ATTENTION!
Pursuant to the Decree of the President of Ukraine of January 26, 2026 No. 81/2026 the National Research Foundation of Ukraine informs on the announcement of the annual competitive selections of projects for research and developments for awarding grants of the President of Ukraine to Early Career Researchers.
Titles of the calls
- Call for Grants of the President of Ukraine to Support Research and Developments of Early Career Researchers – Doctors of Sciences (up to 40 years old inclusive).
- Call for Grants of the President of Ukraine to Support Research and Developments of Early Career Researchers – Doctoral Students (up to 35 years old inclusive).
- Call for Grants of the President of Ukraine to Support Research and Developments of Early Career Researchers – PhDs/ Candidates of Sciences (up to 35 years old inclusive).
The purpose of the Calls is to select projects for grant support for research and developments, to solve urgent issues of early career researchers, to ensure their active participation in the implementation of state policy in the field of scientific and scientific and technical activities, to preserve and develop intellectual potential.
The goal of the Calls is to foster relevant and impactful research and developments of early career researchers in the priority areas of the development of science and technology in Ukraine.
Grants may be awarded both for nearby planned research and developments, and for those already in progress.
Thematic areas of the Calls shall correspond to one of the branches of science and technology development (pursuant to Article 3 of the Law of Ukraine ‘On Priority Branches of Science and Technology Development’):
- national security and defense;
- fundamental research on the most important issues in the development of scientific and technical, social and economic, social and political, and human potential to ensure the competitiveness of Ukraine in the world and sustainable development of society and the state;
- information and communication technologies;
- power industry and energy efficiency;
- rational use of natural resources;
- life sciences, new technology for the prevention and treatment of the most common diseases;
- new substances and materials.
Grants are awarded on the basis of a competitive selection of projects for research and development, taking into account the relevance of their thematic focus to the needs of the national economy, society, and national security and defense, in particular through the achievement of new research results meeting international standards, the development of new technologies, and the promotion of innovation in the real sector of the economy and the defense sector.
Date and time of the start of applications submission: January 31, 2026, 00:01 (Kyiv time).
The deadline for submitting applications: March 01, 2026, 23:59 (Kyiv time).
Scientific and technical review and summarizing the results of the Calls: by July 15, 2026 (tentative).
On behalf of the entire research community, the National Research Foundation of Ukraine expresses its sincere gratitude to the Office of the President of Ukraine, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, and the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine for the comprehensive support of the joint initiative of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine and the National Research Foundation regarding the update of the procedure and terms and conditions for awarding the annual Grants of the President of Ukraine to Early Career Researchers and Doctors of Sciences.
During the development of the respective proposals, the Scientific Council of the National Research Foundation of Ukraine proceeded from the need to bring the amount of grant support in line with current social and economic conditions. It was taken into account that since 2002 the financial parameters of the annual Grants of the President of Ukraine had remained unchanged, which limited their capacity to perform a motivational and incentivizing function.
Pursuant to the Decree of the President of Ukraine of January 26, 2026 No. 81/2026, the following new grant amounts have been established:
- Doctors of Sciences (up to 40 years old inclusive) – 7 grants of UAH 500,000 each;
- Doctoral Students (up to 35 years old inclusive) – 20 grants of UAH 400,000 each;
- PhDs/ Candidates of Sciences (up to 35 years old inclusive) – 50 grants of UAH 300,000 each.
The adopted decisions are aimed at restoring the effectiveness of this state support instrument for science, creating appropriate conditions to enhance the competitiveness of national research, as well as preserving and developing Ukraine’s research potential, particularly among early career researchers.
