How the national research and education network became an infrastructure for the international integration of Ukrainian science and one of the key resources for its post-war revival
Global science is undergoing one of the most extensive transformations in its history. While only two decades ago the main places of scientific inquiry were the laboratory, the library, and the personal computer, today researchers are assisted by artificial intelligence, high-performance computing, cloud platforms, large datasets (Big Data), digital twins of complex systems, and global research consortia. Scientific discoveries are increasingly made not within a single institution or even a single country, but through the collaboration of thousands of scientists who live and work in different countries, yet operate within a shared digital environment, using common databases, supercomputing centres, specialised research networks, and artificial intelligence tools.
Ukraine is also a participant in this global transformation. Its integration into the European Research Area, participation in international programmes, development of open science, and adoption of modern digital technologies rely to a considerable extent on the activities of the URAN Association — the Ukrainian Research and Academic Network, which for almost three decades has ensured the digital connection of Ukrainian science with the world. Today, URAN is not only a high-speed telecommunications infrastructure, but also one of the key elements in the formation of the digital ecosystem of Ukrainian science, providing our scientists with access to international research networks, global scientific resources, and new opportunities for cooperation. This is why the history of URAN is at the same time the history of Ukraine’s gradual entry into the global scientific space and the formation of the foundation for its future scientific and technological development.
When a Network Becomes Strategic Infrastructure
In the modern world, large-scale research projects, the processing of vast amounts of experimental data, remote access to supercomputers, electronic libraries, cloud services, and international educational platforms require not merely an Internet connection, but a specialised digital research and education infrastructure. In Ukraine, this is URAN.
Today, when the current war has destroyed part of the educational and scientific infrastructure, the importance of such networks has increased many times over. They have become not only a means of communication, but also a tool for preserving scientific schools, supporting universities, integrating Ukrainian researchers into international projects, and ensuring the continuity of scientific life.
How URAN Was Born
In 1996, the practical formation of an initiative began in Ukraine that brought together the country’s leading universities and most influential scientific institutions.
During international conferences held in Kyiv in April–May 1997, with the active participation of specialists from the countries of the European Community and NATO, the basic concept of the network was developed and approved.
The official date of the birth of the URAN Association may be considered 20 June 1997, when, on the initiative of Mykhailo Zgurovsky, then Minister of Education of Ukraine, and Yurii Yakymenko, First Vice-Rector of KPI, the Association of Users of the Ukrainian Research and Academic Network was established by a joint resolution of the Presidium of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine and the Board of the Ministry of Education of Ukraine. From the outset, its mission was broader than merely providing telecommunications services. A national mechanism was being created for integrating Ukrainian science and education into the European and global information space.
Even at that time, the European model of scientific development envisaged the existence of national research and education networks — NRENs — which would act as the official representatives of their countries’ research and education communities within the international digital infrastructure. Without such a structure, Ukraine could not fully integrate into pan-European networks.
From the First Attempt to GÉANT2
The first attempts to connect Ukrainian science to the European GÉANT network, as recalled by the initiators of this exceptionally important undertaking, were unsuccessful. In the early 2000s, Ukraine already had access to the European research network through Austria’s ACONet.
“It became clear,” Yurii Yakymenko emphasises, “that success required not merely a technical cable, but a strong institutional structure capable of uniting everyone within a single national direction.” This path was gradual and required both political will and international diplomacy, he notes.
Therefore, on 6 April 2006, the heads of 40 state universities and representatives of leading scientific institutions met in Kyiv and signed the founding agreement establishing the Association of Users of the Ukrainian Research and Academic Network (URAN). This step, Yurii Yakymenko adds, opened the door for us to genuine partnership with the European Union.
On 27 June 2007, an agreement was signed in London to connect the URAN network to the pan-European research and education network GÉANT2. The agreement was signed by Hans Döbbeling, Director General of the operating company, and Professor Yurii Yakymenko, Chair of the Coordination Council of the URAN Association. The URAN network was officially recognised as Ukraine’s national representative in the pan-European network for research and education and was granted associated status in GÉANT.
