Today, the Western Balkans Fund and the Visegrad Fund officially closed the third Call for Proposals of the Western Balkans–Visegrad Fellowship Programme, marking another important milestone for academic and scientific cooperation between the Western Balkans and the Visegrad Region.
The Call concluded successfully with a total of 148 registered applicants, representing the highest number of applications received since the programme was launched.
Compared with last year’s 105 applicants, this year’s edition recorded an increase of more than 50%, confirming the growing interest of doctoral students and PhD holders in regional mobility, academic exchange, and cross-border cooperation.
Immediately following the closure of the Call, the evaluation process will begin. The selected fellows are expected to be announced in the coming weeks, while the mobilities themselves are scheduled to start from September 2026.
Jointly implemented by the Western Balkans Fund and the International Visegrad Fund, the Fellowship Programme offers researchers and academics from the Western Balkans and the Visegrad Region the opportunity to spend up to 10 weeks at universities, research centres, and academic institutions in the respective regions.
Since its establishment, the programme has already supported 85 fellows, contributing to stronger academic networks, exchange of expertise, and long-term people-to-people connections between the two regions.
The Western Balkans Fund and the Visegrad Fund express their gratitude to all applicants for their interest and engagement and look forward to welcoming a new generation of fellows in the months ahead.
