Specialists of Horizon Europe Office in Ukraine, NRFU, held a thematic event for National Contact Points
On March 6, 2026, an information dissemination event “Coordination of NCP activities within the new Horizon Europe calls for proposals under the work programmes 2026-2027” was held in Kyiv. The main target audience of the event was the Horizon Europe National Contact Points (NCPs).
The event was opened with welcoming remarks by Olga Polotska, Executive Director of the National Research Foundation of Ukraine, Yehor Pyvovarov, Policy Officer for Research and Innovation at the EU Delegation to Ukraine, and Iryna Bilous, State Expert of the Expert Group on Strategizing and Integration into the European Research Area of the Directorate for Science Development of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine.
The programme of the event consisted of two parts – theoretical and practical.
During the theoretical part, Horizon Europe Office in Ukraine specialists presented statistical information on the participation of Ukrainian organisations in Horizon Europe calls and the work of the Office, as well as outlined current opportunities for Ukrainian applicants and key innovations in the 2026-2027 work programmes.
The practical part was devoted to the work with an example of developing a project proposal for the call Economics of climate change and cost of inaction call for proposals (HORIZON-CL5-2026-07-D1-03). Participants had the opportunity to analyse the structure of the project proposal and work on developing its financial part – the project budget. Particular attention was paid to the use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools in the preparation of project proposals. The feasibility and possibility of using AI tools is actively discussed by EU experts, so this issue was given special attention at the event. To complete practical tasks, participants were divided into three groups, each of them worked with questions prepared by the Office’s specialists.
At the end of the event, participants were offered an interactive educational game aimed at consolidating their knowledge of the key concepts of the Horizon Europe Programme by matching terms with their definitions. The Office’s experts gained this experience during a study visit to their Estonian colleagues and shared it with the NCPs.
Summing up the event, Igor Taranov, the Head of the Office, thanked the participants for their active involvement and emphasised the importance of consolidating efforts to expand the participation of Ukrainian organisations in Horizon Europe calls.
Strengthening the coordination of the NSPs’ network will contribute to more effective communication of Horizon Europe opportunities to Ukrainian researchers and innovators, improve the quality of project proposals, and expand Ukraine’s participation in European research and innovation initiatives. Such events also contribute to the further integration of the Ukrainian scientific and innovation community into the European Research Area.
