The information day of the EU program for research and innovation “Horizon Europe” was held at UzhNU
On November 21-22, UzhNU hosted an information day of the EU's Horizon Europe research and innovation program in the areas of “Widening participation and strengthening the European Research Area” and “Research Infrastructures”.
Horizon Europe is the EU's key research and innovation funding program with a budget of EUR 95.5 billion. The program is designed to fight climate change, help achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and boost the EU's competitiveness and growth.
Ihor Taranov, Head of the Horizon Europe Office in Ukraine, opened the event with a welcoming speech: “I am glad to see everyone! This is the third event held at UzhNU for the Horizon Europe Office in Ukraine. Our national contact points have become as active as possible in such a short period of time. We have signed agreements with the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine and, importantly, received financial support for our activities. Today we have a unique opportunity to discuss Ukraine's most pressing problems, namely Ukraine's integration into European research initiatives, in particular within the Horizon Europe Program under the WIDERA program - expanding participation and strengthening the European research area. This is not only a strategic step towards strengthening our scientific potential, but also opening up new opportunities for all Ukrainian universities and researchers.”
Representatives of the National Contact Point Olha Sulema and Liudmyla Vlasiuk made a presentation on “The Ninth EU Framework Program for Research and Innovation ‘Horizon Europe’: general rules and features of participation”.
“The overall objectives of the program,” said Olga Sulema, ”are scientific impact: creation of new high-quality knowledge, strengthening human capital in research and innovation, strengthening the European Research Area, promoting knowledge dissemination and open science. Economic impact: increasing European innovation competitiveness, creating new direct and indirect jobs, attracting investment in research and innovation. And social impact - overcoming the EU's global challenges, achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals, supporting the European socio-economic model and European values, and improving people's well-being.”
The event also discussed aspects of the WIDERA program, research infrastructures in Europe and Ukraine, and the specifics of forming a consortium within the Horizon Europe program. At the end of the event, UzhNU academic staff had the opportunity to talk to representatives of the national contact point and get answers to their questions about the Horizon Europe Program.