Board 57, 18th October 2023, Hybrid in Brussels, Belgium
The Fifty-Seventh (57th) Meeting of the Governing Board of the Science and Technology Center in Ukraine (STCU) convened on 18 October 2023 in a hybrid format, with participants gathering both in Brussels, Belgium and virtually. 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 57th meeting, the Governing Board approved three (3) new government funded projects for a total of €18,854,300. The Governing Board also confirmed four (4) new Partner Projects valued at $2,722,626 and confirmed ten (10) Partner Project contract extensions valued at $2,531,504.
The 57th Governing Board funding amounts are significant and represent two separate milestones at the STCU. First, the funding approved at the 57th Governing Board equals approximately $25.5 million, which far exceeds the funding approved at any single Governing Board in STCU’s history. Second, when coupled with the funding approved at the 56th STCU Governing Board this past June ($8.4M in funding), the $33.9M in total approved funding represents the largest single-year of funding in STCU history, eclipsing the previous high of $24.5M in 2021. These amounts demonstrate the steadfast commitment of the EU and United States to Ukraine whilst it continues its fight to defeat the invading forces of the Russian Federation.
In addition to the above funding, the U.S. Party provided funding in the amount of $1,432,000 to continue its Scientist Engagement Fellowship Program for Displaced Ukrainian Scientists and Ukrainian Partner Institutes.
The Governing Board also approved the 2024 Administrative Operating Budget and Supplemental Budget requests from the STCU Secretariat, as well as the 2022 Annual Report as presented.
About STCU: The STCU is an intergovernmental, non-profit organization with the vision of advancing global peace and prosperity through cooperative Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN) risk mitigation by supporting civilian science and technology partnerships and collaboration that address global security threats and advances non-proliferation. 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 28 years the STCU has invested over $400 million in funding and managing close to 2,000 R&D projects in areas such as aerospace, agriculture, energy, material science, medicine, 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 marketplace.
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.
Record of Decisions