Last summer the National Research Foundation of Ukraine and the Dutch Research Council (NWO) agreed to cooperate and join forces: ‘NWO Hop-On Call for Researchers Based in Ukraine: NWO-NRFU Partnership Initiative 2023’ was launched. Researchers were given the opportunity to collaborate with researchers from the Kingdom of the Netherlands and continue their research careers in a challenging environment.
The launch of the initiative has become the result of months of consistent, diplomatic meetings of representatives of the Directorate and the Scientific Council of the Foundation with Dutch colleagues, online and in person, necessary to disclose the specifics of the NWO’s activities, exchange experience and best practices in grant funding for research projects, and subsequently coordinate procedures, clarify the details of funding and the specifics of the Dutch legislation and consistency with the domestic one.
The aim of the partnership initiative was to stimulate the remote participation of qualified researchers from Ukraine in ongoing NWO projects and expand their professional network in the Dutch research community.
As a result of the competitive selection, 13 Ukrainian researchers became winners. They joined projects that will be implemented in partnership with colleagues from the Netherlands. NWO will fund their joint work for a total of about 250,000 euros.
Prof. Stanislav Vilchynskii, Head of the National Research Foundation of Ukraine, is convinced that researchers who continue to work in the challenging environment and constant danger can be proud of. “Science is like a good detective, you have a task and you are looking for an answer. This work does not stop even when there is a lack of funding. I am glad that the call has helped the researchers find new friends and new opportunities and continue their work”, emphasized the head of the Foundation.
Selection of the best projects
The requirements for Ukrainian applicants were jointly developed by the NRFU and NWO. In particular, they concerned residence in Ukraine, academic degree, institution of official employment and position, as well as compliance with international and national legislation and regulations.
A special feature of the competitive selection process was the creation of a special advisory body – the Temporary Commission. Members of the commission analyzed the applications and, if necessary (if any documents were incorrect), contacted Ukrainian researchers to obtain additional, clarifying documents or information. This made it possible not to reject applications on formal grounds upon receipt, but to give the researchers time to correct the documents in accordance with the terms and conditions of the call.
The Temporary Commission included representatives of the Foundation’s Scientific Council. We express our sincere gratitude for their hard work throughout the application process.
More about the winners
The winners are 13 highly qualified researchers based and working in Ukraine who have found partners in the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
List of winning projects
- DiTEC: Digital Twins for Evolutionary Change in Water Networks.
Principal investigators: Dr. V.O. Degeler (University of Amsterdam) and Prof. Y.I. Dorofieiev (National Technical University ‘Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute’).
- Working Democracy. A Philosophy of Work for Democratic Societies.
Principal investigators: Prof. Dr. L. Herzog (University of Groningen) and Prof. Dr. T. Stepura (Lviv Polytechnic National University).
- Stronger Together: How Glutamate Receptors Cooperate at the Nanoscale to Shape Synaptic Transmission in the Brain.
Principal investigators: Dr. H.D. McGillavrey (Utrecht University) and Dr. O. Tsupykov (Department of Cytology, Bogomolets Institute of Physiology).
- CURE4LIFE: Development and Societal Impact of Stem Cell-based Genetic Medicines.
Principal investigators: Prof. Dr. Frank J.T. Staal (LUMC) and Prof. Dr. O.R. Boyarchuk (I.Horbachevsky Ternopil National Medical University).
- Under Pressure: How Citizens Respond to Threats and Develop Attitudes and Behaviors to Counteract Them.
Principal investigators: Dr. B.N. Bakker (University of Amsterdam) and Prof. Dr. V. Dziundziuk (V.N. Karazin Kharkiv National University).
- Improved Algebraic Methods for Cryptanalysis of Post-Quantum Cryptosystems (ALPaQCa).
Principal investigators: Dr. S. Samardjiska (Radboud University) and Prof. A. Oliynyk (Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv).
- Scholarly Virtues and Vices in Nineteenth-Century.
Principal investigators: Prof. Dr. H.J. Paul (Leiden University) and Dr. V.D. Grekov (National Science Center Kharkiv Institute of Physics and Technology).
- Home-based Digital Screening for Atrial Fibrillation in High-Risk Patients.
Principal investigators: Prof. Dr. F.W. Asselbergs (Amsterdam UMC) and Dr. M. Cherska (Institute of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Kyiv).
- Field Evaluation of Prosthetic Devices in Ukraine.
Principal investigators: Dr. T. Horeman-Francé (Technische Universiteit Delft) and S.P. Kolisnyk MD PhD (National Pirogov Memorial Medical University, Vinnytsia).
- Hop-on to Animal-Free Assays for Endocrine Disruption – From Science to Regulatory Acceptance (AFARA).
Principal investigators: Prof. Dr. J. Legler (Utrecht University) and PhD, Assoc. Prof. I. Popova (Bukovinian State Medical University, Chernivtsi).
- Development of Computational Models to Predict Thyroid Toxicity.
Principal investigators: Prof. Dr. J. Legler (Utrecht University) and Assoc. Prof. Dr. P. Zadorozhnii (Ukrainian State University of Chemical Technology).
- An Unprecedented View into the Galaxy Evolution and the Nature of Dark Matter.
Principal investigators: Dr. P.E. M. Piña (Universiteit Leiden) and Dr. A.V. Rudakovskyi (Bogolyubov Institute for Theoretical Physics of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine).
- Next-Generation Antibiotics Targeting Gram-Negative Pathogens.
Principal investigators: Prof. Dr. N.I. Martin (Universiteit Leiden) and Prof. D.M. Volochnyuk, D.Sci (Institute of Organic Chemistry of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine).
Distribution of winning projects by geography
Distribution of winning projects by institution
The National Research Foundation of Ukraine expresses its sincere gratitude to the Dutch Research Council and NWO project managers for the support of Ukrainian colleagues, the opportunity to share best practices and experience. We are confident that these projects will help to make a significant contribution to the development of Ukrainian-Dutch research cooperation and will contribute to the development of the national research area and its integration into the European and global research area.
