Ukraine becomes a Research4Life Country Connector Associate
In continued support of Ukraine, an agreement has been signed between Research4Life and the State Scientific and Technical Library of Ukraine for it to become a Research4Life Country Connector Associate. This was proposed via a letter we received from the Temporary acting Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine, Yevhen Kudriavets. We are pleased to share this letter below which expresses gratitude for Research4Life’s ongoing content contributions and the valuable learning opportunities through MOOCs and webinars. We are pleased that our work helps in some small way during the situation that faces Ukraine. Read the original letter here.
—
Sarah Phibbs,
Director of Research4Life
Publisher Partnerships
Dear Ms. Phibbs!
I would like to take this opportunity to express my deep and sincere respect to
you. The Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine is grateful for the support
provided for Ukrainian scientists through the Research4Life project by the
Research4Life Partner Publishers and the Research4Life team.
The decision made by the Research4Life Partner Publishers in 2022 to provide
Ukrainian scientists with access to electronic resources of scientific information
(journals, books, databases) through the Research4Life platform, and to transfer
Ukraine to Group A of countries, access for organizations from which is free, became
a significant support for Ukrainian science. Access to academic and professional
content provided to Ukrainian institutions helps Ukrainian scientists to effectively
continue their scientific activities in the current difficult conditions.
The Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine together with the State
Scientific and Technical Library of Ukraine continued to inform Ukrainian higher
education institutions, research institutions and other organizations about the
possibility to get and use access to electronic resources on the Research4Life platform.
Thanks to this informing and the support of the Research4Life team, hundreds of
Ukrainian institutions have got access to the Research4Life platform and have been
able to set up such access for their employees. As can be seen from the Research4Life
website, according to the number of registered institutions Ukraine is among the
countries where access is most actively used.
The conclusion of a Service Level Agreement between the Research4Life and
the State Scientific and Technical Library of Ukraine and participation of Ukraine in
the Research4Life Country Connectors Network project will improve communication
on issues of providing Ukrainian institutions with access to electronic resources
through the Research4Life platform. The Ministry of Education and Science of
Ukraine, for its part, will support the implementation of related measures.
Unfortunately, the full-scale war waged by the Russian Federation with the
support of the Republic of Belarus against Ukraine has been going on for over a year.
Thousands of innocent people have fallen victim of the war, Ukrainian cities and
villages suffered unprecedented destruction. Hundreds of Ukrainian educational and
research institutions have been destroyed and thousands damaged. Thousands of
researchers and scientists have been forced to relocate from areas of active hostilities
to save themselves and their families.
At the same time, Ukraine’s struggle against Russian aggression requires
enormous financial resources, so the Ukrainian government continues to allocate
funds to the needs of security and defense sector, which under other conditions could
be allocated to other areas, including the development of education and science.
Under such difficult conditions free access to electronic resources of scientific
information is especially important for Ukrainian scientists. Maintaining such access
will help them to continue effectively their scientific activities. That is why we will
be grateful to the Research4Life Partner Publishers for maintaining access for
Ukrainian scientists to the electronic resources of scientific information provided on
the Research4Life platform during 2023 and 2024. This will significantly support
Ukrainian science in the difficult conditions caused by the war and will help in the
recovery of Ukraine.
The Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine also expresses gratitude for
other forms of support for Ukrainian scientists, in particular, the opportunity to
participate in Massive Online Open Courses (MOOCs) and specific training in the
Publishing Research Lifecycle. The further possibility of translating some of these
educational modules into Ukrainian would help the Ukrainian research community to
get more useful information.
We also thank Research4Life Partner Publishers for supporting the publications
of Ukrainian scientists through the Group A fee waiver program in 2023 and would
be grateful for the possibility of further continuation and expansion of such support.
The team of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine under my
leadership is ready to continue fruitful cooperation with Research4Life and Partner
Publishers. In particular, these issues are coordinated by the Deputy Minister of
Education and Science of Ukraine Denys Kurbatov, who is responsible for the
development of science and innovation in the Ministry. Communication with the
Research4Life will also be continued by Darya Chayka, Deputy Director General of
the Directorate of Science and Innovation of the Ministry and Andrii Petrovskyi, State
Expert of this Directorate.
I express my sincere respect to you and hope for further support of Ukraine from
Research4Life Partner Publishers and the Research4Life team in this difficult time,
when Ukraine is fighting against the aggressor.
Yours sincerely,
Temporary acting Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine
Yevhen KUDRIAVETS
