Horizon Europe Health Partnering Event Supports the Integration of Ukrainian Research into the European Research Area

On 30 July 2026, an international online partnering event was held with the aim of supporting Ukrainian researchers in joining international research and innovation consortia and preparing for the 2027 Health Cluster and Cancer Mission calls under the EU research and innovation programme Horizon Europe.

The programme covered 13 Health Cluster and 4 Cancer Mission topics addressing, among others, chronic and neurodegenerative diseases, infectious diseases and antimicrobial resistance, personalised medicine, the use of artificial intelligence in healthcare, virtual human twins, new diagnostic solutions, as well as research related to cancer treatment and prevention.

The aim of the matchmaking event was to bring together researchers, companies, innovators and policymakers to help participants find partners with complementary expertise, develop new project concepts and build strong international consortia. Participants had the opportunity to present their research and project ideas, receive feedback from experts and hold targeted meetings with potential project partners.

The event brought together 182 registered participants, 174 of whom took part in the partnering and matchmaking activities. On the B2Match platform, 50 meetings were booked, more than 1,100 messages were exchanged, and participants’ profiles were viewed more than 1,600 times. The largest number of participants came from Ukraine, Lithuania, Canada and Poland. Seven organisations from Estonia took part, while around 20 participants also joined from countries that were not among the event organisers.

The organisers hope that the event provided participants with a valuable opportunity to establish and strengthen international research cooperation networks, helping them prepare for the 2027 Horizon Europe Health and Cancer Mission calls and increasing their opportunities to form successful international project consortia. The event was organised as part of the project Estonian Support for Ukraine’s Integration into the European Research Area, funded by the Estonian Centre for International Development (ESTDEV). The project aims to support the integration of Ukrainian researchers and research organisations into the European Research Area and strengthen research cooperation between Estonia and Ukraine.

The partnering event was jointly organised by the Estonian Research Council (ETAG), the Horizon Europe Office in Ukraine, the Latvian Council of Science (LCS), the Research Council of Lithuania (RCL), the Polish National Centre for Research and Development

(NCBR), the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), together with the respective National Contact Points. As members of the HNN3.0 network project, the organizers had knowledge and experience from organizing previous partnership events. The event’s official B2Match page will remain open for further partner searches until the end of 2026.

Contact in Estonian Research Council
Argo Soon
argo.soon@etag.ee