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 winter term 2026 we are offering 9 on-site research fellowships for committed scientists from all the above-mentioned disciplines. Research topics should be related to our recent semester topic:

Transitional Justice in Ukraine: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Accountability, Memory, Democratic Renewal and Reconstruction

Since its independence in 1991, Ukraine has been undergoing a process of transformation, involving both democratisation and democratic backsliding. The Revolution of Dignity in 2014 initiated a far-reaching reform process aimed at EU accession and the institutionalisation of democracy and the rule of law. At the same time, with the annexation of Crimea in violation of international law and the start of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine in 2014, the occupation of Ukrainian territory by Russia, and even more so since the start of the full-scale invasion, urgent questions have arisen regarding the legal handling and resolution of this injustice. Violations of international law, human rights abuses, and acts of terror committed during the occupation – as well as collaboration with the occupying power, including within the education system – require legal reckoning at both the international and national level. Added to this is the necessary social and political engagement with war, violence and destruction, but also with resistance and reconstruction. How can justice be restored and peace and democracy secured following such a collective experience of violence, and what steps can already be taken in Ukraine today to punish the injustice and come to terms with the collective trauma?

Transitional justice has therefore become a key concept for Ukraine’s present and future, as there can be no peace without justice. The term refers to the range of judicial and non-judicial mechanisms – including criminal prosecution, truth-seeking, reparations, institutional reform, and memorialisation – through which societies confront legacies of mass violence and serious human rights violations, with the aim of achieving accountability, recognition for victims, and the foundations for sustainable peace and democratic renewal. Research projects at KIU will focus on concepts of transitional justice, as well as the legal foundations and institutions for prosecuting war crimes and mass atrocities, political and sociological perspectives on coming to terms with a history of violence, the significance of remembrance culture and policy, and social and political reconstruction.

The KIU Research Fellowships are intended to bring together scientists of all career stages 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, calculated in accordance with the rates of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) for the respective country of residence. 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, if possible, to deliver a 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 1 October 2026 and last until 31 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.

Interested and eligible researchers are invited to submit their application by 12.07.2026 (Submission deadline extended!) via the KIU online application portal. Applicants first need to register on the portal which opens on 1 June 2026. Please note that applications submitted after this deadline cannot be considered.

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.

The application portal is now open: KIU Application Portal.

• Personal (CV) data, including copies of your ID document (jpg), your photo (jpg), degree certificates (jpg or pdf) and (if applicable) 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 max. 1.000 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