The Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 has resulted in devastation, including loss of life, massive internal and external migration, and the partial or complete destruction of facilities and infrastructure. This poses urgent challenges for Ukraine’s science, education, and technology sectors. As the war in Ukraine rages on with no end in sight, concern is growing among the international science community about immediate and lasting damage to the Ukrainian science enterprise and its ability to support the long-term economic recovery for Ukraine.

Representatives of the National Research Foundation of Ukraine took part online in the workshop entitled ‘Rebuilding and Strengthening Ukrainian Science and Innovation in Support of Economic Recovery’ which took place on March 19-20, 2024 in Zurich Switzerland. The workshop was organized by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, in partnership with the Simons Foundation and ETH Zurich. The event convened leading experts from around the world representing academia, ministries, industry, philanthropy and foundations to search for new mechanisms of international support and strengthening of the Ukrainian research and innovation system as a basis for further economic recovery and sustainability of Ukraine.

Within the framework of the workshop Executive Director of the NRFU spoke about the Foundation’s active international activities, joint initiatives and calls involving financial support from abroad to preserve the scientific potential of Ukraine.

Outputs from the workshop will be shared with different government officials as they prepare for the June 2024 donors conference in Germany.