In the context of Russian aggression, a critical staff shortage in the department, and the outflow of a significant number of scientists from KhAI, the activities of the International Projects and Programs Office in 2025 were focused mainly on the following areas:
1. Administration of ongoing projects under the European Commission's "Horizon 2020" program, the "Clean Aviation Partnership" aviation initiative, and STCU projects involving KhAI.
2. Preparation and submission of new project proposals and searching for potential partners for new calls under the European Commission's "Horizon Europe" and "Clean Aviation Partnership" programs.
3. Identifying new opportunities to expand KhAI's international scientific and technical cooperation and informing KhAI scientists about such opportunities.
Regarding the first area of work in 2025, the department took the following measures for projects carried out by KhAI research teams:
"Clean Aviation" Joint Initiative Project: "HYDEA - Hydrogen Demonstrator for Aviation" (Scientific Supervisor: O.Yu. Lysytsia), GA #101102019
The project is being successfully implemented according to the plan in close cooperation with the partner SAFRAN AERO ENGINES (France). A series of teleconferences were held to coordinate technical issues; the team participated in scheduled online meetings of the project steering committee and in the project control review involving European Commission experts (November 2025). Based on the review results, experts positively noted KhAI's activity in terms of scientific publications resulting from the project.
All necessary reporting (quarterly, periodic, technical, and financial) was submitted according to the project plan, EC regulations, and the P789 agreement with the STCU.
Due to a slight change in technical strategy and based on the results of an external expert assessment of the implementation status, the project consortium proposed a 6-month extension. This proposal is currently under consideration by the governing bodies of the joint initiative. Accordingly, the schedule for KhAI's work has been coordinated and updated in case of the project's extension.
Organizational support was provided for project team members T.P. Mykhailenko to attend the HYDEA annual meeting in Senlis (France) and I.A. Rybalchenko to attend the annual "Clean Aviation" forum (Brussels, Belgium) to present project results and discuss future work plans.
DIGITAL EUROPE Program Project: "Eastern Ukraine EDIH – Empowering Sustainable Digital and Green Transformation in Key Economic Sectors of Eastern Ukraine", (Supervisor: L.V. Smovziuk) GA #101191656
In 2025, the Eastern Ukraine EDIH project moved from the launch phase to systematic operation, despite maintaining a "moderate activity" status due to legal restrictions on fund transfers and a lack of co-financing for most consortium partners. Throughout the year, the basic project management system and client interaction framework for Eastern Ukraine EDIH were finalized. Simultaneously, the Eastern Ukraine EDIH brand was strengthened: a full website with service descriptions and inquiry forms was launched, and a presence in social networks and media outlets (radio, TV, press releases) regarding the digital transformation of SMEs and communities was established.
KhAI became one of the key drivers of the project's content. The university team developed and agreed with the consortium a methodology for the "digital transformation roadmap" service, subsequently moving to practical work with clients from the public and business sectors. Additionally, project funds were used to purchase supplementary equipment for an industrial robot installed at Department 105.
Collectively, this ensured a flow of new inquiries, and KhAI's developments demonstrated that even with limited resources, the project yields tangible results and lays the groundwork for scaling after the co-financing issue is resolved.
STCU Project #7116: "Research on Generative Compression for Compressive LiDAR" (Project Supervisor: V.V. Lukin).
In 2025, the project was carried out according to the plan, except for the KhAI staff business trips to the USA scheduled for this period to participate in project meetings, which was due to the difficult logistical situation with obtaining American visas. The trips were postponed to 2026. Unfortunately, the changing political situation in the US led to a delay in the second tranche of project funding by the American side, with the decision postponed to mid-December 2025.
Under the second main area, the following project proposals were submitted during 2025 for various calls of the Horizon Europe and Clean Aviation programs:
- For the call HORIZON-JU-CLEAN-AVIATION-2025-03-FTA, the project proposal "COMRADE - Compact and Reliable Aviation High-Voltage DC-DC Converter with Coupled Inductors" was submitted. Project coordinator – Deggendorf Institute of Technology, Germany. Scientific supervisor from KhAI – P.G. Gakal. Unfortunately, the evaluation results were insufficient for the project to receive funding.
- For the call HORIZON-CL5-2025-02, the project proposal "NATUREGY - USE OF BIOMIMETICS IN HYDROPOWER: TOWARDS THE FIRST APPLICATION IN FRANCIS TURBINES" was submitted. Project coordinator – University of West Attica, Greece. Scientific supervisor from KhAI – O.V. Tretiak.
