On 17 July 2025, Kyiv hosted the international meeting ‘Global Ukrainians: Challenges and Opportunities’, a large-scale event that brought together Ukrainian leaders from around the world, representatives of government agencies, diplomatic missions, international organisations and civil society. The event became an open platform for discussing the challenges faced by Ukrainians abroad and identifying new opportunities for strengthening cooperation between the diaspora and Ukraine. The event was held in a hybrid format – with offline participation in Kyiv and online broadcasting, which ensured the involvement of an even wider range of participants from different countries.

The forum was attended by Ukrainian MPs, government officials, heads of institutions, representatives of international organisations, Ukrainian communities abroad, as well as activists, entrepreneurs and experts implementing significant initiatives in their countries.

The programme of the meeting was built around three key thematic blocks:

1. ‘Global Ukrainians: Challenges and Opportunities for Interaction with the State’ – discussion of effective models of cooperation between Ukraine and the diaspora, mechanisms for involving Ukrainians from abroad in the process of rebuilding the state.
2. ‘Ukrainian Women of the World: Those Who Stayed and Supported, and Those Who Returned and Created’ – stories of women’s leadership, social entrepreneurship and examples of resilience in the face of war.
3. ‘Opportunities for Ukrainian Women in the Public and Business Sector’ – a discussion on new tools, support programmes, funding for initiatives and involvement of women in active community development.

In the third section, Igor Taranov, Head of Horizon Europe Office in Ukraine at the NRFU, joined the discussion. In his speech, he presented to the participants the wide range of opportunities offered by the Horizon Europe Programme for representatives of the public and business sectors, including participation in international projects, research consortia, start-up initiatives, and cross-sectoral cooperation. It was emphasised that the Programme is not only for researchers – it is also available to activists, entrepreneurs, innovators working to address current social and technological challenges.

The event aroused great interest among the participants and became an opportunity to establish new partnerships, share experiences and jointly find solutions to help overcome the challenges of war, migration, integration and state reconstruction.

The meeting was organised by the World Ukrainians Association and the International Staff for Assistance to Ukrainians, with the support of the Office of the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights and the Business Woman Club.

On 7, 9 and 11 July 2025, a three-day Horizon Europe Proposal Writing Camp for Ukraine, organised by the European Commission as part of the Service Facility in Support of the Global Approach to Research and Innovation, took place online.

The training was attended by 44 participants from Ukraine, who were selected by the European Commission on a competitive basis among 237 applicants. The event was also attended by representatives of Horizon Europe Office in Ukraine of the NRFU.

The purpose of the training was to introduce the key principles of preparing successful project proposals for Horizon Europe calls, in particular, in the sections on Excellence, Impact and Implementation.

The training also covered the following topics:

• general overview of the Horizon Europe Programme;
• how to analyse call for proposals;
• requirements for the Excellence, Impact and Implementation sections;
• preparation of the impact section and description of measures to maximise it;
• budgeting: eligible costs and calculations for individual work packages;
• presentation of project budgets and discussion.

The training programme combined theoretical sessions with practical exercises. Participants worked in groups under the mentorship of experienced trainers, working through examples of competitions and developing project proposals in response to real-world challenges.

The training was part of the European Commission’s support for Ukrainian researchers as part of its Global Approach to Cooperation in Research and Innovation.

On 8 July, the team of the Horizon Europe Office in Ukraine held an online meeting with representatives of the National Contact Points (NCPs) of the Republic of Lithuania. The meeting was an important step in establishing international partnership and strengthening cooperation within the framework of the Horizon Europe Programme.

During the meeting, the parties presented their activities and discussed ways to strengthen cooperation between Ukraine and Lithuania. In particular, attention was focused on the following opportunities:

• joint participation in Horizon Europe calls for proposals, in particular in the MSCA and WIDERA components;
• development of new research areas and thematic priorities;
• promotion of research results at the national and European levels;
• organisation of joint events with the participation of Ukrainian and Lithuanian researchers;
• interaction between the NCPs of both countries for effective support of scientists;
• search for partners to form consortia;
• coverage of successful cases of Ukrainian-Lithuanian cooperation.

The partnership between Ukraine and Lithuania offers unique opportunities to strengthen the research potential of both countries. Due to geographical, cultural and academic proximity, as well as common priorities in research and innovation, cooperation within the Horizon Europe Programme has great potential. Lithuania, as an EU member state, ensures deep integration into the European scientific community, while Ukraine, as an associated country, demonstrates a high level of interest in developing innovations and engaging in international projects.

The meeting was held in an atmosphere of open dialogue and constructive exchange of ideas. Both sides expressed their readiness to further develop cooperation by promoting the active involvement of Ukrainian and Lithuanian researchers in the Horizon Europe Programme.

On 8 July 2025, an online training for the Ukrainian network of National Contact Points (NCPs) of the Horizon Europe Programme – Horizon Europe NCP Training Ukraine – took place. The event was organised by the European Commission within the framework of the Service Facility in Support of the Global Approach to Research and Innovation specifically for representatives of Ukrainian NCPs.

