Research Infrastructures for the Future of Ukraine: Roadmap for Sustained Growth and Recovery (RIFF)
How to restore Ukrainian research and higher education environment after the war conflict? Answers to these questions were sought on September 17 in Brno by dozens of experts from Europe and Ukraine at the Conference on Ukraine's Reconstruction in Research and Higher Education. The event, organized by Masaryk University, connected scientists, policymakers and representatives of funding institutions, and offered concrete steps for the development of an innovation environment.
The September conference (Conference on Ukraine's Reconstruction in Research and Higher Education) was a prologue to a project supporting Ukraine's research infrastructure, which Masaryk University managed to secure in a competitive European call under the Horizon Europe program and which runs until 2028. The project Research Infrastructures for the Future of Ukraine: Roadmap for Sustained Growth and Recovery (RIFF) is unique. With this success, Masaryk University confirmed its position as a leading supporter of Ukraine, while establishing itself as a European leader in the coordination of research infrastructures. The project involved 14 partners from Europe and Ukraine, with Masaryk University acting as coordinator.
The conference organized by Masaryk University brought together representatives of academic institutions and universities from Ukraine with the aim of sharing experiences, establishing partnerships and seeking ways to achieve international cooperation for the benefit of Ukrainian science and research.
The Ukrainian research and innovation ecosystem has faced challenges since the collapse of the Soviet Union, and has been strongly affected by ongoing Russian aggression in recent times. However, the status of EU candidate country and the start of accession negotiations in June 2024 sparked renewed efforts for deeper integration into the European Research Area. "The aim of the RIFF project is to strengthen the Ukrainian research and innovation system through the creation of a Ukrainian research infrastructure roadmap. At the same time, we are implementing a training program that will enable the Ukrainian research and innovation community to effectively design and operate research infrastructures, and we will promote the roadmap among national and international actors as a strategic plan for post-war reconstruction and modernization of the research and innovation system in Ukraine," explained Hradil, main coordinator of the RIFF project.
Conference participants included Ukrainian Ambassador to the Czech Republic Vasyl Zvarych, Vice-Rector of Masaryk University Radim Polčák, and Václav Velčovský from the Czech Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports. The debate also involved Jan Mrkvička, director of development aid at the organization People in Need, and representatives of Ukrainian institutions, such as Grygorii Mozolevych from the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine and Nataliya Shakhovska, rector of Lviv Polytechnic. The European Commission, German agency DLR, French CEFRES, British Embassy in Kyiv and other partners from Austria, Sweden and Poland presented their strategies and projects.
EIRENE RI contributes to the project by bringing specific expertise, which will help to form the Ukrainian Roadmap for Research infrastructures in the Environmental and Environmental Health Area.
