Training and education capacity building, and networking actions to support Ukrainian nuclear research domain

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This action should support:

• further integration of Ukrainian research entities and academia into European Research Area with goal to improve the participation of their researchers in co-funded Euratom research and training activities
• nuclear education and training programmes in Ukraine to ensure that adequate nuclear knowledge and capabilities are maintained so that nuclear installations can be operated safely in Ukraine
• realisation of the full potential of Ukrainian research entities and infrastructures, and research programmes in the specific areas pertinent for the Euratom Research and Training Programme. This includes the support for metrology of ionising radiation, which is fundamental for quality assurance.

Scope:

Nuclear expertise is a key to mastering nuclear technology and to safely operating nuclear installations. Having 15 nuclear power plants, Ukraine is one of the biggest NPP operators in Europe, which also uses a wide range of other nuclear research installations.

The ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine endangers the safe operation of Ukrainian nuclear installations. Notable damage was caused to the overall education and training academic framework, in addition to infrastructures and loss of human capacity, as many people sought refuge in non-occupied parts of Ukraine or even abroad.

To counter these negative tendencies, the EU is providing support for maintaining high-level of the nuclear education and training, including compliance with Euratom legal safety framework, knowledge management and competences in Ukraine. To preserve the pre-invasion level of nuclear education and training in the country and to cover the country’s human capital needs, the major nuclear education and training providers in Ukraine will take part in this action. Nuclear research and training institutions, operators and regulatory technical support organisations are also expected to participate, including EU Member State and Associated Countries institutions experienced in implementing technical assistance programmes.

This action should also benefit from close interactions with the Ukrainian National Contact Point for Euratom. This should result in a better integration of Ukrainian research entities into EU/Euratom nuclear research networks and vice versa. Supported activities should be tailored by the area and the priorities of the organisations concerned, such as promoting and continuously delivering university teaching and courses, joint workshops, better cross-border brokerage events or specific training linked to this field.

Special attention should be given to boosting competences and high-level safety standards of Ukrainian entities. This includes MSc/PhD students, researchers, the availability of teachers, all actors helping to acquire the know-how accumulated in other countries, facilitating transnational cooperation to identify and share good practices, and raising the general standards, including support to programme applicants.

This grant will be awarded without a call for proposals in accordance with Article 195(e) of the Financial Regulation and the relevant provisions of the Regulation (Euratom) 2025/1304.

The general conditions, including admissibility conditions, eligibility conditions, award criteria, the evaluation and award procedure, the legal and financial set-up for grants, financial and operational capacity and exclusion are provided in Parts A to G of the General Annexes.