Deputy Minister of Education Kurbatov: Due to the War, 15-20% of Researchers Have Stopped Their Work in Ukraine

In Ukraine, the ongoing full-scale war has led to 15-20% of researchers halting their research activities, with 8% having left the country. This was revealed by Deputy Minister of Education and Science Denys Kurbatov in an exclusive interview with Interfax-Ukraine.

Kurbatov noted that in Ukraine, researchers can be divided into two main groups: scientific workers who operate within the academic environment and scientific-pedagogical workers who are involved in teaching at universities. He stated that the first group consists of approximately 25,000 individuals, and when combined with scientific-pedagogical workers, the total number of researchers engaged in scientific activities amounts to around 80,000.

The Deputy Minister also compared this number with other countries, emphasizing that Ukraine has one of the lowest numbers of researchers per thousand inhabitants. He pointed out that this decline had been ongoing since the 1990s until the onset of the war, but the situation has somewhat stabilized recently. Kurbatov expressed hope that the restructuring of Ukraine's economy towards a value-added economy would help change this situation.

When asked how the situation regarding the reduction in the number of researchers was stabilized, Kurbatov discussed several factors. Among them is the changing perspective of the economy and business towards researchers, particularly in the military sector, as many companies now require scientific research. Additionally, a 100% reservation policy has been implemented for individuals with scientific degrees working in science and higher education.

Kurbatov emphasized that the full-scale war has significantly impacted the number of researchers in Ukraine. He noted that the war has generally affected the population size, and it is now estimated that 15-20% of people have ceased their research activities. Of this 15-20%, about 8% have left the country, while others have changed professions. These are substantial losses for the scientific community. However, according to Kurbatov, 80-85% of researchers remain in Ukraine and continue to work despite the challenging conditions.

Furthermore, the Deputy Minister pointed out that there is a trend of aging in the scientific community in Ukraine. The age distribution among researchers shows that the largest group consists of individuals aged 40 to 60, followed by those over 60, while the smallest group is under 40. Kurbatov stressed that if the general population is aging, then all sectors, including the scientific sector, are not becoming younger either. However, he noted that steps are already being taken to attract young people to science. Specifically, this year, a large pilot project is planned to launch a project-based postgraduate program, which will significantly increase postgraduate scholarships, provide funding for dissertation research for the first time, and ensure the engagement of scientific supervisors.

Regarding gender balance in Ukrainian science, Kurbatov mentioned that the situation is quite balanced. He emphasized that this is a criterion for Euro-integration, and Ukraine should strive for a 50% balance. However, he also noted that various factors affect this situation, such as the difficulty of finding girls in physical laboratories and boys in the humanities. Despite this, in major classical universities, the ratio is nearly 50 to 50, and girls are achieving significant success in science, particularly in the exact sciences.

In conclusion, Kurbatov pointed out that there is a deeper problem with gender balance in leadership positions, where there is a noticeable lag. As reported earlier, at the beginning of April, the Ministry of Education and Science decided to initiate a new tool for developing international scientific cooperation — the Institute of International Scientific Ambassadors.