On December 22, 2025, an offsite meeting of the Council of the North-Eastern Scientific Center of the NAS of Ukraine and the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine was held at Sumy National Agrarian University. The event was dedicated to the current state and prospects for the development of scientific institutions and universities of Slobozhanshchyna (using Sumy region as an example) under wartime conditions and was held in a hybrid format.
The meeting was opened by the Vice President of the NAS of Ukraine, Head of the North-Eastern Scientific Center of the NAS of Ukraine and the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, academician of the NAS of Ukraine Volodymyr Seminozhenko.
The participants were greeted by the President of the NAS of Ukraine, academician of the NAS of Ukraine Anatoliy Zahorodniy. On behalf of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, he thanked the scientists for their resilience and steadfastness, devoted work under extraordinary conditions, and high results in preserving intellectual potential, without which further development of Ukraine is impossible, and also wished fruitful work and all the best.
The greetings were joined by the Deputy Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine Denys Kurbatov and the Director of the Department of Education and Science of the Sumy Regional Military Administration Viktoriya Hrobova.
The Rector of Sumy National Agrarian University, Doctor of Biological Sciences, Professor Ihor Kovalenko, spoke about the activities of this and other universities and scientific institutions in the region, their adaptation to wartime challenges, and the preservation of scientific and educational potential.
The discussion continued with the heads of leading educational institutions and scientific establishments:
- Vice-Rector of Sumy State University, Doctor of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Professor Anatoliy Chornous;
- Acting Director of the National Scientific Center "O. N. Sokolovsky Institute of Soil Science and Agrochemistry" of the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine (NAAS), academician of NAAS Sviatoslav Balyuk;
- Director of the Ukrainian Research Institute of Forestry and Agroforestry named after H. M. Vysotsky of the State Agency of Forest Resources of Ukraine and the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Corresponding Member of the NAS of Ukraine Victor Tkach;
- Deputy Head of the Council of the North-Eastern Scientific Center of the NAS of Ukraine and the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, First Deputy General Director for Scientific Work of the Scientific and Technological Complex "Institute of Single Crystals" of the NAS of Ukraine, academician of the NAS of Ukraine Valentyn Chebanov;
- Director of the Institute of Applied Physics of the NAS of Ukraine, Doctor of Physical and Mathematical Sciences Oleksandr Lebed;
- Acting Director of the V. Ya. Yuriev Institute of Plant Growing of the NAAS, Doctor of Agricultural Sciences Oleh Leonov.
Summarizing the meeting, Vice President of the NAS of Ukraine, academician of the NAS of Ukraine Volodymyr Seminozhenko emphasized: "Science cannot wait for favorable times — it develops and creates them itself. Sumy region is a border region that feels the consequences of the war every day. At the same time, here we see examples of professional resilience: maintaining educational and research processes, supporting the quality of education, developing international cooperation, and participating in projects important for the region. This is concrete daily work that matters for the entire scientific and educational system of Ukraine."
Following the meeting, the Council noted the high level of resilience of the scientific and educational sector of the Sumy region. Despite its border status and wartime risks, the educational process, research activities, international cooperation, and participation in European scientific programs have been preserved here.
Special attention was paid to the results of the 2024 state attestation of scientific activities: Sumy State University confirmed category A in all directions, and Sumy National Agrarian University received category A in the agrarian-veterinary direction. Many scientific institutions in the region also confirmed a high level of research capacity.
For the further development of science in the region, the Council decided to:
- expand participation in the "Horizon Europe," "Erasmus+," COST, NATO Science for Peace programs;
- develop regional scientific and educational clusters;
- initiate the creation of a regional center for innovation and technology transfer, as well as improve Ukraine's innovation legislation;
- appeal to the organizers of the "Lindau Nobel Laureates Meeting" (Germany) with a proposal to include the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine and the North-Eastern Scientific Center of the NAS of Ukraine and the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine as partners of the event;
- develop a state program for forest monitoring and inventory;
- develop a regional soil restoration program;
- strengthen the activities of regional branches of the National Center "Minor Academy of Sciences of Ukraine."
In addition, the Council recommended strengthening state support for science in regions of potential combat operations and considering scientific institutions as key drivers of post-war recovery. Separately, the participants discussed the funding of salaries for scientific and pedagogical workers in the State Budget of Ukraine for 2026 and 2027.
According to information from the North-Eastern Scientific Center of the NAS of Ukraine and the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine
