The Fedor Stepun Fellowship
For four years now, the Fedor Stepun Scholarship has successfully supported postdoctoral researchers who have had to leave their home country as a result of political persecution in the context of the war in Ukraine and beyond.
The program is funded by the Zimin Foundation and implemented in cooperation with the Research School of Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB) within the University Alliance Ruhr (UA Ruhr).
It is strategically supported by the UA Ruhr for Eastern Europe/Central Asia (ADC), while the RUB Research School is responsible for the implementation and supervision of the fellowship.
The fellowship is aimed at postdoctoral researchers from all disciplines who were forced to leave their country of origin due to political persecution in connection with the war in Ukraine,
to leave their country of origin and wish to continue their academic career under difficult conditions.
Aim of the program
The fellowship offers a protected academic framework in which fellows can
- further develop their own research ideas,
- prepare funding and third-party funding applications for longer-term research projects,
- connect to the European academic system,
- stabilize their academic career in the long term.
During the funding phase, fellows receive support from the RUB Research School as well as from university advisory and support structures.
Fellowship at a glance
- Duration: 6 months
- Funding amount: 1,800 € per month
- Number of fellowships per year: up to 8
- Possible hosts: Professors / Principal Investigators of the UA Ruhr
- Ruhr University Bochum
- TU Dortmund University
- University of Duisburg-Essen
Applicants should indicate their desired host in the application form.
Direct contact with potential hosts is not intended.
Current call for applications 2026
The new application round for the Fedor Stepun Fellowship starts on March 1, 2026.
Application period
- March 1, 2026 - Opening of the call for applications
- April 19, 2026 - Application deadline
Start of the fellowship
- Online onboarding: July 2026
- Earliest possible start: August 2026
A later start (e.g. October) is possible, provided this is agreed with the respective host
Comments on the Fedor Stepun Fellowship
„From my point of view, the Fedor Stepun Fellowship is one of the most most important scholarships in Germany for endangered scientists from Ukraine, Russia and Belarus. While even large funding organizations such as the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation will only fund five to six at-risk five to six at-risk researchers from Belarus and Russia Russia, the F.-S. Fellowship is aimed specifically at this group and group and enables at least eight fellowships per year. fellowships each year.“
„The Fedor Stepun Scholarship was very important to me importance for me, as it not only provided financial support but also integration into the academic structures structures of the Ruhr University Bochum, intensive networking and the and the benefits of university affiliation. university affiliation. Especially against the background of the growing threat situation in Russia, the scholarship gave me the opportunity opportunity to anchor myself in the German academic landscape German academic landscape, to gain academic freedom of action and to find new colleagues“
„The fellowship allowed me, first, to develop my own project on the study of reading practices, which existed only in draft form. Second, I got to know the German academic system and the system for funding science. And thirdly, the fellowship helped me to make many new connections with my colleagues and expanded my opportunities for collaboration, both in academia and as a volunteer.“
„The scholarship makes a key contribution to the protection of academic freedom in Europe by enabling researchers from from Eastern Europe to continue their academic work in exile. continue their academic work in exile. It ensures their integration into academic contexts and thus keeps open the prospect of returning to the academic to return to the academic milieus of their their home countries“
„Our cooperation with the UA Ruhr universities is built on trust, shared values, and a clear common understanding of the program9s purpose. We are aligned in our commitment to academic freedom and to providing meaningful, not merely symbolic, support to scholars at risk. In practice, the collaboration is efficient and thoughtful, combining strong institutional expertise with flexibility and close attention to the fellows' needs.“