Ukraine is launching government scholarships for researchers worth 10,000 hryvnias each

The Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine has announced the official launch of the data collection and verification module of the National Researchers System (NRS). This new digital tool will make it possible to create a unified database of Ukrainian researchers, their fields of research, and their actual achievements. The system’s key feature is the introduction of substantial financial support: the most productive researchers will be eligible to receive state scholarships of 10,000 hryvnias per month. 

In the initial phase of the program’s implementation in 2026, the Cabinet of Ministers allocated over 190 million hryvnias, which will ensure monthly payments to the country’s top 2,650 researchers. The total two-year budget for this large-scale project is approximately 763 million hryvnias, and the scholarships themselves will be awarded for a two-year term. 

According to Minister of Education and Science Oksen Lisovyi, this step will help transition to a transparent and competitive model of scientific support, in which the state will fund specialists based on their actual contributions, thereby increasing the visibility of Ukrainian research for businesses and international partners.

Scientists may join the National Researcher System solely on a voluntary basis. To do so, they must submit verified data on their scientific publications, patents, grants, and citation indices through their personal account in the URIS electronic system. Applications will be accepted from June 18 until 1:00 p.m. on July 20, 2026, and the first payments are scheduled for August. Based on an automated verification of information from the international databases Scopus and Web of Science, the system will generate two independent rankings—a general one and a separate one for young scientists, for whom exactly half (1,325) of the total number of scholarship spots have been reserved.