On 1 October 2026, Vasyl Stefanyk Carpathian National University hosted a Project Development Meeting entitled “From Idea to Project Proposal”, organised within the framework of the EDUC-WIDE project.
The meeting aimed to strengthen the capacities of academic and research staff to develop competitive international research projects, prepare high-quality grant proposals, and participate in European research funding programmes. Particular attention was given to developing practical project planning skills, encouraging interdisciplinary collaboration, and identifying opportunities for international research partnerships.
The event opened with welcoming remarks from Vitalii Shkromyda, Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs, who highlighted the importance of international project activities for strengthening the University’s research potential and its integration into the European Research Area.
Iryna Hryhoruk, Head of the Research and Development Office, presented the University’s approach to strengthening project development capacities, emphasising the importance of systematic institutional support for researchers throughout the project preparation process. Her presentation addressed the development of competitive project ideas, international partnerships, identification of funding opportunities, and the capacity building of university research teams.
As part of the meeting, Taras Malyshivskyi, Lecturer at the Department of Management and Business Administration, introduced the concept of the University’s Grant Office as an institutional mechanism for supporting research and project development. Participants were introduced to its key functions, including monitoring international funding opportunities, providing consultations to researchers, supporting project concept development, identifying potential partners, building international consortia, and assisting with grant proposal preparation.
A separate session focused on the evaluation of international project proposals. Tetiana Solodzhuk, Head of the Project Management Department, explained the main principles and criteria used by funding organisations to assess project applications. She discussed common weaknesses in proposals and provided practical recommendations on defining project objectives, demonstrating research relevance, presenting expected outcomes, and articulating the potential impact of proposed activities.
The practical component of the Project Development Meeting involved collaborative work on developing project concepts. Working in teams with the support of mentors, participants identified research challenges, formulated project objectives, outlined key activities, defined expected results, and considered the potential impact of their proposed projects.
Particular attention was paid to the logical structure of project proposals, innovation potential, identification of target groups, partnership development, sustainability of results, and relevant funding opportunities, especially within the Horizon Europe programme.
As a result of the meeting, participants developed preliminary project concepts that can serve as a basis for further collaboration, the establishment of research teams, and the preparation of applications for European funding calls.
The Project Development Meeting contributed to the objectives of EDUC-WIDE by strengthening institutional research support capacities, enhancing researchers’ competencies in international project development, and promoting greater participation in the European Research Area. The activity also supported the development of sustainable institutional mechanisms for assisting researchers, fostering international research partnerships, and improving the University’s capacity to successfully participate in competitive European research funding programmes.