Horizon Europe Office in Ukraine expands the boundaries of cooperation: meeting of the NRFU team with representatives of the Canadian Embassy

On June 10, representatives of the National Research Foundation of Ukraine paid a working visit to the Embassy of Canada in Ukraine at the invitation of the Canadian side. First Deputy Executive Director for Grant Support of the NRFU Andrii Kuznetsov, Head of Horizon Europe Office in Ukraine, NRFU, Igor Taranov, Deputy Head of Horizon Europe Office in Ukraine, NRFU, Nataliia Didenko and Communications Officer of Horizon Europe Office in Ukraine, NRFU, Yuliia Koshyk discussed the participation of the countries in the Horizon Europe Programme.

Olesya Sheremok, Business Development Counselor and Trade Commissioner at the Embassy of Canada in Ukraine, who is also responsible for certain components of scientific and innovation cooperation (International Partnerships), was interested in the possibility of establishing cooperation under the Horizon Europe between Ukraine and Canada. Canada has only recently become a participant in the Framework Programme, in particular, in Pillar I Excellent Science and Pillar II Global Challenges and European Industrial Competitiveness. The country is interested in establishing joint activities and finding partners from the Ukrainian side to create consortia in various projects of the Programme.

The Head of Horizon Europe Office in Ukraine spoke in detail about the activities of the department, its direct work with potential applicants and all those interested in the Programme. After all, participants from Ukraine are very active in applying for participation in Horizon Europe, and the European Commission has allocated additional funds to support Ukrainian researchers in the MSCA4Ukraine. Igor Taranov proposed to hold a joint event of the Office’s specialists responsible for Pillar I and Pillar II with the Canadian side and to help finding potential partners from both countries.

The parties came to an agreement to hold a follow-up meeting with a detailed review of specific calls in which representatives of both countries will be able to participate. Also they will discuss the creation of consortia among higher education institutions, research institutions, and businesses in Ukraine and Canada, which are interested in various projects of the Programme.