Regional, 13 April 2026 — The Western Balkans Fund and the International Visegrad Fund are pleased to announce the launch of the third edition of the Western Balkans – Visegrad Fellowship, a joint mobility programme designed to strengthen academic exchange and regional cooperation between the Western Balkans and the Visegrad region.
Following the success of its first two editions, through which 85 fellows have already benefited from this opportunity, the Fellowship is now once again open for applications from the Western Balkans and the Visegrad 4 Region.
Eligible applicants are doctoral enrolled students or holders of a doctoral degree. Fellows may choose to spend between 2 and 10 weeks at a host institution in the Visegrad region or the Western Balkans, depending on their country of origin. The fellowship provides financial support of 500 EUR per week, in addition to travel expenses.
The call will remain open until 17 May 2026. Selected fellowships will be implemented from September 2026 until June 2027.
Applicants are invited to consult the full guidelines and submit their applications through the official website of the Visegrad Fund (LINK).
What is Western Balkans–Visegrad Fellowships?
The Western Balkans–Visegrad Fellowships allow WB6 citizens to apply for short-term fellowships at V4 research institutions (in Czechia, Poland, Hungary, or Slovakia). Reciprocally, V4 applicants can apply for fellowships at WB6 institutions (in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Kosovo,* or Serbia).
The program is jointly funded by the International Visegrad Fund and the Western Balkans Fund.
The fellowships are provided for a limited period ranging from 2 to 10 weeks during which the respective fellow is to conduct (or participate in) research, hold lectures or seminars at a higher-education level, or study or review specific sets of written or other materials available in public archives or libraries.
Conditions
- Citizens of V4 countries—Czechia (CZ), Hungary (HU), Poland (PL), Slovakia (SK)—can apply for support to be hosted by institutions in the WB6 region—Albania (AL), Bosnia and Herzegovina (BA), Kosovo (XK), Montenegro (ME), North Macedonia (MK), or Serbia (RS).
- Citizens of the WB6 region—Albania (AL), Bosnia and Herzegovina (BA), Kosovo (XK), Montenegro (ME), North Macedonia (MK), or Serbia (RS)—can be hosted by institutions in the V4 region (CZ, HU, PL, SK).
- The type of potential host institution is not prescribed but it shall be relevant to the nature of the fellowship. In general, the program is intended to provide access to private or public higher-education institutions (colleges, universities, science academies), research bodies, libraries/archives, laboratories, etc.
- Fellows must either be full-time doctoral students or holders of a doctoral degree (regardless of their current affiliation).
- Fellowships are offered for a minimum of 2 weeks and maximum 10 weeks.
- The support is in the form of a lump sum scholarship amounting to €500/week paid in two instalments: the 1st instalment (ca. 80%) is transferred upon the fellow’s confirmed arrival at the host institution, and the 2nd instalment (remaining funds) is transferred upon the receipt of a summary report.
- Additionally, each applicant can request a lump sum travel grant calculated based on estimated travel costs but no higher than €500. (Note that travel grants cannot be automatically claimed as part of the scholarships.)
