Board 49, 21st November 2019, Yerevan, Armenia
The Forty-Ninth (49th) Meeting of the Governing Board of the Science and Technology Center in Ukraine (STCU) convened on 21 November 2019 in Yerevan, Armenia. The Governing Board representatives from the European Union, Ukraine, and the United States of America, were joined by the STCU executive management team, and by representatives from the Moldovan National Agency for Research and Development, the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, as well as the Georgian Shota Rustaveli National Science Foundation.
At this 49th meeting, the Governing Board approved three (3) new government funded project for a total of ˆ1,125,895. The Governing Board also confirmed eleven (11) new Partner Projects valued at $2,855,024 and ˆ973,486, and confirmed nine (9) Partner Project contract extensions valued at $3,073,047 and ˆ27,500.
The Governing Board approved the 2020 Administrative Operating Budget and Supplement Budget requests from the STCU Secretariat. Furthermore, the Governing Board also approved the Government of Ukraine's extension of the STCU's current premises (Metalistiv Street) until December 31, 2030, assuring that the STCU will be able to stably conduct its operations over the course of the next decade.
The Governing Board confirmed the one-year extension of the Executive Director, Mr. Curtis "B.J." Bjelajac.
About STCU: The STCU is an intergovernmental, non-profit organization created with the goal of aiding unemployed or underemployed scientists previously working on the development of weapons of mass destruction. It was created and is governed by the 'Agreement to Establish a Science and Technology Center in Ukraine', originally signed by the governments of Canada, Sweden, Ukraine and the United States of America. Subsequently, Sweden was replaced by the European Union as a Governing Party; Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, and Uzbekistan have also acceded to the STCU Agreement. In 2013, Canada withdrew from the STCU Agreement.
Over the past 24 years the STCU has invested over $325 million in funding and managing close to 2,000 R&D projects in areas such as energy, agriculture, medicine, material science, aerospace, physics, and other areas. All major research and development institutes in the STCU's region of operation have participated in STCU projects, most of which were in collaboration with other international partners. The projects have generated high-quality research and helped bring research to the market place.
The STCU Governing Board convenes on a semi-annual basis to determine the Center's policies and funding for scientific projects and supporting activities. The STCU Secretariat, located in Kyiv, Ukraine, is the main body responsible for fulfilling STCU decisions and policies on a daily basis.
The total STCU project funding to date, including funding from this 49th STCU Governing Board Meeting, now stands at approximately $328.8 million, with the donors contributing the following amounts: Canada - $10.2 M, U.S.A.- $81.7M, European Union - ˆ65.0M ($77.2M), Non-Government Partners Sector - $59.4M, Government Partners Sector - $97.6M and Other (Japan, Sweden) - $2.7 M.
Record of Decisions