The Head of the National Agency of Ukraine on Civil Service, Nataliia Aliushyna, and JICA Chief Representative Hideki Matsunaga signed a Grant Agreement to implement a scholarship project on human resources development between the Government of Ukraine and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). The Grant Agreement was signed by the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 1018-r dated 18 October 2024. 

The JDS Fellows accepted under the project will gain expert knowledge, conduct research, and establish connections at universities in Japan. The fellows are expected to use the knowledge gained after returning to their permanent jobs to play an active role in solving practical problems of social and economic development problems.

JICA provided the Government of Ukraine with up to 136 million Japanese yen in assistance for implementing the human resource development scholarship project.

As part of the JDS project, in 2024, 2 candidates from the Ministry of Agrarian Policy were selected and sent to study under the Master's programme ‘Master of Social Development and Administration (MSDA)’ at the Graduate School of Social Design Research, Rikkyo University, Japan.

The programme will be held in two stages: from 25 August 2024 to 25 August 2025 in Japan and online from September 2025 to August 2026. Also in 2025, as part of the next phase of the JDS scholarship project, proposals will be collected from state and local governments for candidates to participate in the competitive selection process for master's degree programmes at Japanese universities.

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In 2024, as part of the cooperation between the governments of Ukraine and Japan, represented by the NAUCS and the JICA, a scholarship project was launched to support human resource development in Ukraine by enrolling highly qualified, young civil servants as JDS scholars in Japanese universities to participate in the development and implementation of social and economic development plans. 

JICA is a Japanese government agency responsible for providing international assistance and cooperation to developing countries. Its mission is to promote sustainable development and human security by providing technical assistance, grants, loans and training programmes.