University of Tartu Shares research funding expertise with Kyiv School of Economics

At the end of last year and the beginning of this one, the University of Tartu hosted a delegation of grant advisors, project managers and financial managers from the Kyiv School of Economics (KSE).The study visit was organised by the UT Grant Office within the framework of the European Commission–funded BRIDGE project, which aims to strengthen the resilience and capacity of Ukrainian research institution KSE.

Over four days, the visitors received an indepth overview of the university’s research funding support system, digital tools and grantwriting processes, and took part in handson training sessions led by specialists from the Grant Office and the Institute of Genomics.

“Despite the war, Ukrainian research institutions continue their work, and now more than ever they need support to do so,” said Viktoriia Biliaieva, Head of the Grant Writing Unit. “Projects like BRIDGE not only help build scientific capacity but also integrate Ukraine into the wider framework of EU scientific collaboration.”

A comprehensive introduction to grant support services

The visit began with an overview of the Grant Office’s structure and its cooperation with faculties, presented by Tene Viiburg, Head of Cooperation Processes. This was followed by a session on the organisation of grantwriting services and the roles of grant consultants, led by Viktoriia Biliaieva.

The first day concluded with a practical training session on the fundamentals of proposal preparation, covering the consulting workflow, division of responsibilities between researchers and consultants, and consortium building.

Funding search tools and legal aspects of external financing

On the second day, Kalmer Lauk, Analyst of Research and Development, introduced the university’s suite of digital tools used for funding search and grant management.

In the afternoon, Kadi Teras, Head of the Coordination Unit, and Laura Tomson, Foreign Funds Coordinator, presented the coordination of financing measures, approval processes and key legal considerations in externally funded projects.

Professional development in project management

The third day focused on strengthening project management skills and institutional practices. Kadi Teras, Laura Tomson and Tene Viiburg outlined the university’s approach to professionalising project management and training project managers.

Laura Tomson and grant consultants Sanni Maria Aurora Färkkilä and Egle Rummel da Costa introduced examples of support schemes, including ERC and MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships, highlighting the advisory services available to researchers.

The day concluded with an intensive session on drafting major proposal sections—defining objectives, tasks, deliverables and milestones—and preparing strong dissemination and exploitation plans, led by Viktoriia Biliaieva.

Insights from institute level project and financial management

On the final day, the delegation visited the Institute of Genomics, where Research Support Manager Kadri Raav presented how project and financial management are organised at the institute level.

In the afternoon, project manager and foreign funds coordinator Oliivika Zeiger shared practical experiences from managing international research projects. The visit ended with a Q&A session with the Grant Office team.

At the beginning of January 2026, the BRIDGE project manager visited the University of Tartu for a second secondment to work collaboratively on preparing the BRIDGE midterm report. According to Viktoriia Biliaieva, these activities will be followed by further mentoring in funding application submission and project management.

Strengthening cooperation and research resilience

The BRIDGE project supports Ukrainian institutions in building more resilient research management systems and increasing their participation in European funding programmes. The study visit to the University of Tartu provided KSE staff with practical tools, examples and knowledge that will help enhance grant services and support structures at their home institution.

The project aims to strengthen the Kyiv School of Economics’ innovation capacity, focusing on research management and research-to-policy transfer in the field of participatory and deliberative democracy. It will also support Ukrainian hromadas in participatory decision-making for the reconstruction of housing and infrastructure destroyed by the Russian war against Ukraine.