Applications are now open for the 8th edition of the Student Activity Fund (FAST 2026) – a program that supports innovative and creative initiatives led by students and doctoral candidates in Wrocław. This year’s total budget amounts to 250,000 PLN, with grants of up to 15,000 PLN available for individual projects.

The Fund was established by the Mayor of Wrocław, Jacek Sutryk, and is coordinated by the Wrocław Academic Centre (WCA). Its main goal is to foster creativity, entrepreneurship, and collaboration among young academics and researchers representing both public and private universities as well as institutes of the Polish Academy of Sciences based in Wrocław.

To take part in the competition, each student or doctoral organization must submit an application form together with a short two-minute video presenting their project idea. Both materials must be sent electronically via the ePUAP platform (skrytka UMW: /umwroclaw/SkrytkaESP). This year, submissions will be accepted only in electronic form, and every application must be signed with a qualified electronic signature by the rector or another authorized university representative.

The deadline for submitting applications is 17 December 2025, 23:59. The results will be announced by 6 February 2026, and successful applicants will sign funding agreements starting from 9 February 2026. Projects can be implemented from 3 March until 31 December 2026.

According to Anna Gil, head of the program, the extended timeline means that students will now have the entire summer semester to carry out their projects. This change responds directly to participants’ feedback and allows for more flexible and effective project implementation.

Since its launch, the FAST program has supported 179 student projects out of nearly 600 applications, providing a total of over one million PLN in funding.

If you would like to see examples of previous winners and get inspired for your own proposal, visit the summary of FAST 7