• Executive Committee
• Partner in Germany
• Statue
• Overview of the main activities

Overview of the Main Activities

Polish-German Academic Society (Polsko-Niemieckie Towarzystwo Akademickie - PNTA), based in Cracow, was founded in May 1993. Its executive committee consists of young academics from the Jagiellonian University, while its members are largely former Polish and German PTNA grant-holders. It has a partner association, Deutsch-Polnische Akademische Gesellschaft e.V., which was founded in Kiel in April 1995, the inspiration of former German PTNA grant-holders.

The Society has the following statutory aims:

- promoting scholarship as well as academic and educational exchange and cooperation between Poland and Germany and other countries;  
- contributing to learning the language, country and culture and to the development of contacts and cultural exchange between people of Poland and Germany and other countries; 
- contributing to strengthening ties between the Polish nation and other European nations and supporting European integration.

Scholarships for undergraduate students, doctoral students and Polish teaching assistants to stay in Germany - semester-long and monthly scholarships for a library research stay.
The programme is designed for undergraduate students, doctoral students and teaching assistants from all departments and all Polish universities and colleges. Grant-holders leave for academic centres they select in order to study or do archive or library research or pursue academic contacts. PNTA grants accommodation, a monthly stipend and assistance from the Society's representative (usually the former German grant-holder). Besides, a three-day Polish-German seminar is organized during the semester for all grant-holders. The programme was offered in the years 1993-99, with the support of the Foundation for Polish-German Cooperation and Stefan Batory Foundation, and was immensely popular. 10 to 20 scholarships were awarded per semester (altogether, some 80 semester-long scholarships and 40 monthly library research stays were awarded in the duration of the programme). Grant-holders were mostly young people, largely prospective or current academics, who did not limit themselves to their academic activity, but were open to all kind of Polish-German contacts.
Note: Due to the lack of financial resources the programme has currently been suspended.

Semester-long scholarships for German undergraduate students and graduates to take part in an intensive Polish-language course in Cracow or to study in Poland
The programme is aimed at German undergraduate students of all levels and graduates of all German universities and colleges. It has been offered since 1994 with the support of the Foundation for Polish-German Cooperation and co-organized by PROLOG Language School in Cracow. Grant-holders may study in any Polish academic centre, but Polish language courses are organized for them only in Cracow. A three-day long Polish-German seminar for all grant-holders as well as day trips and meetings with Polish students are offered as part of this programme. 12 to 18 scholarships are awarded each semester. By January 2001 we had invited over 160 grant-holders to Cracow. 
Note: Due to the lack of financial resources the programme was suspended as of January 2001.

Semester-long scholarships offered by cooperating institutions to Polish undergraduates and graduates

• Copernicus e.V. Society (www.copernicus-stipendium.de) offers scholarships to students of economy, law, political science and technology to study and pursue job practice in Hamburg, Berlin and Munich;
• Toepfer Foundation offers scholarships to students and graduates of higher artistic schools.

Intensive two-week-long courses in the Polish language and culture
Facing the growing interest in the Polish language, PNTA has been organizing intensive two-week-long courses in the Polish language and culture since February 1997. They are mainly designed for students, but more and more frequently they are attended by professionals or retired people. The courses are co-organized by PROLOG Language School in Cracow. They take place twice a year during the winter and summer semester breaks at German universities (February-April and August-October).

Visiting Professorships for German scholars at the Jagiellonian University. 
In November 1996, thanks to the joint initiative of Professor Andrzej Zoll and PNTA, the position of Visiting Professor was established at the Jagiellonian University to be filled by German academics. Since October 1997, outstanding German professors have been arriving in Cracow under this programme and conducting regular lectures and seminars for Jagiellonian University students for a period of 2 months (half-semester). Until the academic year 2001/2002, the programme had covered humanities only. From the academic year 2002/2003 the programme will be extended to embrace all Faculties of the Jagiellonian University, with the exception of Collegium Medicum. The programme is offered with the support of Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach Foundation from Essen. Till today the Jagiellonian University hosted 27 German professors under the programme. For the next academic year four professors will participate in the programme.

Seminar on Interpretation of Vocal Literature 
The ten-day seminar is designed for undergraduates and graduates of higher music schools in Poland and abroad. The seminar is a kind of master course which gives an opportunity for students to take part both actively and passively (as observers) in singing lessons run by the prominent and widely-respected educator Prof. Christian Elssner from the Academy of Music in Dresden. Active participants also have a chance to present their skills during the closing public concert which usually attracts some 200 music fans each time. The seminar is organized in Cracow, in February or September each year, with the support of the Consulate of the Republic of Austria, Polish-German Youth Cooperation and Cracow Municipal Authorities. In the three seminars organized so far, 59 students took an active part, with many more participating passively.

"Pontes" Information Bulletin
Since 1995, PNTA has edited the "Pontes" information bulletin which contains reports on the completed programmes, comments of students about their research stays and information on the planned programmes. Up to January 2001, eight issues of the bulletin had been published.

Other programmes
In addition, PNTA organizes many smaller-scale events: seminars, conferences, cultural events, lectures. For example, in May 1998 a research trip to Berlin was organized for students of architecture while in September 1999 a two-day-long conference was organized on "Polish-German academic and cultural relations in the 20th century and the perspectives for the future." 

PNTA is open to new ideas, contacts, new forms of activity and is happy to cooperate with students and graduates from Poland and from abroad.