- For the call HORIZON-CL3-2025-01-DRS-04, the project proposal "AUTOVISION – Advanced machine vision with immersive C2 for solving multi-casualty scenarios in diverse locations" was submitted. Project coordinator – Turku University of Applied Sciences, Finland. Scientific supervisor from KhAI – D.M. Krytskyi.
- For the call HORIZON-CL3-2025-01-DRS-02, the project proposal "PREFIRE – Preparedness for Forest Fires" was submitted. Project coordinator – KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden. Scientific supervisor from KhAI – V.S. Kharchenko.
- For the call HORIZON-WIDERA-2025-01-ACCESS-01, the project proposal "ASCEND - ADVANCING SUSTAINABLE COMPOSITES AND ACHIEVING EXCELLENCE THROUGH NETWORKS FOR DIGITAL AND GREEN INDUSTRIAL TRANSFORMATION" was submitted. Project coordinator – Warsaw University of Technology, Poland. Scientific supervisor from KhAI – F.M. Gagauz.
- For the call HORIZON-MSCA-2025-PF-01-01, the project proposal "GASCOOLGEN - Improving the efficiency and environmental sustainability of gas coolers for thermal and hydroelectric power plant generators" was submitted. Project coordinator – University of Leicester, United Kingdom. Scientific supervisor from KhAI – O.V. Tretiak.
Results of the evaluation of project proposals by independent experts of the HORIZON EUROPE program are expected in the first quarter of 2026.
Under the third main area, the following actions were performed during 2025:
I.A. Rybalchenko participated in:
- A two-day European Defence Fund (EDF) Info Day in April 2025, dedicated to new EDF calls. Ideas from KhAI scientists that could form the basis for project proposals were presented (online). The presentation received a significant response from participants. Unfortunately, the European Commission has limited Ukraine's participation in EDF projects to so-called "cascading funding," meaning Ukrainian partners can only be involved as co-executors in EDF projects that have already won corresponding calls. The conclusion of project evaluations is expected in the second quarter of 2026.
- A webinar by "Cormack Consultancy Group" (United Kingdom) dedicated to a special initiative for strengthening cooperation between Ukraine and the UK within Horizon Europe projects. Webinar materials were distributed to KhAI scientists for further search, assisted by Cormack, for potential UK partners for joint Horizon Europe projects.
- A webinar by the National Defence Technology Centre (Denmark) focused on cooperation opportunities with Danish partners in areas such as autonomous systems, maritime industry (shipbuilding), cybersecurity, biotechnology, and biomaterials. Following the webinar, several KhAI proposals were sent to the National Defence Technology Centre.
Additionally, the 2025 call work programs published by the European Commission, as well as the first versions of work programs for 2026-2027 for Cluster 5 (Climate, Energy, and Mobility), Cluster 4 (Digital, Industry, and Space), and Cluster 3 (Civil Security for Society), were distributed among KhAI scientists.
A Memorandum of Cooperation was signed with the Czech company WITKOWITZ GROUP regarding the creation of a Joint Institute of Strategic Technologies. The concept of the Institute was presented by a WITKOWITZ representative at a meeting of the Presidium of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. Negotiations with potential Institute partners are currently ongoing.
Contact was established with the University of Gothenburg (Sweden), specifically with the Department of Applied Information Technology. Contacts were transferred to relevant KhAI experts (V.S. Kharchenko, O.V. Zabolotnyi) for further discussion of possible cooperation.
Preliminary negotiations were held with the Technological Institute of Aragon (Spain) regarding KhAI's possible participation in 2026 project proposals, and a description of KhAI's expertise in relevant fields was sent.
In line with an initiative by the European Commission's Directorate-General for Research and Innovation (DG RTD) together with the Association of European Research Establishments in Aeronautics to help Ukrainian aviation research organizations by transferring used (but working) equipment free of charge, the collection of requests for equipment from KhAI departments and laboratories was organized. The list of equipment was transferred to the initiative's coordinator for Ukraine – National Aviation University (Kyiv). Unfortunately, the initiative has not yet seen further development.
L.V. Smovziuk, as part of the Eastern Ukraine EDIH project, participated in the national showroom for supporting Ukrainian software "Svoie.IT 2025" (Kyiv, May 9, 2025) and the international exhibition and conference "Rebuild Ukraine" (Warsaw, November 13-14, 2025), which contributed to the promotion of KhAI and Eastern Ukraine EDIH, establishing partnerships with businesses and donors, and building contacts for the university's future projects.