Horizon Europe Programme for Ukraine: participation of representatives of Horizon Europe Office in Ukraine, NRFU in partnership events

Specialists of Horizon Europe Office in Ukraine, NRFU constantly join the events held by the partners in order to inform as much as possible about the current opportunities and the latest news of the EU Framework Programme Horizon Europe. Thus, on December 22, the meeting “Presentation of the Spatial Parks Cluster of Ukraine: joint development and plans for 2026” took place, within which the concept of the Spatial Parks Cluster of Ukraine as a tool for coordination, partnership and joint development was presented.

During the event, considerable attention was paid to the specifics of the functioning of the objects of the nature reserve fund, primarily botanical gardens, which in Ukraine mostly have the status of scientific institutions. In this context, Nataliia Didenko, Deputy Head of Horizon Europe Office in Ukraine, and Vladyslav Mykhaylenko, Leading Officer, informed the participants about the possibilities of the Horizon Europe Programme, in particular regarding the academic mobility of scientific workers, as well as about other competitive tools available to scientific institutions and organisations managing such objects.

Separately, representatives of the Office talked about the possibilities of participating in calls within the EU Missions. The participants were given an explanation of what scientific, environmental, economic and social contribution the relevant institutions can demonstrate to create European added value and attract funding for the implementation of projects. However, it was emphasised that the Programme provides project financing on competitive terms and is not directed to institutional or infrastructure grants, so the Programme’s calls can provide significant support in the development of the sector’s scientific and innovative potential.

Among other things, the participants were announced the contests of the Horizon Europe Work Programme for 2026-2027, aimed at solving challenges focused specifically on Ukraine and directly relevant to the topic of the meeting, as well as the functions of Horizon Europe Office in Ukraine were outlined. In addition, the parties planned to continue cooperation and a joint meeting next year for more detailed coordination in the Programme.

The purpose of the event was to unite a wide range of stakeholders – representatives of scientific institutions, administrations of nature reserve fund facilities, state and local self-government bodies, public organizations and others – to form a common vision of further steps in the development of the Cluster in 2026, which combines science, innovation, digitalization, landscape design, ecotourism and interregional cooperation with the aim of forming a modern ecosystem for the management of Ukrainian parks, arboretums and botanical gardens.

Also, on December 23, a webinar was held for scientists and entrepreneurs on tools for effective interaction. The event was organised by the Donetsk Regional State Administration and the Council of Young Scientists under the Regional Administration as part of the business festival «Made in Ukraine». Representatives of Horizon Europe Office in Ukraine, NRFU also took part in the event as speakers.

The event is aimed at strengthening cooperation between science and business to ensure innovative development of regions and the state as a whole. Therefore, Liudmyla Lisova, Leading Officer, presented the EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation Horizon Europe, its structure, innovations of the work programmes of 2026-2027. The specialist also presented the general algorithm for the preparation of project proposals.

For his part, the Leading Officer Maksym Kolisnyk, spoke in detail about the possibilities of the Programme for business, including participation tools, choosing types of projects and funding, finding partners for creating consortia. The specialist described in detail the open calls of the Programme related to business. He also emphasised the importance of the synergy of science and business, providing information about opportunities in this regard. In particular, as of December 22, 2025, 567 calls are available: 106 are open and 461 will be open on the EU F&T Portal.

Participation in such events is of great importance, because every speech and information provided about Horizon Europe and its opportunities for Ukraine increase the awareness of potential applicants, and also give impetus to the submission of successful applications for participation in it. Therefore, specialists of the Office look forward to further meetings, fruitful cooperation and participation in information events of our partners in the coming year!