In close cooperation with partner institutes from Ukraine, Europe and the United States, the Wissenschaftskolleg has launched an initiative to support Ukrainian scholars in their effort to found an Institute for Advanced Study in Kyiv. Full-scale institutional activities in Ukraine will only be possible once the war is over, but in September 2023 the Virtual Ukraine Institute for Advanced Study (VUIAS) has taken up its activities and hosted a first interdisciplinary cohort of fellows. VUIAS will grant fellowships to Ukrainian scholars, coordinate them to form a virtual cohort, organize a colloquium and other virtual and hybrid events for them, establish links with relevant colleagues and academic institutes internationally, and provide services such as access to libraries and assistance in getting work translated and published.
VUIAS is funded by the Volkswagen Foundation Germany. The program provides two kinds of fellowships: VUIAS Fellowships in Ukraine, which are granted by the Wissenschaftskolleg to scholars who work and reside in universities and research institutes in Ukraine, and VUIAS Fellowships Abroad, which are funded, selected and hosted by eight of the world’s leading Institutes for Advanced Study located in Europe and the United States.