Due to the pandemic, the Fellows were selected in two stages. The first stage, coinciding with the first wave of the pandemic, was hampered by the closing of schools and the subsequent difficulties in direct contact with the students, which restricted the possibility to fully inform them about the Programme. It was thus more difficult for the parents of the future Fellows to decide whether to let their children move to a big city, and for the young people – to take the courageous step towards independence. To tackle those difficulties, additional time was given to submit the applications, and follow-up recruitment was held in autumn.
As a result, 53 Fellows were admitted to the Horizons Programme and started their education in the most interesting high schools and vocational schools all over Poland.