On 29 June 2026, the Athens Agricultural University (Greece) hosted the Kick-off Meeting of the international research project SheepHeatIT – Harnessing Information Technologies for Heat Resilient Sheep Breeding, funded under the Horizon Europe Framework Programme.

The Ukrainian partner, the Institute of Animal Biology of the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine (NAAS), is represented at the official meeting by its Director, Professor Yurii Salyha, Corresponding Member of NAAS.

The SheepHeatIT project aims to develop innovative approaches to improving the resilience of sheep to heat stress under the conditions of global climate change. To achieve this goal, the consortium will apply advanced information technologies, genomics, phenotyping, digital monitoring systems, and big data analytics to establish new breeding strategies for sheep with enhanced adaptation to high-temperature environments.

The project will run for four years and brings together scientists and experts from seven European countries. With a total budget of nearly €6 million, the project will involve research on more than 18,000 sheep across participating countries, creating one of the largest international datasets for investigating the mechanisms of heat-stress adaptation in sheep.

The participation of the Institute of Animal Biology of NAAS in this Horizon Europe project reflects the high scientific standards of Ukrainian researchers and their successful integration into the European Research Area (ERA). The project will strengthen international scientific collaboration, promote the implementation of cutting-edge digital technologies in animal production, and contribute to the development of innovative solutions aimed at improving the productivity, resilience, and sustainability of livestock under changing climatic conditions.