The training was aimed at raising the professional level and developing the competences of the national contact points, as well as strengthening their capacity to provide high-quality advisory support to potential participants and applicants of the Horizon Europe Programme from Ukraine.

The participants were welcomed by Frederik Sondergaard, Project Officer at the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, and Igor Taranov, Head of Horizon Europe Office in Ukraine at the NRFU.

The event was also attended by representatives of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, which underscores the importance of inter-institutional cooperation in the implementation of the Programme’s instruments in Ukraine.

The training was conducted by experienced experts: Manfred Spiesberger (CSI), Matthias Wurch (GSF), Sander van der Molen (Civitta).

During the training, the participants got acquainted with:

• key information resources for the effective work of the NCP;
• practical advice on promoting the Programme and advising potential applicants;
• new opportunities for Ukrainian organisations within Horizon Europe.

Particular attention was paid to practical exercises in groups, during which participants worked out real-life scenarios of consulting and searching for suitable calls for proposals.

The final part of the training was devoted to a question and answer session, where participants were able to ask specific questions to the experts, discuss challenges in the work of the NCP and share their experiences.

Representatives of the NCP network highly appreciated the level of the event and expressed interest in continuing this type of training.

The training will contribute to deepening awareness of the European Commission’s support instruments, expanding international cooperation and strengthening the role of the NCPs in supporting Ukrainian applicants for participation in the Horizon Europe Programme.

On 07 July, specialists  of Horizon Europe Office in Ukraine of the NRFU held an online consultation for Myron Kapral, head of the Lviv branch of the M.S. Hrushevsky Institute of Ukrainian Archaeography and Source Studies of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. At the beginning of the meeting, the parties traditionally introduced themselves and Mr. Myron described the scope of his research interests and concerns.

The enquirer was interested in issues related to applying for European Research Council (ERC) grants, namely the requirements that affect the evaluation of applications by experts (in particular, ethical criteria, risk assessment, etc.), as well as financial issues (researchers’ remuneration rates, features of the LUMP SUM funding scheme, etc.)

As a result, Office’s specialists provided answers to the inquirer’s questions, described in detail the stages of evaluation of the submitted application, as well as the specifics of the application budget.

We would like to inform you that Office provides online and offline consultations upon request. To agree on the consultation, official requests should be sent to the email address of Horizon Europe Office in Ukraine of the NRFU: horizoneurope.info@nrfu.org.ua. 

The department of NRFU Horizon Europe Office in Ukraine   often receives requests from current or potential participants of the Horizon Europe Framework Programme to provide consulting support on participation in the Programme’s calls for proposals. Taking into account the numerous requests, the Office’s specialists provide consultations in online and offline formats.

On  July 3, Office was visited by Maria Oksymets, HR Manager at SVARMED LLC, a company that manufactures surgical and biowelding equipment and has ambitious plans to participate in Horizon Europe Programme. She wanted to know what the first steps should be, what to look for in order to prepare for participation and submit a successful application.

Office’s specialists oriented the representative of SVARMED LLC in the peculiarities of the Programme, told in detail about the first steps to be taken, namely, registration of the organisation on the EU Funding & Tenders portal and obtaining a PIC number, as well as searching for partners to form a consortium. In particular, the need to develop the innovation component in the proposed application was emphasised, as it is new technologies and innovations that change society’s life for the better that receive funding from the European Commission.

The specialists of Horizon Europe Office in Ukraine of the NRFU provided comprehensive answers to all the questions of the applicant and offered to join the informational and training events organised by Office, as well as to seek assistance from national contact points if necessary.

On 24 June, representatives of National Research Foundation of Ukraine held an online working meeting with French partners. The meeting was organised with the aim of establishing professional contacts and further cooperation between Ukraine and the French Republic.

The Ukrainian side was represented by Igor Taranov, Head of Horizon Europe Office in Ukraine at the NRFU, Nataliia Didenko, Deputy Head of Office, and Tetiana Machulina, Head of Communications and International Cooperation at the NRFU. The French partners participating in the meeting included Héloïse Marmouset de la Taille, Attaché for Academic and Scientific Cooperation at the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs of the French Republic, and Dr Virginie Sivan, Deputy Head of Department, Coordinator of National Contact Points for the Horizon Europe Programme in France.

Virginie Sivan shared her experience of coordinating projects in the field of healthcare. She also spoke about the specific features of the French NCP network. For his part, Igor Taranov presented Horizon Europe Office in Ukraine and its activities aimed at disseminating knowledge among the domestic scientific and research community about the EU Framework Programme Horizon Europe and thus increasing the number of Ukrainian participants in it. The head of Office also provided information about the work of the NCP network in Ukraine.

As a result, the parties agreed on further cooperation between institutions, in particular in finding partners to participate in the Horizon Europe Programme, as well as involving scientists and innovators from both countries in consortia to prepare grant applications.