29th July 2026 — The Knowledge Hub of the European LUKE project aims to familiarise Ukrainian partners with strategic foresight, science diplomacy, cooperation between science and business, and research management. On 22 and 23 July 2026, DLR Projektträger, which coordinates both the project and the Hub, held an international Strategic Foresight Workshop at the SOLARIS National Syn-chrotron Radiation Centre in Kraków.

The event brought together 22 experts from Ukraine, including five members of the Ukrainian diaspora. Their goal was to develop strategic priorities for Ukraine’s research and innovation landscape up to 2035.

First, the groups explored the possible knock-on effects of key trends. On the second day, they translated the results of their analyses into strategic approaches. DLR Projektträger used the “Three Horizons” method, which maps the path from the present to a desired future scenario in three stages: the current system, ongoing transition initiatives, and the target research and innovation system for 2035. Participants worked in groups to assign their findings to these three stages.

Four Priorities for the Future of Ukrainian Research

The process identified four priority areas that outline what a future research and innovation agenda for Ukraine could include:

• Talent, workforce development, and continuity of knowledge
• AI and the changing nature of research work
• The international standing and governance of Ukrainian research
• Research funding, infrastructure, and the innovation economy

Across all four areas, brain drain emerged as a central current challenge. When researchers leave the country, the system loses teaching capacity, research depth, economic output, and continuity of knowledge at the same time. The situation is further exacerbated by the fact that EU integration is advancing faster than Ukraine can establish the national institutions needed for accession to the EU.

Strategic Foresight Methods for Reconstruction

The workshop in Kraków was part of the EU-funded LUKE project, through which DLR Pro-jektträger supports Ukraine’s scientific community in building a resilient, future-oriented re-search system. Strategic foresight plays a key role in this process. It enables stakeholders to look beyond immediate crisis management and makes potential goals for 2035 open to discussion before funding decisions and reforms effectively determine them.

This helps ensure that priorities are supported by Ukrainian stakeholders themselves rather than imposed from outside. One example is the rebuilding of internationally recognised re-search infrastructures in Ukraine, some of which could become leaders at European level. An-other future objective developed during the workshop is to fully harness the potential of sci-ence attachés at Ukrainian embassies.