The Research Infrastructures for the Future of Ukraine (RIFF) project supports the recovery, modernisation, and long-term development of Ukraine’s research infrastructure system, while also strengthening its integration into the European Research Area (ERA). At the same time, it helps build a more connected, resilient, and future-oriented European research infrastructure ecosystem through closer collaboration across countries and disciplines.
On 19–20 May, the RIFF project will host in Kraków the “Thematic Summit on Physical Sciences & Engineering, Social Sciences & Humanities, and Energy”: the first of two events designed to foster collaboration between researchers and promote integration of Ukrainian RIs into the Eueropean Research Area.
Piotr Piwowarczyk is the Head of the International Project Office at the National Synchrotron Radiation Centre SOLARIS, which will host the Summit, and he is also involved in the working teams implementing the project.
He has kindly agreed to answer a few questions about what RIFF aims to achieve and how ERICs can contribute to its goals and, by extension, to the advancement of Ukraine’s scientific community.
What are the main goals of the project?
One of the main outputs of the project is a national Roadmap for Ukrainian Research Infrastructures, aligned with European standards and methodologies, including ESFRI principles. The roadmap is intended to guide strategic investment, reconstruction, and modernisation of research infrastructures in Ukraine in a structured and sustainable way
At its core, RIFF combines both bottom-up and top-down approaches. It brings together researchers, infrastructure operators, policymakers, and international experts to jointly define priorities and ensure they are both relevant and realistic. Beyond planning, the project also supports capacity-building, training, and networking activities that help strengthen the operational and governance capabilities of Ukrainian research infrastructures.
A key goal of RIFF is to encourage collaboration across scientific fields, support the integration of Ukrainian research infrastructures into the ERA, and contribute to the sustainable reconstruction of Ukraine through science, innovation, and international cooperation. At the same time, it strengthens openness and scientific solidarity across Europe, ensuring that Ukrainian research communities remain closely connected to the European research landscape.
What do you aim to achieve with the Thematic Summit that will be held next week?
This summit is important because it brings different scientific communities together in one place to work on shared challenges. Connecting physical sciences, engineering, social sciences, humanities, and energy research, it creates space for real interdisciplinary exchange. This kind of collaboration is essential when dealing with complex global issues such as energy transition, technological change, digitalisation, and societal resilience. It also helps shape more joined-up European research strategies.
One of the main goals of the summit is to turn this interdisciplinary exchange into concrete cooperation between research infrastructures. This is key to building a more coherent and effective European research system that can respond to today’s systemic challenges.
The summit offers a chance to discuss how European infrastructures can better support Ukrainian researchers through access to facilities, data, training, and collaborative networks. These connections are not only a matter of scientific solidarity, but also a way to maintain and strengthen scientific capacity that is important for Europe as a whole.
In this context, the summit also feeds into broader discussions on integrating Ukrainian research infrastructures into the ERA and supporting Ukraine’s long-term reconstruction efforts.
How can ERICs contribute to the project?
ERICs are key players in building a strong and connected European research ecosystem. Their well-established governance structures, international scope, and long experience make them well placed to support long-term cooperation between research infrastructures and scientific communities across Europe.
In RIFF, ERICs can play an important role in helping integrate Ukrainian research infrastructures and researchers into European scientific networks. This includes providing access to advanced research services, infrastructure, and expertise, as well as enabling participation in joint research and collaboration programmes. In this way, they help maintain scientific continuity while strengthening links between Ukraine and the EU research landscape.
They can also share good practices in how research infrastructures are run and managed, support mobility, and contribute to capacity-building activities. All of this makes them important enablers of knowledge exchange and long-term cooperation.
Overall, ERICs help ensure that Ukrainian research infrastructures are not only connected to Europe during the recovery phase but also become a long-term part of the ERA, with stronger resilience and deeper integration.
What are the opportunities for research infrastructures?
RIFF opens up several important opportunities for research infrastructures in both Europe and Ukraine.
First, it strengthens collaboration across disciplines, helping infrastructures from different scientific areas work more closely together on shared challenges. This supports a more connected, efficient, and resilient European research ecosystem and increases the visibility of research infrastructures in the wider research and innovation landscape.
Second, it supports the integration of Ukrainian research infrastructures into the ERA, allowing them to take part more actively in European networks, programmes, and collaborations. This is an important step towards rebuilding and modernising Ukraine’s research system sustainably.
Finally, RIFF highlights the role of research infrastructures in supporting European scientific solidarity, including ongoing engagement with Ukrainian research institutions. This is not only about short-term or emergency support, but also about building long-term partnerships, sharing knowledge, and integrating systems more deeply.
At the same time, RIFF positions research infrastructures as important actors in Ukraine’s reconstruction process. Through coordinated investment, international cooperation, and shared expertise, they can contribute not only to scientific excellence but also to broader social, institutional, and economic recovery.
In this way, research infrastructures become central both to strengthening European science and to supporting Ukraine’s long-term reconstruction and integration.
To follow the Meeting, please register at this link. (Note: the form offers both on-site and remote options; please select remote, as on-site attendance is reserved for speakers).
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