The French Institute in Ukraine announces the NADIYA Fellowship Programme, which brings together leading French engineering schools and Ukrainian researchers to support short-term research stays in France for outstanding Ukrainian scientists in the field of engineering sciences (list of fields detailed below).
The short-term research mobility programme is opened for Ukrainian researchers who have decided to remain in Ukraine and continue their scientific activities despite the challenges caused by the war. It aims to strengthen academic and scientific cooperation between Ukraine, France, and Europe, while contributing to shared scientific progress and long-term institutional partnerships.
As a complement, this bilateral programme aims to
- foster economic, social and environmental contribution of science to the resilience of Ukraine
- contribute to the popularisation of science among young scientists and researchers based in Ukraine
- support to the preparation of accession of Ukraine to the European Union
The year 2026 marks the 4th edition of the programme.
PROGRAMME OBJECTIVES
The programme aims to:
- Initiate or strengthen sustainable collaborations between French engineering schools and Ukrainian researchers in engineering sciences, with the support of the French Embassy in Ukraine and in coordination with the CDEFI.
- Promote exchanges of research methodologies, scientific practices, and expertise between the French and Ukrainian scientific communities.
- Encourage the development of future joint research projects and long-term institutional cooperation
- Enrich research environments through lectures, collaborative work, and exchanges with Ukrainian researchers who continue to maintain high-level scientific activities despite the current context in Ukraine.
ELIGIBLE RESEARCH FIELDS FOR 2026
Applications are invited in the following fields:
- Materials Science and Engineering: material and surface properties, nanotechnology, advanced composite materials.
- Biotechnology and Life Engineering: applications in health, agri-food, environmental sciences, bioengineering, and bioprocesses.
- Geosciences and Environment: soil and mineral resource management, pollution remediation technologies, ecological restoration.
- Sustainable Energy and Energy Transition: renewable energy, energy storage systems, energy optimisation.
- Agronomy and Veterinary Sciences: sustainable agriculture, agri-food resource management, animal health, environmental impacts on agricultural ecosystems.
- Innovative Technologies and Prospective Civil Engineering, with particular attention to aeronautics.
- Cybersecurity and Civil nuclear research.
- Construction and Civil Engineering.
PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Support Provided to Selected Researchers :
- A monthly fellowship grant (1704 euros for PhD students and junior researchers / 2055 euros for senior researchers);
- Accommodation support;
- Coverage of round-trip travel expenses;
- Health and travel insurance.
ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA
Applicants must:
- Be Ukrainian citizens currently residing in Ukraine and demonstrating the project to come back to Ukraine at the end of the research short-term mobility;
- Hold a PhD degree or currently be preparing a doctoral thesis (aspirantura status equivalent);
- Be actively involved in research activities in one of the eligible fields within a Ukrainian academic or research institution;
- Demonstrate proficiency in English and or French (French is recommended and appreciated but it is not an eligibility criteria)
Within the framework of the NADIYA grant research mobility Programme, particular attention will be given to,
- joint research projects (research projects elaborated by team of researchers, at least 2 up to 4 researchers per team). Applications involving coordinated or group mobility initiatives are therefore strongly encouraged.
- Convincing demonstration of the economic and/or social and/or environmental impact of the research mobility for the resilience and the reconstruction of Ukraine
- Perspectives of structuration of the cooperation through other programmes (ERAMUS +, Horizon Europe, any other relevant research funding programme).
- Valorisation, dissemination and vulgarisation of the mobility research outcomes in Ukraine (the support of the French Embassy in Kyiv or of the CDEFI in France could be considered depending of the relevance of the proposals)
APPLICATION PROCEDURE
- Complete the online application form.
- Send the following documents to: cooperation@ifu.kyiv.ua with the object line: “NADIYA candidate 2026”
Required documents:
- Scan copy of an international passport;
- CV in English or French;
- Research project description and expected outcomes;
- Invitation letter or an e-mail (if available) from the French host laboratory or institution with exact dates of mobility.
- Official document certifying the applicant’s current status within a Ukrainian research institution (doctoral status certificate or proof of employment/function within a university, academy, institute, etc.).
APPLICATION DEADLINE : 7 JUNE 2026
PROGRAMME TIMELINE
- Reception of applications from researchers and host schools: until 7 June 2026
- Announcement of results: expected by 22 June 2026
Only selected candidates will be contacted. - Research mobilities: between September and December 2026
For the duration which will would have been jointly decided between the researcher (or the group of researchers), the host laboratory and the french embassy in Ukraine.
CONTACT INFORMATION
For applications and questions: cooperation@ifu.kyiv.ua
Contacts
Héloïse Marmouset de la Taille
Deputy director of French Institute in Ukraine, Cooperation Attaché for Higher Education and Science
French Embassy in Ukraine
Anastasiia Olkhovyk
Head of Campus France Ukraine
French Institute in Ukraine
