reviews

When Poland adopted Constitution for Science in 2018 the aim was to bring the country’s higher education system more in line with EU standards and position universities to be more successful in EU R&D funding programmes. Apart from changing how the research budget is distributed, the reform brought in new criteria for research evaluation, putting a greater emphasis on publication in international journals.

The evaluation system uses three major criteria for research assessment: the quality of t

11th November 2022

HOLIDAYS PRECEDE HIGH PRICES

‘We are beginning to believe that we are gods, and there is only one God’: Maja Frykowska

12th October 2022

Job market resists economic turmoil

Despite recent economic troubles and the cost of living crisis, Poland’s job market is still booming. Whether the current trend continues remains to be seen, however, as financial pressures are impacting new hires.

Notes From Poland • 18th August 2022

Harsh winter ahead for poor households in Poland amid coal shortages

Several weeks ahead of the heating season, 50-year-old Maria from Gdańsk still has no idea whether she will be able to buy coal to heat her home and at what price.

Notes From Poland • 12th May 2022

Polish government blames soaring inflation on Russia's war, but that’s only part of the story

In April, inflation in Poland hit 12.3%, its highest level since 1998 according to preliminary data. The figure for March, 10.9%, was also in double figures. The Polish government blames Russia’s invasion of Ukraine for the growing prices, which it has termed “Putinflation”.

But economists say the situation was getting out of control before the war.

Notes From Poland • 22nd April 2022

Influx of Ukrainian refugees stokes housing shortage in Poland

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, almost 3 million people have fled across the border in Poland, and it is estimated that the majority remain in the country.

As many of them seek a place to stay temporarily or long term, the demand for apartments for rent has spiked in the large Polish cities that have been the refugees’ main destination. This has further pushed up already record-high rental prices, fuelled by inflation and high energy bills.

Notes From Poland • 7th October 2021

As the pandemic boosts its thriving outsourcing sector, Poland looks to offer higher-value services

Poland has grown into one of Europe’s largest outsourcing centres, thanks to a well-educated and relatively cheap workforce, attractive location, and clear legal frameworks. But now the country wants to develop into higher-value services. As international firms increasingly move towards remote work and seek out more savings, post-pandemic trends could speed up this transition.

Companies increasingly see Poland as a location for more demanding jobs, rather than just the simple back-office functi

Reuters • 16th June 2021

Russians’ taste for non-alcoholic beer to grow at double-digit pace, says AB InBev Efes

MOSCOW, June 16 (Reuters) - AB InBev Efes, a Russia-based unit of the world’s largest brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev (ABI.BR), expects double-digit growth in its non-alcoholic local beer sales in the next few years, after COVID-19 accelerated a shift towards healthier lifestyles.

While many beer lovers across the globe shifted to at-home consumption during the pandemic, non-alcoholic beer sales in Russia - the world's sixth-largest beer market - grew 13% year-on-year, while the overall beer market