Research Fellowship Competition

The KIU Research Fellowship in Interdisciplinary Ukrainian Studies supports innovative and significant research on topics related to Ukraine. Researchers from various disciplines such as history, cultural studies, social sciences, economics, legal studies, conflict studies, science and technology studies, media studies and related fields are invited to intensively advance their research, broaden their networks and contribute to an emerging vibrant Ukraine-related research environment located at the European University Viadrina, in cooperation with its excellent partner institutions in Berlin. Fellows will enjoy intellectual exchange and international inspiration from the interwoven Polish-German Border region, plus access to the vast resources within the competence network, including the Centre for East European and International Studies Berlin (ZOiS), the Humboldt University Berlin, the Free University Berlin, the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities and the Wissenschaftskolleg Berlin.

For the summer term 2026 we are offering both on-site and non-residential fellowships for committed scientists from all the above-mentioned disciplines. Research topics should be related to our recent semester topic:

Nationalities, minorities and identity: (Re)Configuring Ukraine?

Minorities, nationalities, and identities constitute a vital element of Ukraine’s social and cultural fabric. The country comprises more than 100 ethnic groups, numerous national minorities, and three officially recognised indigenous peoples. Communities such as Crimean Tatars, Roma and Sinti, Hungarians, Romanians, and Jews contribute significantly to Ukraine’s multilingual and multicultural landscape. Since 2014, and particularly after Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, minority groups have confronted increasing challenges related to displacement, security, and the safeguarding of human, social, and cultural rights. In territories under temporary Russian occupation, communities including the Crimean Tatars as well as the North Azovian Urums and Roumeans—whose 76 compact settlements in eastern Ukraine are now entirely occupied—face systematic persecution and violence. Many minorities struggle with the loss of homeland, the endangerment of their languages, and threats to their cultural heritage, while Roma communities experience continued marginalisation and persistent antiziganism.

Research at KIU in the summer semester will examine minorities, nationalities, and collective identity in Ukraine in both historical and contemporary perspectives. It will focus on the multifaceted impacts of culture, diversity, heterogeneity, resistance, self-empowerment, and transnational integration on Ukrainian identity. It will analyse how Russia’s invasion has further transformed this identity, revealing both the diversity of Ukrainian society and the resilience of a collective identity grounded in self-determination.

The KIU Research Fellowships are intended to bring together scientists of all career stages from 2 years after completing their doctorate. Fellows are expected to focus on a project, contribute to regular academic of the KIU with at least one presentation of their own work, and to explore the potential of joint research work both with other fellows and with KIU members. Fellows will closely cooperate and enjoy intellectual exchange with their academic hosts from within the KIU.

The residential research fellowship at European University Viadrina provides a monthly stipend of 2000 € up to 2300 € (depending on the career level) plus a one-time travel allowance of up to 600 €. Fellows are offered a workplace in the co-working office of the KIU in Frankfurt (Oder). Fellows are expected to conduct their research on site at the KIU and thus in intensive exchange with other fellows and scholars at the KIU. In addition, fellows will attend the weekly research colloquium and the KIU Ukraine lecture series as well as the weekly KIU lunch meeting. They are expected to present their research in the colloquium and to decliver at least one public lecture or talk at Viadrina or the KIU institutions. The Viadrina provides support in the search for accommodation in Frankfurt (Oder). The fellowship will start on April, 15th 2026 and last until July 15th, 2026.

The non-residential (sur-place) research fellowship provides a monthly stipend of 450 €  for a period of up to 9 months for committed scientists from all the above-mentioned disciplines who stay in Ukraine for various reasons. Fellows are expected to closely cooperate with their academic hosts on a joined project and to participate in virtual meetings with KIU on-site fellows. The fellowship will start in April 2026 and last until December 2026.

Expected outcomes of the fellowship – in particular publications, project proposals, conference panels and the like – should be indicated in the application. We welcome all fellows to continue their collaboration with other fellows and with their academic hosts and to develop project proposals or publication projects developed during their stay. Proposals and ideas outlining this continued cooperation will be positively considered in the application. Fellows are expected to give a lecture or a talk at Viadrina or other KIU institutions during their stay.

Interested and eligible researchers are invited to submit their application by 15.01.2026 via the KIU online application portal. Applicants first need to register on the portal. Please note that are submitted after this deadline cannot be considered.

The application portal is now open: KIU Application Portal. 

Fellowship holders will be matched with an academic host from the KIU institutions to foster cooperation, mutual consultation on ongoing research an to build up strong and sustainable networks of joint research. If applicants already have contacts or collaborate with researchers from KIU and would like to continue this through the fellowship, please note that in your application. Otherwise, fellows are asked to suggest potential or suitable researchers as hosts.

• Personal (CV) data, including copies of your ID document (jpg), your photo (jpg), degree certificates (jpg or pdf) and language certificates (jpg or pdf)
• A list of publications plus an outline of five most relevant publications for the planned project
• A project proposal of approx. 1.500 words, describing your research project including research question and design, detailed work plan and intended outcomes to be implemented during your fellowship.
• The title of your potential public lecture at KIU
• A reasoned suggestion as to who from the KIU network could be your academic host and why, or what kind of cooperation with the host you would like to see