The 2019 state budget of Ukraine will for the first time provide basic funding for science in higher education institutions (HEIs)- 100 million UAH, Deputy Minister of Science and Education Maksym Strikha said in his article for Dzerkalo Tyzhnia.
Prior to this, universities could only get short-term competitive funding for specific projects.
Strikha says that this step “will make 2019 a revolutionary year for science: the institutional capacity of universities will start equaling that of scientific research institutes. Since the national science system is an integral organism, everyone stands to benefit: universities will become important centers of research and academic institutes will have effective partners in science.”
To have access to the funds HEIs must pass a certification process. The procedure and mechanism by which the funds will be provided was developed by the Ministry of Education and approved by the Government..
Certification will apply not to institutions as a whole but to their activities in 7 scientific fields:
- Agrarian and veterinary sciences
- Military science and national security
- Humanities and arts
- Social sciences
- Biology and health
- Mathematics and natural sciences
- Engineering
Every scientific field will be assigned one of three categories – A,B,C – or recognized as not having passed certification. Those with the highest level of certification will obtain funds to conduct priority research, upgrade equipment, pay salaries for technical staff, etc., that will allow the universities to build a long-term research policy.
The methodology for assessing the scientific activities of HEIs is in the final stage of approval.
In 2019 Ukraine will also introduce a new methodology for evaluating scientific institutions.