Press Release
Grant Agreement 101188315 – LUKE
On February 5-6, 2025, a kick-off meeting within the Horizon Europe Project: “Linking Ukraine to the European Research Area – Joint Funding and Capacity Building Platform for Enhanced Research and Innovation Cooperation (LUKE)” was held.
LUKE was launched to create a multilateral funding and capacity building platform focused on the Ukrainian research and innovation community. The LUKE network consists of a group of the research funding agencies and institutions responsible for support activities. The project started on 1st January 2025 and its duration is 48 months.
DLR Project Management Agency, Germany is the project Lead Partner and will work together with 25 institutions, organisations and governmental bodies from 15 countries – Austria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Georgia, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Switzerland, Turkey, and Ukraine.
On the first day of the meeting, the work plan of the project was discussed. Moreover, participants of the meeting shared their ideas on diverse ways of financing Ukrainian part of the joint projects.
Representatives of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, Mr. Florian Frank and Ms. Romi Sasse emphasized the importance of the LUKE project, especially now, when Ukraine is facing terrific conditions of war. In this situation, the project is contributing to support the scientific and innovation community as well as its integration to the European Research Area. LUKE is joining forces to support people, to empower them and to promote the value of research and innovation. Research and innovation are essential pillars for the sustainable rebuilding and recovery of the country.
Mr. Hryhorii Mozolevych, Director General of the Directorate for Science Development, the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, thanked all project partners for their support of Ukraine and highlighted the importance of research and innovation in the recovery and modernisation of the country to ensure a sustainable future. He noted that partnerships and international projects play an essential role in the development of the Ukrainian research and innovation ecosystem. As a result of Russia’s full-scale invasion, Ukraine has faced the targeted destruction of its research infrastructure and a negative impact on the capacity of the scientific community. However, Ukraine is taking all necessary measures to strengthen its capacity and integrate into the European Research Area.
Additionally, on the second day, the participants focused on such topics as Ukraine’s participation in the European Research Area, and the current situation and prospects of research activities in Ukraine.
As representatives of the European Commission from the DG RTD, presented on the key role of concrete EU policy efforts under the ERA and highlighted the importance of Ukraine’s integration into the ERA. It was underlined that the ERA integration can support Ukraine’s reconstruction and accession process.
The Executive Director of the National Research Foundation of Ukraine, Ms. Olga Polotska emphasized the importance of competitive programs because – apart from evident financial and professional advantages – they provide researchers with possibilities of their career development and skills of project management with the latter being a critical soft skill for researchers in the modern conditions that requite managerial expertise and team work.
The LUKE Project aims to:
- organise and implement a joint call for proposals, facilitating the funding of transnational research and innovation projects involving Ukraine;
- strengthen Ukraine’s research potential by fostering collaboration and capacity-building initiatives;
- support the development of a modern, efficient, and transparent research and innovation ecosystem;
- promote the exchange of best practices, resource sharing, and knowledge transfer to unlock Ukraine’s research potential;
- enhance the framework conditions for research and innovation, thereby fostering Ukraine’s deeper integration into the European Research Area.
All the partners of the LUKE Project were excited to finally start jointly working towards their goals of strengthening Ukraine’s research and innovation capacity.
Contact for media:
National Research Foundation of Ukraine,
Department of Communications and International Cooperation
Oleksandr Bilyi | e-mail: o.bilyi@nrfu.org.ua
Contacts – Project Coordination
DLR Project Management Agency, Germany
Jörn Grünewald | e-mail: Joern.Gruenewald@dlr.de
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union European or Research Executive Agency (REA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
