Ukrainian Research Integrity Office (UkrRIO)
Founding year
2025
History
The office was created after a group of active citizens formed with expertise in research and promoting research integrity.
Artem Artyukhov, the Head of UkrRIO, is an expert in research integrity, quality assurance, and artificial intelligence in education. Dr. Artyukhov has been a leading figure in advancing academic and research integrity in Ukraine. He is a member of the European Network for Academic Integrity (ENAI) working group on Educational Materials and has contributed to the development of national integrity frameworks. He previously headed the Subcommittee on Academic Integrity at the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine and coordinated large-scale initiatives, including Erasmus+ projects, Jean Monnet Strand, the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine projects (Strengthening Academic Integrity in Ukraine Project and Academic IQ) and other international projects. His work has been recognized with international distinctions, including the Tricia Bertram Gallant Award for Outstanding Service (International Center for Academic Integrity) and the ENAI Exemplary Activism Award.
In recent years, Dr. Artyukhov’s research has increasingly focused on the intersection of academic integrity and artificial intelligence. He investigates the ethical, pedagogical, and governance implications of AI in higher education, including AI-assisted learning, immersive educational technologies, and AI-driven behavioral analysis instruments. His publications explore whether AI poses a threat or an opportunity for sustainable higher education systems, addressing issues such as authorship, transparency, quality assurance, and the implementation of SDG 4. Dr. Artyukhov also contributes to shaping evidence-based policies that integrate AI innovation with strong research integrity standards, ensuring responsible and sustainable digital transformation in higher education.
The office is currently developing a process for obtaining individual and institutional membership for active members of the Ukrainian scientific community. In the future, an Advisory Board of international experts is planned.
ENRIO member since
Structure
Independent NGO
Main Tasks
UkrRIO serves as a national hub for strengthening ethical scholarship and fostering a culture of trustworthy research in Ukraine. Its main tasks include harmonizing Ukrainian research standards with the European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity, supporting Ukraine’s integration into the European Research Area, and helping close the gap between formal policy and everyday academic practice. UkrRIO also provides strategic guidance and policy harmonization, institutional support and consultancy for universities and research centers, capacity building through training, and digital platforms for knowledge exchange and the sharing of best practices. In addition, it addresses emerging challenges related to the ethical use of artificial intelligence in science.
Investigation
The UkrRIO’s research focuses on identifying, analyzing, and conceptualizing key integrity-related risks and emerging challenges in contemporary science. One important area of research concerns predatory practices, including formats such as “flying sofa” conferences that imitate academic participation without providing genuine scholarly exchange. Another major direction addresses paper and dissertation mills, understood as organized structures that produce or broker academic texts in ways that undermine authorship, originality, and research integrity.
The research also includes the study of so-called “scientific” consulting mills, that is, entities that formally present themselves as support providers for researchers but may in fact facilitate low-quality, manipulative, or unethical academic practices. In addition to these integrity threats, the research agenda extends to the rapidly developing field of ethics, integrity, and openness in AI applications in science. This field includes examining how artificial intelligence affects authorship, transparency, accountability, decision-making, and the reliability of research processes and outputs.
Training
Training is one of UkrRIO’s core strategic pillars. The institution develops and delivers training modules for researchers at different career stages, from doctoral students to senior faculty. These training activities cover data management, peer review, and the ethical use of emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence.
Promoting Research Integrity
UkrRIO promotes research integrity by aligning Ukrainian academic practice with international and European standards, especially the ALLEA framework, and by translating abstract ethical principles into practical academic routines. It does so through policy support, institutional consultancy, training activities, and digital platforms for knowledge exchange. The office also emphasizes collaboration, openness, and the dissemination of best practices, while encouraging researchers, institutions, policymakers, and international partners to take part in a collective effort to strengthen honesty, quality, and trust in science. A particular area of emphasis is the ethical integration of AI into research, ensuring that automation does not replace human accountability and critical judgment.
Other tasks:
Creation of research integrity policies and a national action plan (within the framework of ERA Action 18)