In March 2025, the Research Council of Norway (RCN) announced the allocation of around NOK 60 million as part of a comprehensive strategy to support research in Ukraine. This comprehensive set of support measures covers both urgent and medium-term actions – from immediate assistance to researchers to the long-term strengthening of the research system in Ukraine. Significant attention is paid to the integration of Ukrainian researchers into international research programs, as well as to the preparation of calls in which Ukraine will be a priority country in the areas of security, democracy, and post-war recovery.
Within the framework of this cooperation, the Research Council of Norway (RCN) and National Research Foundation of Ukraine (NRFU) and launched a joint initiative “Recruit a Researcher from Ukraine for an Ongoing Researcher Project” which opened opportunities for Ukrainian researchers to join Norwegian research initiatives and support their professional development under the challenging conditions caused by the war.
The implementation of this initiative was the result of a long-term institutional dialogue that included numerous working online meetings as well as a working visit of NRFU representatives to the RCN. These activities were aimed at deepening mutual understanding of the RCN’s operational framework, exchanging experience in the management of grant programmes, aligning financial mechanisms, and ensuring compliance with the legal requirements of both countries.
The key objective of the partnership initiative was to create conditions for the remote participation of highly qualified Ukrainian researchers in ongoing research projects in Norway, as well as to expand their professional network and facilitate their integration into the Norwegian research environment.
As a result of the competitive selection process, 11 applications were selected as successful. Funding for the collaboration between Ukrainian and Norwegian researchers will be provided by the Research Council of Norway, with the total support amounting to more than NOK 15 million.
Selection of the best projects
The NRFU and RCN jointly established the eligibility criteria for Ukrainian applicants. These criteria covered requirements regarding residence in Ukraine, possession of an academic degree, employment, as well as compliance with national and international legislation.
More about the successful applications
As a result of the call, 11 successful applications were selected, to be implemented by 16 Ukrainian researchers in partnership with researchers from Norway.
List of projects to be funded
1. Na+tteries: Femtosecond-Laser Nanostructuring of Electrodes for Stable Sodium-Ion Electrode-Electrolyte Interfaces
University of Stavanger
2. HEaL-Bridge: Linking Norwegian and Ukrainian Research on Health and Labour Integration
Norwegian Centre for Violence and Traumatic Stress Studies
3. Ukrainian-Norwegian partnership for measuring the cosmic microwave background spectrum
University of Oslo
4. The ideological production, policy outcomes and practices of wartime Putinism
Norwegian Institute of International Affairs
5. Pathogenic embryonic epimutations in early-onset breast cancers
University of Bergen
6. Uncovering the neuromodulatory function of the choroid plexus and cerebrospinal fluid
Norwegian University of Science and Technology
7. Building Healthy Food Environment in Schools: Evaluating Co-created
Norwegian University of Science and Technology
8. Advancing AI Security Through Cooperation with Ukraine
University of Bergen
9. The Future of EUrope (TFoE) – Public and elite preferences for the relationship between EU and non-EU countries
Norwegian University of Science and Technology
10. Ukraina-NASTRAN cooperation
University of Oslo
11. Bespoke zeolites for the tandem catalytic conversion of CO2 to hydrocarbons
University of Oslo
Distribution of winning projects by geography
Distribution of winning projects by institution
Distribution of winning projects by gender.
The National Research Foundation of Ukraine expresses its sincere gratitude to the Research Council of Norway, as well as to the RCN project leaders, for their support of Ukrainian colleagues and for providing opportunities to exchange best practices and experience. We are confident that these projects will make a significant contribution to the development of Ukrainian–Norwegian research cooperation and will facilitate the development of the national research ecosystem and its integration into the European and global research area.
We would also like to remind you that, as part of the cooperation between the RCN and the NRFU, a joint call for collaborative research projects is planned to be launched in 2026.
The call aims to fund joint research projects between Ukraine and Norway that contribute to the improvement of mental health among Ukrainian people who are experiencing psychological distress due to the ongoing war. The funded projects will develop and evaluate concrete, actionable and context-relevant, research-based interventions.
Pre-Announcement of the Joint RCN-NRFU Call is available at the following link.
