Invisible University for Ukraine

Launched in Spring 2022, the Invisible University for Ukraine (IUFU) is a certificate program (offering ECTS credits) initiated by Central European University for undergraduate (BA) and graduate (MA and PhD) students from Ukraine, whether residing in Ukraine or abroad, whose studies have been affected by the war. The name of this transnational solidarity program evokes various nineteenth- and twentieth-century underground and exile educational initiatives (such as the “flying universities”) in Eastern Europe, as well as the tradition of Invisible Colleges formed after 1989 in the region. 

The program offers an intensive learning experience on the role of Ukraine in changing European and global contexts, placing questions relevant for Ukrainian students into a transnational comparative perspective. The program is not meant to replace or duplicate the existing education opportunities in Ukrainian universities, but to support them by filling the lacunae that temporarily emerged due to the Russian invasion. By strengthening the ties of Ukrainian educational institutions, scholars, and students to transnational networks, we hope to counter the destructive effects of brain drain by creating access to educational infrastructure and academic knowledge for students irrespective of their current location. We also hope to create a community of Ukrainian students and academics, wherever they currently reside, who can contribute to the resilience of Ukrainian society during the war and will be able to have an impact on civic and academic life in Ukraine after the war. 

The program is designed in a hybrid format (online teaching, complemented by an on-site winter school in January 2027 in Budapest). The program is comprised of four components: 

  • thematic courses, including small group meetings mentored by doctoral students and postdoctoral scholars; 
  • students’ individual research projects; 
  • a series of online and offline workshops; 
  • skill-building activities (academic English, academic writing). 

STRUCTURE OF THE PROGRAM 

In Fall 2026, IUfU forms the core of a new initiative – Global Invisible University (GIU) which also involves branches for Georgia, Belarus, and Southeastern Europe. IUfU offers six online interdisciplinary courses in the field of Humanities and Social Sciences. In addition, IUFU students can also attend five courses offered by the programs within the broader GIU framework.

Each course consists of 12 sessions (100 minutes), equal to 4 ECTS credits. Students are expected to take at least one and not more than three courses. In addition, IUFU offers several short trans-disciplinary intensive online seminars. Courses are taught online, in English, in late afternoons once a week per class. Classes are recorded, and registered students who are unable to attend the online sessions can watch the recordings later.

IUFU COURSE OFFERINGS IN FALL 2026

  • Decentering Soviet Histories: Regional Perspectives on Everyday Life and Politics in the USSR. Course co-directors: Iaroslav Kovalchuk (Columbia University) and Arslan Akanov (Nazarbayev University)
  • Borders and Spatial Imaginaries in Ukraine and Beyond. Course co-directors: Elżbieta Kwiecińska (Polish Academy of Sciences) and Hanna Perekhoda (University of Lausanne)
  • Ukrainian Literature: Literary Canons, War and Social Change. Course co-directors: Diana Vonnak (Czech Academy of Sciences) and Iryna Shuvalova (poet, independent scholar, Changshu)
  • Transnational Relations of Care: Ukraine and Beyond. Course co-directors: Oksana Ovsiiuk (University of Fribourg) and Madlen Kobi (University of Fribourg)
  • Justice Across Europe: Trust, Judicial Independence, and Courts in Times of Transition. Course co-directors: Marta Mochulska (Ivan Franko National University of Lviv) and Marta Spodaryk (Ivan Franko National University of Lviv)
  • Comparative Methods for the Social Sciences. Course co-directors: Levente Littvay (CEU Democracy Institute, Budapest) and Inna Melnykovska (EUI)

The transnational courses offered within the framework of the GLOBAL INVISIBLE UNIVERSITY in Fall 2026

  • Belarus in Question: Rethinking Belarusian Politics, Society, and Culture in Regional and Global Contexts (GIU: Belarus). Course co-directors: Tatiana Shchyttsova (European Humanities University, Vilnius) and Andrei Kazakevich (Institute of Political Studies “Political Sphere”)
  • Introducing the Balkans (GIU: Balkans). Course co-directors: Aleksandar Pavlović (IFDT Belgrade) and Marija Mandić (University of Belgrade)
  • Wars for the Yugoslav Succession and Their Contemporary Legacy in the Balkans and Beyond (GIU: Balkans). Course co-directors: Vladimir Petrović (NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies, Amsterdam) and Sven Milekić (University of Rijeka)
  • The Informal Leviathan: Networks, Institutions, and the Dynamics of Control and Resistance (GIU: Georgia). Course co-directors: Giga Zedania (Ilia State University) and Ghia Nodia (Ilia State University)
  • Identity, Memory, and Civic Transformation in Post-1989 Georgia and Ukraine (GIU: Georgia). Course co-directors: Nino Gozalishvili (The University of Georgia, Tbilisi; The George Washington University, Washington DC) and Rusudan Margiani (Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest)

Brief course descriptions are available at Visible Ukraine and Global Invisible University Fall 2026 Courses

Mentoring sessions are meetings in small groups, designed to help the students develop their research projects and reflect on the thematic lectures. Mentors are doctoral students and postdoctoral scholars from CEU and other partner institutions. Participation in mentoring sessions is obligatory for students who receive research stipends. Mentoring and Academic English classes are open to those who take at least one thematic course. 

The Fall 2026 Semester classes will take place 28 September – 18 December 2026. The most motivated and successful participants will have an opportunity to participate in a residential Winter School in January at CEU-Budapest (a separate application form will be circulated in November). 

WHO IS ELIGIBLE AND HOW TO APPLY? 

Any student who has been pursuing a BA, MA, or doctoral degree program at a Ukrainian or foreign educational institution in the academic year 2021/22, or who started university studies in 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, or 2026. Participation in the program is free of charge. To apply, fill out the application form via the following link: Application Form | Global Invisible University

If you experience any difficulties with the form, please contact us at iufu@ceu.edu.