Since then, Ukrainian universities and research institutes have gained access to electronic libraries, databases, information resources, remote supercomputing centres, distance-learning systems, and international research environments.
A new stage in its development came when the URAN Association obtained the status of a full member of the European research and education network GÉANT in 2021. This recognition secured Ukraine’s place among the 40 leading European countries shaping the development of the continent’s modern research and education IT space.
URAN as a “Single Window” for Ukrainian Science to the World
“The URAN Association was conceived as a strategic ‘single window’ for Ukrainian researchers into the European scientific world,” explains Yurii Yakymenko, “as Ukraine’s administrative and legal representative, capable of speaking the same language as its European partners.” From that moment, he notes, Ukraine moved from spontaneous, fragmented attempts by individual institutes to join the scientific research of European structures to a coherent national strategy.
“A new stage in Ukraine’s integration into the European network infrastructure was its participation in the European projects EaPConnect and EaPConnect2 — components of the EU4Digital European programme aimed at integrating researchers and students into the GÉANT network,” says Mykhailo Zgurovsky. “At that time, high-speed Kyiv–Poznań and Kyiv–Chișinău channels were created, each with a capacity of 40 Gbit/s and the possibility of further scaling up to 100 Gbit/s. This is already a fully fledged research backbone capable of supporting work with large datasets, international experiments, and distributed computing.”
In parallel with the development of external communication channels, a profound and systematic renovation of Ukrainian data centres was carried out. The results were impressive: the performance of URAN data centres increased tenfold. Such an enormous leap in computing power, combined with new data transmission channels, also led to an increase in the efficiency of research in Ukraine.
A vivid confirmation of this effectiveness was the cooperation of the National Science Centre Kharkiv Institute of Physics and Technology with the European Organization for Nuclear Research — CERN. When the NSC KIPT was connected to LHCONE, a global high-speed network environment created to connect the computing centres of the Large Hadron Collider, the amount of CMS (Content Management System) data transferred for processing at KIPT doubled, while the speed of data exchange increased almost fourfold.
From a Network to a Digital Ecosystem
Over the years, the Association gradually transformed into a multifunctional digital ecosystem for Ukrainian science and education, my interlocutors explain. One of its most important services has become eduroam — a global secure Wi-Fi network for educators and researchers that makes it possible to connect to the Internet at universities and research centres around the world using only the credentials of one’s own institution. Today, this service is already available at 35 research and educational institutions in Ukraine, while the total number of access points has reached 220. Another important factor was the introduction of the innovative geteduroam technology, which significantly simplified the authentication process and access to the network for Ukrainian and international researchers.
“A technological achievement confirming URAN’s innovative status was the implementation this year of such a unique service as the delivery of satellite imagery from the EUMETSAT group through the EUMETCast Terrestrial system,” says Yurii Yakymenko, Chair of the Council of the URAN Association. “This service provides Ukrainian science and government agencies with access to critically important real-time Earth remote sensing data, which is of strategic importance for environmental monitoring, agriculture, and security. It also demonstrates that URAN does not merely maintain existing networks, but also creates new and unique opportunities for the national research and education sector.”
To ensure the uninterrupted operation of its latest services, the Association is constantly modernising its internal architecture, turning it into a foundation of national digital security. A separate strategic area has been the development and implementation of software solutions for the digitalisation of research archives. This makes it possible to systematise and archive the scientific works of entire generations of researchers.
“In the conditions of hybrid and full-scale war, the issue of data security comes to the forefront,” says Yevhenii Preobrazhenskyi, Executive Director of the URAN Association. “From the first days of the full-scale war, the URAN Association established close cooperation with the State Service of Special Communications and Information Protection of Ukraine. This makes it possible to effectively counter modern cyber threats and ensure the integrity of Ukraine’s research and education space. The high assessment of our activities was confirmed by an official expression of gratitude from the State Special Communications Service, which also became recognition of the professionalism of the URAN team in ensuring digital protection.”
