The beginning of the Poland Fellowships dates back to the late 1960s.German and Polish professors of theology initiated an exchange and instituted "Poland Days" in Mainz.
Beginning in 1971, professors of theology travelled regularly between Mainz and the universities in Krakow and Lublin.
As a result of this successful cooperation, the "Poland Fellowships" were established in 1982 with the support of the Robert Bosch Foundation.
The mission of the "Poland Fellowships" is to promote interdisciplinary scholarly cooperation between German and Polish faculty and students.The Polish guests are integrated into the departments, where they offer lectures, seminars, and colloquiums about their subjects either in German, Polish or in English. There are short term lectureships of six weeks and long term lectureships of six months. In 1982, the first visiting lecturer sponsored by the Poland Fellowships came to Mainz University.