The Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine continues to expand open analytical tools in the field of science. Information about the winners of the first competitive selection of PhD research projects is now available through the dashboard.

The new digital tool brings together structured data on supported research projects, higher education institutions and research institutions, project supervisors and prospective PhD candidates, research areas, and estimated funding volumes.

The dashboard contains information on 78 PhD research projects, selected from 137 applications. The projects will be implemented at 34 higher education and research institutions. The total estimated funding indicated in the applications amounts to almost UAH 130 million.

An important objective of this government pilot project was to create the most favourable conditions possible for young people to choose a scientific career as their main professional pathway and consciously continue it in doctoral education after completing their master’s degree. The median age of prospective PhD candidates participating in the project-based doctoral programme is 23. This confirms the rationale behind the experiment and demonstrates that talented young people are choosing scientific careers at an early stage of their professional development, including in one of the most challenging and human-resource-intensive areas of science.

The projects will be implemented by institutions in Kyiv and 12 regions of Ukraine. The largest number of supported projects is concentrated in Kyiv (41 projects), Lviv region (11 projects), and Kharkiv region (5 projects). At the same time, the map makes it possible to assess the representation of research teams from different regions and the geographical concentration of state support.

The largest number of projects was supported in the fields of Chemistry (19 projects), Biology and Biochemistry (18), and Mathematics (11). Among the priority areas, the most widely represented are new substances and materials, life sciences, and fundamental research.

The dashboard will be useful for young researchers, who can explore current research areas, research teams, and institutions. For higher education and research institutions, it provides an opportunity to analyse the thematic and regional structure of supported projects. Experts and the general public can use it to access open information on the distribution of state support and the development priorities of Ukrainian science.

The project-based doctoral programme provides for PhD candidates not only to study within an educational and research programme but also to work from the outset as part of a research team on a specific scientific task. Projects may last up to 48 months and cover areas including machine learning, Data Science, advanced materials, biotechnology, regenerative medicine, environmental security, critical minerals, and technologies for Ukraine’s defence and recovery.

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