Swiss grants for Ukraine 2026: the open calls

The Swiss Federal Council allocated 5 billion francs to Ukraine through to 2036. Of that, 1.5 billion belongs to the cooperation programme for 2025 to 2028, while 500 million goes specifically to projects involving the Swiss private sector. This ranks among the largest bilateral packages Ukraine has received from anyone.

Then practice begins. We checked every Swiss channel available to Ukrainians, and as of 4 August 2026 four of them stay open. Two more open this month. Everything else closed in spring and returns between January and May 2027. Below you will find each channel with its conditions, its amounts, and a clear answer to one question: who actually submits, the Ukrainian organisation itself or a Swiss partner on its behalf.

How Swiss money for Ukraine actually moves

The Swiss model works differently from the German or Polish one. Classic calls where a Ukrainian civil society organisation applies directly to a foreign fund barely exist here. Money travels along three routes instead, and the route you fall into shapes your entire preparation.

• Through a Swiss legal entity. A Swiss company or research institution submits, while the Ukrainian side acts as a partner, a subsidiary or a host organisation. Most Swiss money moves this way.
• Directly from an individual. Scholarships and research career instruments, where a Ukrainian researcher or student applies personally. Few such channels exist, though they remain the most accessible.
• Through international organisations based in Switzerland. Geneva and Basel host dozens of these, and some run their own programmes where Ukraine counts as a full participant rather than an aid recipient. CERN is the clearest example.

So the practical conclusion is short. Without a Swiss partner your realistic options narrow to scholarships and individual research instruments. Because of that, partner search in Switzerland should start alongside the project idea rather than after it.

Business: the third SECO call

This is the largest open Swiss call for projects in Ukraine. The State Secretariat for Economic Affairs accepts proposals from 27 May to 20 September 2026.

The call carries up to 50 million francs in total, with 3 to 10 million per project. A company must contribute at least 50% of the cost from its own funds. Selection runs in two stages, and a joint committee of Swiss and Ukrainian representatives takes the final decision.

Priority sectors cover construction materials, heavy machinery and industrial production, renewable energy generation and distribution, transport infrastructure, agribusiness and food chains, plus IT and digital infrastructure.

Who submits. A Swiss company that holds a legal entity in Ukraine. A Ukrainian enterprise cannot submit on its own, so this route works for those who already have a Swiss owner, a parent structure or a partner ready to invest. For everyone else the scale still matters: the first call in 2025 drew roughly 80 proposals from about 60 companies, and 12 projects received 93 million francs.

Science: two SNSF instruments

The Swiss National Science Foundation runs around a dozen schemes, yet only two suit a researcher based in Ukraine. The rest require the applicant to work at a Swiss institution already or to hold a documented link with Switzerland.

Ambizione: submission until 3 November

The call opened on 3 August 2026, and the deadline falls on 3 November 2026 at 17:00 CET. The scheme serves early-career researchers who want to run and lead their own independent project at a Swiss higher education institution. The key point for us: the programme opens explicitly to young researchers from Switzerland and from abroad alike.

Phase 1 results arrive in early April 2027, with the final decision following by mid May. A project can start between 1 September 2027 and 1 September 2028. So this instrument suits anyone planning a research trajectory two years ahead rather than looking for money this year.

Scientific Exchanges: applications accepted on an ongoing basis

The instrument covers research visits lasting 1 to 6 months and scientific events lasting 1 to 5 days. You can submit at any time, though at least four months before the start. The fund covers travel, accommodation and meals, and for car journeys up to 0.6 francs per kilometre.

Who submits

Only a person employed at a Swiss research institution. Partners abroad cannot submit at all. So for a Ukrainian researcher the scheme works like this: you agree it with a Swiss colleague, and they apply for your visit. One applicant may apply once per calendar year, while a rejected proposal can only be resubmitted the following year. Because of those limits Swiss colleagues plan such invitations well ahead, so approach them roughly six months in advance.

Swiss Government Excellence Scholarships: opening 20 August

This remains the main direct channel for researchers and students. Submission for the 2027-2028 academic year opens on 20 August 2026, which is two weeks after this article goes out.

One feature sets the programme apart: no single deadline exists. Each Swiss embassy sets its own date for its country and publishes it from August onwards. So the page to watch belongs to the Swiss embassy in Ukraine rather than the federal site. Results are expected by May 2027, and the scholarship starts on 1 September 2027.

Categories differ by level: research fellowships for those holding a master’s degree or a doctorate, separate terms for postdoctoral researchers, plus art scholarships for graduates of music and fine art programmes. Payment depends on the category, and this is exactly where you should read the official documents rather than aggregators, because their figures disagree with each other.

CERN: Ukraine already holds Associate Member status

This channel drops out of Ukrainian roundups regularly, even though it ranks among the strongest. Ukraine belongs to the Associate Member States of CERN, and the organisation’s programmes open to nationals of member and associate member states. Ukrainians do not appear on the list of countries whose quota has been filled, so no restriction applies to us right now.

The terms compete well even by Swiss standards. A Research Fellowship pays 7,004 to 7,425 francs per month tax free on a contract of 6 to 24 months, extendable up to 36, alongside health insurance, pension fund membership, 30 days of paid leave and travel costs to Geneva. A Studentship pays 3,472 to 3,907 francs per month tax free across 2 to 12 months.

One problem remains: every 2026 round has closed. The Research Fellowship in experimental physics and in applied science and engineering accepted applications until 8 March. Doctoral, Technical and Administrative Studentships closed on 30 June. The Summer Student Programme closed on 26 January. CERN recruits in cycles several times a year, so the next windows should arrive from autumn and early 2027, which makes the vacancies page worth monitoring.

Where not to spend your time

Several Swiss names keep appearing in Ukrainian roundups even though a Ukrainian organisation cannot apply to them. Checking these saves weeks.

Pro Helvetia. The Swiss Arts Council supports cultural practitioners and institutions in Switzerland. Its research trip programmes fund Swiss artists travelling abroad, while its residencies cover the regions where the council keeps liaison offices, and Ukraine sits outside them. A Ukrainian artist can partner a Swiss applicant, though never apply as one.

Most SNSF schemes. Project Funding and Starting Grants both require the applicant to work at a Swiss institution or hold a confirmed link with Switzerland. Postdoc.Mobility runs in the opposite direction, funding researchers based in Switzerland who travel abroad.

Swiss private foundations with registration limits. A large share of foundations in Basel and Zurich fund only organisations registered in Switzerland under their statutes. Read the eligibility section before the thematic one.

How to pick your route

Start from who your applicant is. If that means a Ukrainian company without a Swiss owner, SECO does not fit, and your time goes further into finding a Swiss investor or partner than into drafting a proposal. If you are a researcher, two direct entries exist: Ambizione until 3 November and the government scholarships from 20 August.

Then look at your horizon. Swiss research instruments run on long cycles, since Ambizione starts a project no earlier than September 2027 and the scholarships also begin in September 2027. That works for career planning and fails for covering this year’s needs. For a short horizon the only workable option is Scientific Exchanges, where submission stays open all year, although you still need a Swiss colleague.

One final point. The Swiss calendar sits out of step with the rest of Europe, because the main windows fall between January and May, while August and September are the exception. So if you miss 20 September and 3 November, the next serious wave starts in January 2027, and preparation for it belongs in this autumn.