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS: 9 September, 2026, 11:59 PM (23:59)  CET

Applications should contain: 

(1) a short (up to 1 page) motivation letter including: 

  • reasons for applying to IUFU and expectations from the course(s) 
  • a description of the applicant’s thematic interests (e.g., research topic or thesis topic) 
  • choice of preferred course(s) an applicant would like to take (up to 3) and indication of interest in Academic English communication/writing classes; 

(2) a short CV with information on 

  • previous education, current university, student status and program of study
  • involvement in civil activities/volunteering or related experience
  • estimated level of English language competence. 

Motivation letters can be submitted in English or Ukrainian. AI-generated motivation letters will be rejected.

RESEARCH SCHOLARSHIPS

Research scholarships (up to 800 Euro per semester) are available on a competitive basis for those BA, MA, and doctoral students who wish to implement a special empirical or theoretical project in addition to their coursework in IUFU, drawing on their academic background, previous work, current thesis project, and relevant to the current situation, and/or related to the themes of the courses. Students receiving research funding are required to submit a paper of 10-12 double-spaced pages based on their research at the end of the semester. The best papers will be published on Visible Ukraine (visibleukraine.org). Research grant recipients are required to participate in mentoring sessions. 

Those who wish to apply for a research scholarship should also include a concise project proposal (between 400 and 800 words), containing a title and brief and specific description of the proposed research project and its desired outcome, including references to the relevant sources and secondary literature on the topic. The applicant shall indicate the chosen Fall 2026 course within which the research project will be implemented.

Applicants should complete the general application form together with the designated part for the research scholarship.

INVISIBLE GRADUATE SCHOOL SCHOLARSHIPS

The Invisible Graduate School (IGS) grant of the Global Invisible University program targets doctoral students. Launched in Fall 2024, IGS is an academic program for advanced students who have already been involved in IUFU courses and activities. IGS offers an intellectually supportive environment for research development, seeking to foster individual academic growth and the spirit of cooperation and solidarity.

IGS students participate in research seminars and mentoring sessions. They are expected to work on a research-based academic publication or a research project. IGS offers personalized support while fostering collaborative engagement to strengthen the IUFU academic community.

The IGS program participants receive support through:

  • scholarships of up to 1200 EUR per semester. Students who get international scholarships outside Ukraine can also apply for IGS membership without the stipend
  • one-on-one mentoring, small-group thematic consultations, research seminars
  • publication support
  • opportunities to create research teams, organize workshops, etc.

To be eligible for IGS, applicants must:

  • be doctoral students currently enrolled in a Ukrainian or foreign educational institution. In exceptional cases, advanced MA students with proven experience in conducting independent research and plans to pursue doctoral studies may apply
  • hold Ukrainian citizenship
  • have successfully completed at least one IUFU course.

To apply, fill out the application form via the following link: Application Form | Global Invisible University

The application package should include:

(1) a short CV, with information on previous education, current university, student status and program of study,  involvement in civil activities/volunteering or related experience, and  estimated level of English language competence.

(2) a short motivation letter (up to 1 page) including 1) a reason for applying to the Invisible Graduate School; 2) a description of the applicant’s thematic interests (e.g., research topic or thesis topic).

(3) a research project proposal (up to 1,500 words) including:

  • a title and a thematic outline 
  • an overview of empirical data or sources
  • the planned timeline and a specified project outcome. 

This project can be a part of the applicant’s regular PhD project or written specifically for the Invisible Graduate School.

(4) an English writing sample (3,000–10,000 words): a term paper, an essay, or another piece of academic writing.

DEADLINE FOR ALL APPLICATIONS: 9 September, 2026, 11:59 PM (23:59)  CET

Admitted course participants will be notified by 21 September 2026; awards of the research scholarships will be announced after 9 October 2026.

About IUFU

The program is implemented by Central European University (Budapest site) in cooperation with Imre Kertész Kolleg, University of Jena, and the Center for Urban History in Lviv, as well as other Ukrainian (Kyiv School of Economics, National University “Kyiv-Mohyla Academy,” Ivan Franko National University of Lviv, Ukrainian Catholic University) and global university partners and research institutions. 

The main philanthropic partner of IUFU is the Open Society Foundations.

Since Spring 2022, more than 3000 students participated in 69 thematic courses, co-taught by 400 lecturers. We distributed more than 300 research scholarships and in 2024 launched the Invisible Graduate School, a doctoral support program for advanced students. 

In recognition of its achievements, IUFU received the 2024 Brown Democracy Medal, the Second-Place MacJannet Prize for Global Citizenship, and the Dr Elemér Hantos Prize.

IUFU Program Organizers: Sofiya Dyak, Director, Center for Urban History of East Central Europe, Lviv; Taras Fedirko (IGS Academic Director), Senior Research Fellow, IWM Vienna; Joachim von Puttkamer, Professor in History at the Friedrich Schiller University of Jena and Director of the Imre Kertész Kolleg; Ostap Sereda (IUFU Academic Director), Faculty Fellow, Bard College Berlin; Oleksandr Shtokvych (GIU Managing Director), Head of Educational Outreach, CEU; Balázs Trencsényi (GIU Academic Director), Professor, CEU Department of Historical Studies and Director, CEU IAS; Renáta Uitz, Senior Research Fellow, CEU DI; Tetiana Zemliakova, lead researcher of the History Working Group, CEU DI.

IUFU faculty coordinator and administration: Daiva Tereščenko, TerescenkoD@ceu.edu

With questions about the application process, please turn to the IUFU student coordinators: 

With questions about the Invisible Graduate School, please turn to the IGS Coordinator:

For further information, see https://www.ceu.edu/non-degree/Invisible-University