Invisible University for Belarus

Invisible University for Belarus (IUBEL) is a certificate program (offering ECTS credits) initiated in 2026 by Central European University for undergraduate (BA) and graduate (MA and PhD) students from Belarus residing in the EU and other countries. 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. 

IUBEL is a regional branch of the Global Invisible University (GIU), a non-degree educational program supporting students and scholars living under war, authoritarianism, political repression, and displacement. GIU builds on the success of the Invisible University for Ukraine and expands regional branches for Georgia, Belarus, and Southeastern Europe.  

The program offers Belarusian students an intensive learning experience on topics concerning Eastern and Central Europe, placing questions relevant for Belarusians into a transnational comparative perspective. The program is not meant to replace or duplicate the existing education opportunities in European universities, but to support them by filling the lacunae that temporarily emerged due to turbulent developments in the region. By establishing and strengthening the ties between dispersed Belarusian students, the exiled Belarusian academic community and transnational scholarly networks, we hope to counter the detrimental effects of exile and displacement and provide Belarusian students with access to educational infrastructure and academic knowledge. We also hope to facilitate the emergence of a dynamic community of Belarusian students and academics, who could make a positive impact on the resilience of Belarusian civic society and the future of Belarus in general. 

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

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

STRUCTURE OF THE PROGRAM

In Fall 2026, Invisible University for Belarus (IUBEL) offers the basic interdisciplinary course on Belarus: Belarus in Question: Rethinking Belarusian Politics, Society, and Culture in Regional and Global Contexts. The course will bring together a multidisciplinary team of renowned international and Belarusian scholars, including Anne Applebaum, Nelly Bekus, David Marples, Almira Ousmanova, Iryna Ramanava, and others.

In addition, IUBEL students can also attend two courses offered by the regional branches within the broader Global Invisible University (GIU) framework, centred on Ukraine, Georgia, and Southeastern Europe.

Each course consists of 12 sessions (100 minutes), equal to 4 ECTS credits. Students are expected to take at least one and no more than three courses. In addition, IUBEL 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.

IUBEL COURSE OFFERINGS IN FALL 2026: 

  1. Belarus in Question: Rethinking Belarusian Politics, Society, and Culture in Regional and Global Contexts. Course co-directors: Tatiana Shchyttsova (European Humanities University Vilnius) and Andrei Kazakevich (Institute of Political Studies “Political Sphere”)

The courses offered by the regional branches within the framework of GLOBAL INVISIBLE UNIVERSITY in Fall 2026:

  1. Decentering Soviet Histories: Regional Perspectives on Everyday Life and Politics in the USSR  (IUfU). Course co-directors: Iaroslav Kovalchuk (Columbia University) and Arslan Akanov (Nazarbayev University)
  2. Borders and Spatial Imaginaries in Ukraine and Beyond (IUfU). Course co-directors: Elżbieta Kwiecińska (Polish Academy of Sciences) and Hanna Perekhoda (University of Lausanne)
  3. Ukrainian Literature: Literary Canons, War, and Social Change (IUfU). Course co-directors: Diana Vonnak (Czech Academy of Sciences) and Iryna Shuvalova (poet, independent scholar, Changsu)
  4. Transnational Relations of Care: Ukraine and Beyond (IUfU). Course co-directors: Oksana Ovsiiuk (University of Fribourg) and Madlen Kobi (University of Fribourg)
  5. Justice Across Europe: Trust, Judicial Independence, and Courts in Times of Transition (IUfU). Course co-directors: Marta Mochulska (Ivan Franko National University of Lviv) and  Marta Spodaryk (Ivan Franko National University of Lviv)
  6. Comparative Methods for the Social Sciences (IUfU). Course co-directors: Levente Littvay (CEU Democracy Institute, Budapest) and Inna Melnykovska (EUI)
  7. Introducing the Balkans (GIU: South-Eastern Europe. Course Co-directors: Aleksandar Pavlović (IFDT Belgrade) and Marija Mandić (University of Belgrade)
  8. Wars for the Yugoslav Succession and Their Contemporary Legacy in the Balkans and Beyond (GIU: South-Eastern Europe). Course director: Vladimir Petrović (NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies, Amsterdam) and Sven Milekić (University of Rijeka)
  9. 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) 
  10. Post-Empire Transformations: Georgia and Ukraine in Comparative Perspective (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 the Global Invisible University Fall 2026 course page. 

Mentoring in-person and small-group instruction, helping the students to develop their research projects and reflecting on the thematic lectures. It is conducted by 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 Winter School in January (a separate application form will be circulated in November). 

Who is eligible and how to apply? 

Belarusians fulfilling the following criteria are welcome to apply:

  • Support for democratic and human rights values.
  • Enrolment in or recent graduation from undergraduate or graduate programmes (BA, MA, or PhD) located in the EU or OECD.
  • Applications from Belarusians whose higher education was interrupted for objective reasons will also be reviewed if the applicant demonstrates continued interest in academia.
  • Applications from Belarusians residing in countries other than the EU or OECD will be reviewed on an individual basis.

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 ALL APPLICATIONS: 17 September 2026, 23:59 (CET)

Applications should contain 

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

  • reasons for applying to IUBEL 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; 

and 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 Belarusian. 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 IUBEL, drawing on their academic background, previous work, current thesis project, and relevance 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. 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 description of the main lines of the envisioned research project and its desired outcome, including references to the relevant sources and secondary literature on the topic. The applicant shall indicate within which Fall 2026 course the research project is planned to be implemented. Applicants should complete the general application form together with the designated part for research scholarship.

About Global Invisible University 

In September 2026, Central European University (CEU) launched the Global Invisible University (GIU), a new non-degree educational program supporting students and scholars living under war, authoritarianism, political repression, and displacement. The pioneering educational model of GIU is built on four years of experience of the award-winning Invisible University for Ukraine, launched by CEU in 2022, which has so far engaged more than 3,000 students and 450 instructors.

GIU offers university-level courses, mentoring, research opportunities, and international academic networks for learners whose access to higher education has been disrupted or whose regular university curriculum is impacted by political scrutiny, censorship, propaganda, and curtailment of pluralist, inclusive, and critical debate. GIU combines academic study with mentoring, civic engagement, and leadership development. The goal is not only to sustain education rooted in critical thinking, but to prepare participants to contribute to democratic renewal, civic practice, and institutional reform. 

Global Invisible University operates as a network of interconnected regional programs sharing a common academic framework while adapting teaching to local political and social realities. Courses combine online instruction with in-person winter and summer schools, research mobility opportunities, mentoring and civic engagement activities. 

GIU is operated jointly by the Institute for Advanced Study (IAS CEU) and the Educational Outreach Office and co-directed by Prof. Balazs Trencsenyi (Academic Director) and Oleksandr Shtokvych (Managing Director). 

Contact

To get in touch, please email us at GIU@ceu.edu

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

With questions specifically related to the IUBEL courses, please contact 

For further information, see https://www.ceu.edu/academics/non-degree/GIU