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Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and is published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.
Poland has launched a new programme that will help young members of the Polish diaspora or people with a particular interest in Poland to undertake paid internships in Poland.
The scheme, called “Poland. Business Adventure” and run by the foreign ministry and Polish Investment and Trade Agency (PAIH), will be open to “people aged 18-35 who are of Polish origin or particularly interested in Poland”, says the ministry.
In its initial pilot form, which will run from July to November this year, the programme will be open to people living in the European Union, European Economic Area, United Kingdom, United States and Canada in July to November this year. If successful, the scheme will then be made available to people in other countries.
Obietnica z exposé polonijnego spełniona ✅
Ogłaszam pilotażowy program Poland. Business Adventure przygotowany we współpracy z @PAIH_pl. Będziemy zachęcać Polonię do powrotu do kraju poprzez organizowanie płatnych staży w polskich firmach. Zachęcam do zapoznania się z ofertą… pic.twitter.com/iGOH7iL9pH— Radosław Sikorski 🇵🇱🇪🇺 (@sikorskiradek) March 12, 2025
Successful applicants will receive a three-month placement at “selected Polish companies, including state-owned companies or Polish branches of foreign companies in Poland”, as well as financial and logistical assistance from the ministry.
“Thanks to the scheme, recipients will have an opportunity to integrate with the Polish business community, build international connections, and get a better insight into the country of their ancestors,” says the ministry.
“We encourage Poles, people who feel the Polish gene, who maybe have ancestors [from here] or are interested in Polish culture, to come to Poland – and maybe to stay,” says Andrzej Dycha, the head of PAIH.
A centre for the study of Polish culture has opened in Brazil as part of a collaboration between universities in the respective countries.
It will also act as a focal point for research on the large Polish diaspora in Brazil and the rest of Latin America https://t.co/GpHfB1yoPF
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) March 19, 2024
He noted that Poland has become a major hub for research and development, in particular in the IT industry. Last month, the Polish government announced new partnerships with Microsoft and Google, which already have a strong presence in the country.
The Polish diaspora – often referred to as Polonia – is one of the largest of any nation in the world, estimated to number of 20 million. Countries with particularly large populations include the US, Germany, UK, Brazil, France, Ukraine, Belarus and Argentina.
In recent years, Poland has made efforts to encourage Polonia to relocate to Poland, pointing to the country’s booming economy, low levels of unemployment, but also a demographic crisis that has resulted in a shrinking population.
Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.
Main image credit: Kamil Gliwiński/Unsplash
Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland. He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications, including Foreign Policy, POLITICO Europe, EUobserver and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.