No less important are the data centres, remote-work services, support for digital archives, Yevhenii Preobrazhenskyi continues, as well as new areas related to satellite data processing, Big Data, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence. Thus, URAN is increasingly acquiring the characteristics of a Centre of Excellence for the Digitalisation of Science. Its task is becoming not only to provide communication channels, but also to create an environment in which Ukrainian researchers can work according to the same technological standards as their colleagues in Europe and around the world.
Tested by War: Ensuring the Viability of Science
On 24 February 2022, hundreds of universities and research institutions came under shelling, thousands of researchers were forced to leave their cities, and a significant part of the laboratory infrastructure was destroyed or found itself in temporarily occupied territories. Under these conditions, it became clear how important it is for the digital infrastructure of modern science to continue functioning.
During those days, the URAN Association perhaps for the first time fully demonstrated itself not only as the operator of a research and education network, but also as an institution ensuring the viability of Ukrainian science, Yurii Yakymenko states. From the first days of the full-scale war, the URAN team transferred the network management system to remote operation, ensured the uninterrupted functioning of its main services, helped universities evacuated from combat zones restore their digital infrastructure in new locations, and supported the operation of electronic services, videoconferencing tools, VPN access, authentication systems, and other critically important digital platforms.
At the same time, the Chair of the Association’s Council notes, the Association faced extraordinarily complex technical challenges: the destruction of energy infrastructure, blackouts, cyberattacks, damage to equipment, and the loss of individual network nodes — all of this required rapid decisions, professional expertise, and exceptional responsibility.
“1,972 educational institutions in Ukraine came under shelling, and 194 were completely destroyed,” says Yurii Yakymenko, “including university buildings in Kharkiv, Mariupol, and Irpin. URAN lost equipment in occupied Kherson, but continued to fight for every user.
“Perhaps the greatest challenge was the systematic destruction of the energy infrastructure. In the autumn of 2022, about 40% of the country’s critical infrastructure was destroyed, resulting in blackouts lasting up to 12 hours a day. At this critical moment, the Association encountered a serious technical problem: the main diesel generator, which had undergone scheduled maintenance two weeks before the massive attacks, failed. This led to a temporary absence of backup power for URAN’s main node, as a result of which users stopped receiving services during prolonged power outages. At such times, the URAN Association had to transform from a technical operator into a centre of humanitarian and technological support. Through our charitable foundation, we organised the transfer of donated IT equipment to institutions whose infrastructure had been almost completely destroyed. Assistance to relocated universities and academic institutions became not merely part of our activities, but a mission to save Ukraine’s intellectual potential.”
International Scientific Solidarity
As the saying goes, “A friend in need is a friend indeed.” One of the clearest manifestations of European solidarity has been the support that the Ukrainian research and education network has received from the GÉANT community.
From the very first days of the full-scale invasion, the European National Research and Education Networks (NRENs) belonging to the GÉANT Community have provided systematic assistance to their Ukrainian colleagues. This support has included technical assistance, funding for critical infrastructure, international connectivity, consultancy, humanitarian aid, and continuous professional support.
This support became particularly significant following the establishment of the Humanitarian Support Group, a dedicated group coordinating assistance to the Ukrainian research network. However, this cooperation has long since ceased to be one-sided. During the years of war, Ukrainian specialists have accumulated unique experience in operating a national digital infrastructure under conditions of military aggression, large-scale cyberattacks, and prolonged energy crises. Today, this experience is being used in preparing other national networks for possible crisis situations.
International recognition of the Ukrainian team came in June of this year at the TNC26 Conference in Helsinki. For the first time in the history of its award, the Vietsch Foundation honoured not an individual specialist, but an entire organisation—the URAN Association. The award recognized the exceptional professionalism and resilience of the entire Ukrainian scientific community, which continues to work despite all the challenges of war.
