STEM education and the training of future scientists, innovators, and high-tech entrepreneurs play a key role in Ukraine's future recovery. The Ukrainian education system excels at identifying gifted youths and at nurturing them in specialised STEM schools and a highly-developed culture of science olympiads and research competitions. This experience should be studied and supported at the highest level, recognizing it as a national asset. Collaborative projects in STEM education between Ukraine and the EU will benefit both parties greatly and promote Ukraine's further integration into the EU.

The Vienna Science School in Physics and Chemistry is a one-week program for Ukrainian high school students who have excelled at science competitions. The goal is to foster the students’ interest in science, to give them insights into potential research careers, and to inspire them to apply their talents to shape Ukraine’s future. During their week in Vienna, participants will engage with cutting-edge research groups of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Science and Technology Austria, the University of Vienna, and TU Wien.

The participants of the Vienna Science School in Physics and Chemistry are recruited from two of Ukraine’s most successful STEM high schools: the Ukrainian Physics and Mathematics Lyceum in Kyiv and the Lviv Physics and Mathematics Lyceum.

Building on the success of the Vienna Science School 2023, Projekt MmF will organise two programs for gifted high school students from Ukraine in 2024: the Vienna Science School in Physics and Chemistry and the Simons Science School in Mathematics.