Ukraine-Austria Joint Research Grant 2027–2028: Open Call for Scientific Projects

Ukraine’s Ministry of Education and Science, together with Austria’s Federal Ministry for Women, Science and Research and the Austrian agency OeAD, has launched a call for joint Ukrainian-Austrian research projects to implement in 2027–2028. Specifically, the competition welcomes research teams from higher education institutions and scientific organisations in both countries — across all scientific disciplines, including social sciences and humanities.

For Ukrainian researchers, this is a meaningful opportunity. In particular, it offers two-year project funding, the chance to build lasting partnerships with Austrian colleagues, and a concrete step towards integration into the European research space. Moreover, the application window opened on 9 March 2026, giving teams enough time to prepare a strong proposal.

Who Can Apply for Ukrainian-Austrian research grants ?

This competition targets research teams from higher education institutions and scientific organisations (HEIs/SOs) in Ukraine and Austria. Importantly, it carries no thematic restrictions — teams can apply across all scientific disciplines.

The Ukrainian project leader must meet the following requirements:

• Hold an academic or research position at the applicant HEI/SO as their primary place of work;
• Have spent and worked in Ukraine for at least 6 of the last 12 months prior to submission;
• Lead no more than two applications — however, the Ministry will fund only one project per person.

Crucially, your Austrian partner must simultaneously submit their own application to OeAD — the Ministry will not consider any proposal without a parallel Austrian submission. If you still need a research partner, our guide “International Grant Partnerships: Where to Find Partners and How to Formalise Agreements” walks through the full process step by step.

What Does the Ministry Fund?

The Ukrainian Ministry of Education and Science covers all costs for Ukrainian project participants. Specifically, this includes:

• Salaries of Ukrainian project team members;
• Travel costs to Austria: transport, accommodation, per diems, visa fees, and medical insurance;
• Materials and supplies for the research;
• Overhead costs to support the implementing institution.

The Ministry allocates funding year by year. Consequently, the team must complete and submit a progress report after year one — and the second-year funding decision depends directly on that review. In addition, the Austrian side covers all costs of Austrian partners visiting Ukraine. To build your project budget correctly, we recommend our detailed guide “Grant Budget Made Simple: A Financial Guide for 2026”.

Selection Criteria

Both countries run scientific evaluations in parallel. Subsequently, the Ukrainian-Austrian Mixed Commission on Scientific and Technological Cooperation holds a joint meeting to select and approve the final list of funded projects. Evaluators assess proposals according to the following criteria:

• Scientific quality and innovative character of the project;
• Competence and capacity of the research teams on both sides;
• Feasibility of genuine joint research and adequacy of the scientific method;
• International experience and potential for future collaboration;
• Quality of the participating institutions’ infrastructure;
• Involvement of young researchers (under 35) and women researchers — the commission treats this as an explicit bonus;
• Practical applicability of the expected results.

Required Documents

Submit your application through the National Electronic Research Information System (NERIS) using an electronic signature. You must complete the application form in both Ukrainian and English. Additionally, attach the following scanned documents in PDF format:

• Cover letter on the applicant institution’s letterhead, addressed to the Ministry;
• Confirmation letter from the Austrian project leader on their institution’s letterhead;
• Declaration of no restricted-access information, signed by the institution head;
• CVs of both project leaders (Ukrainian leader: in Ukrainian and English; Austrian leader: English only);
• Border crossing certificate from Ukraine’s State Border Guard Service covering the past 12 months.

How to Apply for Ukrainian-Austrian research grants?

To apply, upload your proposal through the Competition Module of the National Electronic Research Information System. You will find the application form (Annex 1) and full instructions at: nauka.gov.ua/information/uav2026

After the competition, the Ministry will notify winners by email. Winners must then submit original paper documents when signing the research contract. Furthermore, the Ministry publishes the full results list on its website under Science → Bilateral Research Competitions → Competition Results.

Additional Conditions

• The Ministry funds only new projects. As a result, any selected project cannot simultaneously draw funding from other state budget sources.
• One person may lead up to two applications. However, the Ministry will ultimately fund only one project per individual.
• Project leaders should not include publications from predatory journals in the team’s scientific record. The key characteristics of predatory publications appear in Annex 3 of the call conditions.
• All publications and scientific outputs from the project must acknowledge Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine funding and state the corresponding project number.