Popularity of engineering and natural sciences specialties in Ukraine is expected to gradually increase — a noticeable effect is anticipated in approximately 3-4 years. Deputy Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine, Mykhailo Vynnytskyi, commented on the trends of the 2025 admissions campaign.According to him, the reasons for insufficient demand for technical and natural sciences specialties should be sought not only during admission to higher education institutions, but much earlier — during school education. That's why in 2024, a subsidy of 500 million hryvnias was allocated for the establishment of modern STEM laboratories in schools. Additionally, as part of the New Ukrainian School reform, senior specialized schools are being introduced to better guide students in choosing their future professions. However, the implementation of these measures will only yield noticeable results in a few years.
The Ministry also emphasizes that measures are already being taken to stimulate interest in technical specialties. In particular, the volumes of state orders in relevant training areas have been significantly increased:
- Electrical Engineering — 2500 seats
- Construction and Civil Engineering — 2800 seats
- Mechanical Engineering — 2200 seats
- Computer Science — 3400 seats
- Agronomy — 1900 seats
Furthermore, students pursuing education in engineering or natural sciences specialties are eligible for increased scholarships.
A special support mechanism has also been introduced for contract students: if an applicant does not qualify for a state-funded place but enrolls in a technical or natural sciences specialty on a contract basis, they may receive a grant. The amount of such a grant, subject to compliance with NMT scores, is increased by a factor of 1.5. In addition, lower threshold scores have been set for receiving grants for education in these fields.
Another area of support is the provision of universities with modern infrastructure. Currently, nine Ukrainian universities are receiving new laboratory equipment specifically for research in the field of natural and technical sciences.