20
Oct
2022
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European support to the Ukrainian research community (debate)
Thank you, President. It is to be welcomed that the funds operating in the European Union are increasingly contributing to the funding of Ukrainian researchers. The Marie Skłodowska-Curie Foundation for Support to Ukrainian Science has recently earmarked €25 million to support doctoral students and young researchers. With the entry into force of Ukraine’s Association Agreement with Horizon Europe and EURATOM, the country’s researchers have more opportunities to seek funding for project activities. According to various estimates, between 26,000 and 52,000 scientists could leave Ukraine as a result of hostilities. In the country, much of the infrastructure needed for research is completely destroyed. Lack of the most basic equipment, books, laptops, need to provide access to electronic academic sources. It is necessary to allocate scholarships for Ukrainian scientists to carry out experimental research in foreign universities. As a representative of the academic world, I am well aware of the importance of publishing scientific articles in the world's best-known journals, which is vital for maintaining a sufficient level of higher education institutions in Ukraine. Publication costs authors, and those costs must and can be reduced. I am glad that the Research Council of Lithuania already in March provided up to 100 scholarships for researchers from Ukraine to finance their work in Lithuania, but this is small. Support, and more support, must be provided at EU level. This is necessary in order to preserve higher education in Ukraine and avoid brain drain. And, of course, reduce the bureaucratic requirements for project applications. Let's just imagine a scientist doing this when bombs explode around him. This is not a game of imagination. It's an awful daily routine.