Science and technology in Ukraine

Overview of science and technology in Ukraine
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Ilya Mechnikov (1845—1916), a laureate of the Nobel Prize, graduate of Kharkiv University and professor of zoology in Odessa University
Vladimir Vernadsky, the founder of the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences (now National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine).

Science and technology in Ukraine has its modern development and historical origins in the 18th and 19th centuries and is associated, first of all, with the Kyiv Mohyla Academy, University of Kyiv and University of Kharkiv. The founding of Ukraine's main research institution, the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, in 1918 by Volodymyr Vernadsky marked an important milestone in the country's subsequent scientific and technological development.

Ukraine's space science advanced rapidly in the aftermath of World War II, with Korolyov and Chelomey leading the rocket and spaceflight development in the Soviet Union during the Space Race.

Ukraine was ranked 57th in the Global Innovation Index in 2022, down from 49th in 2021.[1][2]

Notable people

The Saturn AL-31 is a family of military turbofan engines, developed by the Lyulka in the Soviet Union
Grigorovich M-5 was a successful World War I-era two-bay unequal-span biplane flying boat with a single step hull, designed by Ukrainian and Soviet aircraft designer Dmitry Pavlovich Grigorovich

History and organization

Reforms to the legal framework for science and technology, 2015–2019

Since 2015, the government has reformed the management of the national innovation system. The State Agency for Science, Innovation and Information has been abolished, with the transfer of all functions related to policy formulation to the Ministry of Education and Science, although a number of other ministries and agencies also allocate state money to specific activities.[3]

Ukraine’s legal framework was substantially modified in late 2015 with the adoption of new laws reinforcing institutional support for the national innovation system. The Law on Scientific and Technical Activities (2015) places the National Council for Science and Technology Development under the control of the Cabinet of Ministers. The council is tasked with ensuring the effective co-operation of representatives from the scientific community, state agencies and the business sector in the preparation and implementation of related state policy.[3]

In addition, the National Fund for Research (2015) has replaced the State Fund for Basic Research, which was subordinate to the Ministry of Education and Science. The new fund’s key function is to provide competitive grants for basic and applied research. The fund is also mandated to support experimental development and innovation in priority areas.[3]

The new legal framework is expected to play an important role in transforming Ukraine’s public academies of science, especially the National Academy of Sciences. It has paved the way to involving ordinary scientists in the election of academies’ governing bodies; it has also placed constraints on academies’ membership and top positions. Additionally, public research institutions now have the legal right to co-found commercial companies and to take part in the formation of their share capital.[3]

A number of other key legislative acts relating to science, innovation and science parks were under revision in 2020. However, the effective implementation of legislative acts remains the Achilles’ heel of Ukraine’s science and innovation policy.[3]

High-tech office

One outcome of reform will be the creation of a special High-Tech Office within the government to stimulate high-tech industries, especially in the expanding ICT sector. In 2020, business associations, along with government experts, were preparing the legal groundwork for the establishment of this office. The growth of Ukraine’s ICT sector is reflected in the depth of its exports of related services, which now account for more than 40% of total exports. Ukraine’s success in this area is tied to its relatively large pool of specialists.[3]

Ukraine has been implementing key elements of its e-governance strategy since 2015. One outcome is ProZorro, an electronic system for public procurement, established in 2016–2018. Early signs indicate that ProZorro has helped to reduce corruption in the attribution of government contracts.[3]

Russo-Ukrainian War

The Russo-Ukrainian war substantially impacts Ukrainian science.[4] Several groups of academics have created one action plan outlining how the global science community could help Ukraine, including helping organizing (re)vitalization of Ukrainian science and reconstruction in the future.[5] Science and technology were also used to defend against the 2022 Russian invasion such as with military technology, to document and communicate war events including war crimes,[6][7][8] to provide and receive aid via telehealth,[9] and for aggregated information about support opportunities for Ukrainian scientists.[4][10]

A dramatic increase in defence development took place after the 2022 invasion, with Ukraine creating the Brave1 platform in April 2023 to promote development of innovative systems by bringing together scientists and technicians with financiers and the military to rapidly turn ideas into workable weapons.

References

  1. ^ Soumitra, Dutta; Bruno, Lanvin; León, Lorena Rivera; Wunsch-Vincent, Sacha (2022). Global Innovation Index 2022: What is the future for innovation-driven growth? (PDF) (15th ed.). World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). p. 46. ISBN 978-92-805-3433-7.
  2. ^ Soumitra, Dutta; Bruno, Lanvin; León, Lorena Rivera; Wunsch-Vincent, Sacha (2021). Global Innovation Index 2021: Tracking Innovation through the Covid-19 Crisis (PDF) (14th ed.). World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). p. 24. ISBN 978-92-805-3433-7.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Eröcal, D.; Yegorov, I. (2021). "Countries in the Black Sea Basin". In Schneegans, S.; Straza, T.; Lewis, J. (eds.). UNESCO Science Report: the Race Against Time for Smarter Development. Paris: UNESCO. pp. 323–346. ISBN 978-92-3-100450-6.
  4. ^ a b Gaind, Nisha; Else, Holly; Roussi, Antoaneta (2 March 2022). "'I thought I had forgotten this horror': Ukrainian scientists stand in defiance". Nature. Vol. 603, no. 7900. pp. 210–211. doi:10.1038/d41586-022-00621-6. ISSN 1476-4687.
  5. ^ Duszyński, Jerzy; McNutt, Marcia; Zagorodny, Anatoly (17 June 2022). "A future for Ukrainian science". Science. 376 (6599): 1249. Bibcode:2022Sci...376.1249D. doi:10.1126/science.add4088. ISSN 0036-8075. PMID 35695734. S2CID 249623002.
  6. ^ Robertson, Nic (7 April 2022). "Analysis: Drones, phones and satellites are exposing the truth about Russia's war in Ukraine in near real-time". CNN. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
  7. ^ Stashevskyi, Oleksandr; Bajak, Frank (14 July 2022). "In Ukraine war, a race to acquire smarter, deadlier drones". AP News. Associated Press. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
  8. ^ Harwell, Drew (24 March 2022). "Instead of consumer software, Ukraine's tech workers build apps of war". Washington Post. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
  9. ^ Best, Jo (3 May 2022). "From Ukraine to remote robotics: how videoconferencing and next generation technology are transforming surgery". The BMJ. 377: o1078. doi:10.1136/bmj.o1078. PMID 35504650. S2CID 248497139. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
  10. ^ "About: Mission Statement". Science for Ukraine. Retrieved 4 August 2022.

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