Центр українсько-європейського наукового співробітництва

Center for Ukrainian and European Scientific Cooperation is a non-governmental organization that was founded in 2010 in Odessa. Up to 2017 the organization was called “European Center for Scientific Development”. It was established by staff members of the Department of International Law of the National University “Odessa Law Academy” and other public organization “Center for International Law and Justice” in order to ensure the development of international law science in Ukraine through organizing different scientific events both for scientific legal community of Ukraine and for students-lawyers. The organisation of scientific events in Odessa devoted to studying the problems of international law and practice of the European Court of Human Rights, as well as arrangement of study visits for young lawyers of Ukraine to international and European institutions across the European Union, which numbered 27 member countries at that time, were the main directions of activities of the European Center for Scientific Development.

Since 2010, the International Law School on Sea Law was held annually in Odessa under the aegis of the European Center for Scientific Research and the Center for International Law and Justice, which was attended not only by the representatives of Ukrainian law schools but also by postgraduate students from different European countries among which are the Republic of Turkey, the Republic of Poland, the Swiss Confederation, the Portuguese Republic, Romania, the Republic of Bulgaria. Representatives of leading international and Ukrainian law firms specializing in international maritime law as well as teachers of domestic and foreign higher education institutions were involved as school coaches.

From 2010 to 2013, the European Center for Scientific Research together with the Center for International Law and Justice annually were organizing from 2 to 5 study visits for young lawyers of Ukraine to the European Union countries, whose purpose was not only to demonstrate the organization and operation of international institutions, but also to acquire new knowledge, compare the legal systems of different states and the level of legal culture of the population of foreign countries. Thanks to efforts of the representatives of the European Center for Scientific Development, active students, postgraduate students, young lecturers of Ukrainian visited such international institutions as the European Parliament (Brussels), the International Criminal Court (the Hague), the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (Hamburg), the UNESCO offices (Paris, Venice), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (Rome), the International Organization for the Advancement of Law (IDLO) (Rome), the United Nations European Headquarters (Palace of Nations) (Geneva), the Danube Commission (Budapest), the International Court of Justice (the Hague), European Court of Human Rights (Strasbourg). Law Faculty of Zaporizhzhia National University was a reliable partner for the European Center for Scientific Research during these years, within mutual cooperation two institutional visits were organized for 80 students of this faculty in 2011 and 2012.

From 2013 to 2015, the European Center for Scientific Research, due to the difficult political and economic situation in Ukraine and military actions in the Donbas, was not active in view of the loss of the authority of international public law, especially during 2014-2015 (for example, guarantors ignored the provisions of the Budapest Memorandum when Ukraine was a victim of a hostile act (Memorandum on Security Assurance in connection with the accession of Ukraine to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons)).

Since 2016 heads of the European Center for Scientific Development have begun active collaboration with the representatives of the Department of Constitutional Law and Comparative Law of SHEI “Uzhhorod National University”, as well as with the Institute of State and Law of the European Countries, which, among the first in Ukraine, began to provide practical assistance to Ukrainian scientists contributing to participation in international scientific conferences that took place in the territory adjacent to the Transcarpathia region of states (in the Slovak Republic, the Republic of Poland, Hungary, Romania).

In 2017 the board of the European Center for Scientific Development decided to rename the organizations in the Center for Ukrainian and European Scientific Cooperation and relocate the head office from Odessa to Uzhhorod. It happened in view of the new vector of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine in ensuring the integration of Ukrainian scientists and teachers in the European educational and scientific space, the lack of adequate state funding for this activity and the interest of academics and teachers in the need to participate in scientific events taking place in the European Union in order to obtain the academic title of associate professor or professor. 

Today, the priority areas of the Center for Ukrainian and European Scientific Cooperation are the assistance for scientists of Ukraine in participation in international scientific conferences and scientific and pedagogical internships taking place in the European Union countries, studying the experience of higher education institutions and subjects of public administration in the field of education and science of the EU countries on the organization of educational process in higher schools and on scientific activity. An important direction of the activity of the Center for Ukrainian and European Scientific Cooperation is also the organization of institutional visits for domestic students, postgraduates, young scientists in order they study the best achievements of the European Union countries in the field of education and science as well as in the field of state building in general.