On 27 July 2026, the submission phase for the National Researcher System of Ukraine (NRS) was successfully completed. During this first stage, Ukrainian researchers submitted information on their scientific and research achievements for inclusion in the national evaluation process. More than 13,000 applications were submitted, demonstrating the strong engagement of the country's research community in building a modern digital research ecosystem.

The National Researcher System is one of the key services of the Ukrainian Research Information System (URIS), the national digital platform for collecting, verifying, and analysing information on research activities in Ukraine. The State Scientific and Technical Library of Ukraine (SSTL) serves as the technical administrator of URIS and is responsible for the development and maintenance of its digital services, supporting transparency, openness, and evidence-based research management.

The submission campaign was open from 18 June to 27 July 2026, allowing researchers from every region of Ukraine to participate. Applications were submitted by representatives of higher education institutions, public research organisations, and private research institutions. Researchers provided information on scientific publications and citations, research grants, patents, international collaboration, supervision of early-career researchers, and other research and innovation achievements.

The largest number of submissions was received in the following research fields:

• Biology, biotechnology, medicine, and rehabilitation – 2,708;
• Economic transformation, business, management, and law – 1,509;
• Humanities and the arts – 1,456;
• Human capital development, social sciences, and journalism – 899;
• Information technologies and electronics – 875;
• Agricultural and veterinary sciences – 874.

The highest numbers of applications were submitted from the city of Kyiv, followed by Kharkiv, Lviv, Dnipropetrovsk, and Odesa regions.

The next stage of the process is the verification of submitted information. Only verified research outputs will be considered for the national assessment. Upon completion of the verification process, two rankings will be generated: the overall national ranking of researchers and a separate ranking for early-career researchers.

The ranking results will serve as the basis for awarding state research scholarships to the highest-performing researchers. In 2026, UAH 190 million has been allocated for this programme. A total of 2,650 researchers will receive scholarships, with 50% of the awards reserved for early-career researchers. Each recipient will receive UAH 10,000 per month for two years.

The launch of the National Researcher System represents an important milestone in the development of Ukraine's digital research infrastructure. By integrating modern tools for collecting, validating, and analysing research information, the system strengthens transparency, supports Open Science principles, and enables evidence-based decision-making in research policy.

The State Scientific and Technical Library of Ukraine will continue to develop and support the URIS digital ecosystem, providing reliable technical services and introducing new functionalities that contribute to the advancement of Ukraine's national research infrastructure.