
What is UNE?
The University of New Europe is an academic institution in the making which will offer research, teaching, and dialogue on European politics, culture, society and climate in a global perspective. In response to Russia’s war in Ukraine, its initiators are also engaged in supporting scholars, students, and cultural workers at risk with a mentoring network.
We, a collective of academics and activists from leading European institutions, are united by the vision of a future University of New Europe (UNE) as a shared space of learning, research, and dialogue. We believe that higher education provides the soft power necessary to explore and respond to the challenges Europe is facing.
UNE will unite and empower students and staff from across Europe, with special attention to those parts of the continent affected by Russia’s war in Ukraine and areas where intellectual freedom is at risk. By allocating at-risk positions to students and staff also from conflict zones outside Eastern Europe, we create an inclusive, globally oriented space for knowledge and debate. Working with international partners, UNE seeks to employ and advance social sciences and humanities for transforming the way Europeans understand their continent in global contexts, both in war and in peace.
Fedor Stepun Fellowship Program for Postdoctoral Researchers Affected by the War in Ukraine and Beyond
The Zimin Foundation in partnership with the Boris Nemtsov Foundation for Freedom provide financial resources to fund the “Fedor Stepun Fellowship Program”. With this, we can support postdoctoral researchers affected by the war in Ukraine and beyond.
Institute for East European Studies at the Free University Berlin – Bridging Fellowships for Academics at Risk from Ukraine, Belarus and Russia
The Institute for East European Studies at the Free University Berlin offers bridging scholarships for academics at risk from Ukraine, Belarus and Russia.
Petro Jacyk Non-Residential Scholars Program
The Petro Jacyk Non-Residential Scholars Program will bring together Ukrainian scholars, public officials, advanced PhD students and public intellectuals to participate in regular virtual seminars moderated by a faculty member affiliated with the Petro Jacyk Program for the Study of Ukraine at the University of Toronto. Under “Ukrainian” we understand individuals who lived/worked in Ukraine and/or had primary affiliation with a Ukrainian institution at the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Call for Applications for the Virtual Ukraine Institute for Advanced Study
This is a call exclusively for applications for six VUIAS Fellowships in Ukraine for the academic year 2023/24.
Grassroots Mentee’s Network
Grassroots Mentee’s Network is a part of UNE that connects relocated scholars to each other, in order to provide advice and exchange about navigating new cultures and academic environments.
SAR Ukraine Fellowships
Scholars at Risk (SAR) announces new fellowship support for SAR network member institutions in North America looking to host threatened and displaced scholars from Ukraine. The purpose of the funds is to support the Ukrainian research and academic sector, enable continuing collaborations between scholars and institutions in or displaced from Ukraine and the international research community, and to anticipate and support rebuilding of the Ukrainian higher education and research sectors as conditions permit.
What do we do?

We raise funds and support for a future University of New Europe;
We host a database with emergency resources worldwide for scholars, students, and cultural workers at risk.
We curate a book series titled ‘New Europes’
We organize the UNE mentoring programme for students, scholars, and cultural workers affected by the war in Ukraine or at risk across other East-Central, Eastern European and Central-Asian localities;
Since the spring of 2021, we have actively lobbied for a new university, in cooperation with both national and European authorities and NGOs, as well as scholarly, political, military, and legal experts who support our cause. Since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, we have combined these activities with offering immediate support to students, scholars, and cultural workers at risk with a mentoring network.
First and foremost, the UNE mentoring network reaches out to the vast number of colleagues, students, and cultural workers who are affected by the war in Ukraine; second, we seek to support those at risk across other East-Central, Eastern European and Central-Asian localities. To this end, the mentoring programme matches international scholars and professionals with students, scholars, and cultural workers at risk who are looking to find a new job, funding opportunity, accommodation, remote support, or who seek more general advice.
What about you?
If you are from the troubled areas of Eastern Europe or if you wish to support us, please follow the link that best fits your needs.
Are you a student, scholar or cultural worker at risk?
Register to find a mentor here or use our database with emergency resources to look for opportunities.
Do you want to be a mentor?
Register as a mentor here and we will connect you to a mentee.
Do you want to register an opportunity?
Register an opportunity in our database with emergency resources.
Do you want to support our initiative financially or in kind?
Send us an e-mail!
Do you have an idea for our forthcoming book series New Europes?
Send us an e-mail!
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Follow UNE on Twitter and Facebook! Here, we post about our lobby for the university and about our mentor programme.