URAN and the Post-War Revival of Ukraine
“After the end of the war, Ukraine will face an unprecedented challenge—not merely to rebuild its destroyed infrastructure, but to create a modern knowledge-based economy integrated into the European Research Area,” notes Academician Mykhailo Zgurovsky.
The role of the URAN Association will also increase substantially, he believes. Through URAN, Ukrainian universities and research institutions already have access to GÉANT’s digital infrastructure, international scientific collaborations, supercomputing centres, electronic libraries, global scientific data repositories, and shared educational platforms.
At the same time, global science itself is changing rapidly, moving toward a new technological paradigm based on artificial intelligence, Big Data, high-performance computing, quantum communications, and cloud-based research environments. None of these areas can be developed without a powerful national digital research infrastructure.
“That is why the future of URAN cannot be limited to the functions of a telecommunications operator,” Academician Mykhailo Zgurovsky continues. “Its future lies in its transformation into the National Centre for Digital Research Infrastructure of Ukraine—a platform that will integrate network services, data centres, cloud technologies, artificial intelligence services, digital archives, open science tools, and international research services. In essence, we are talking about creating the digital foundation of Ukrainian science in the twenty-first century.
Such an infrastructure will enable Ukraine to participate fully in the Horizon Europe programme, establish joint European laboratories, develop research consortia, and implement large-scale international projects that will shape the scientific and technological development of the world over the coming decades.”
“Today, the URAN Association provides connectivity to dozens of universities and research institutes, yet the organisation itself depends on stable international support,” notes Academician Yurii Yakymenko. “Its ability to continue operating after the completion of the EaPConnect project depends on timely and sustainable international assistance. In this struggle for the future, the URAN Association has felt extraordinary support from the GÉANT Community, particularly following the establishment of the Humanitarian Support Group.
We are delighted that this cooperation has evolved into a genuine two-way exchange: URAN not only receives assistance but also actively participates in the work of the Group, becoming a source of unique expertise,” Yurii Yakymenko continues. “We are ready to assist other NRENs facing crisis situations or preparing for them by sharing our own experience of maintaining network operations under conditions of military aggression.”
Recalling the recent award of the Special Medal of Honour by the Vietsch Foundation at the annual GÉANT Community Conference (#TNC26) in Helsinki, Academician Yakymenko is convinced that this gesture represents global recognition of the collective resilience, technical competence, and unwavering dedication of the URAN team, which continues to work under the extraordinarily difficult conditions of war. Therefore, he considers the support, preservation, and further development of the Association not merely a technical necessity, but a “moral imperative.” The Association sees its future in evolving into a Centre of Excellence for the Digitalisation of Science, advancing cloud computing, Big Data, and artificial intelligence.
“The story of URAN is the story of how technology becomes an instrument of resilience, and how a digital network becomes the single thread that keeps Ukrainian science together in its darkest times, giving it a chance for a technological future,” Yurii Yakymenko concludes.
Over nearly three decades of its existence, the URAN Association has travelled a remarkable path—from the ambitious idea of creating a national research and education network to becoming one of the key pillars of Ukraine’s digital scientific infrastructure. Today, its contribution can no longer be measured solely by data transmission speeds or the number of connected institutions. URAN has become a space of trust between the Ukrainian and European scientific communities, a platform for international cooperation, and an instrument for integrating Ukraine into the global research landscape. For this reason, the development of URAN represents an investment not only in information technologies but also in the future of Ukrainian science, education, and the knowledge economy. It is a digital bridge opening new opportunities for Ukraine’s intellectual revival.
The author expresses her sincere gratitude to Academicians of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine Mykhailo Zgurovsky and Yurii Yakymenko, as well as to Yevhenii Preobrazhenskyi, Executive Director of the URAN Association, for granting her the “right of access” to the unique history of URAN—a network that is working for the future of science and the country.
Larysa Ostrolutska