SCIENCE AT RISK Emergency Office

We have an open position for a student assistant to support the Analysis and Research Team, starting on 1 May 2026. The position can be based in Berlin or partly remote. We conduct bi-monthly policy analyses and annual monitoring studies on (higher) education systems and academic freedom in Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine — and since 2026, also in Georgia. As a student assistant, you will support our team in preparing and presenting these analyses and will be involved in a variety of work processes. See the full description of tasks and profile: science-at-risk.org/jobs/

The Strategic Communications and LinkedIn training for Ukrainian scholars, part of the Science at Risk UA, has begun! 15 Ukrainian researchers have joined the programme. The first module took place on 26 March. We covered: 🔹 How to design your profile so it works for you 24/7 🔹 Key LinkedIn technical settings 🔹 Common mistakes that reduce a profile’s effectiveness even before the first contact 🔹 How to transform your page from a business card into a strategic communications tool We hope the result will be not only elevated communication skills for participants, but also a strong and sustainable online community of Ukrainian researchers. Explore other opportunities for Ukrainian scholars: science-at-risk.org/ukraine/

25 March is an important day for all Belarusians. It is a day that reminds of the ongoing struggle for freedom, dignity, and independence. Although Belarus today is far from being a truly independent country, we believe that the day when Belarusians will once again feel free will surely come. It is also important to remember that mass repression in Belarus continues, and many people remain behind bars – including members of the Belarusian academic community. That is why we continue our work to support Belarusian scholars and students who have been affected by repression. We believe that free access to education and science is the foundation of a healthy and strong society, and we do everything we can to help Belarusian science continue to live and develop despite the difficulties. On this day, we also ask you to remember political prisoners, stay informed about what is happening in Belarus, and share this knowledge with others. March 25 is not only a symbolic date, it is an important reminder of Belarus’s democratic aspirations. Belarusian independent literature remains a powerful voice, even in exile. If you would like to learn more about Belarusian culture, we recommend these books, which we discussed during Belarus Lectures, organized together with @HumboldtUni zu Berlin. The series explores the cultural and literary history of Belarus and reflects on the country’s current political situation.

We would like to remind you that the recordings from our lecture series with Ukrainian researchers are available on our YouTube channel! In November 2025, we organized this series in cooperation with the Leibniz Association: 🔹 Olha Konstantynovska on medical research, volunteering & coping with PTSD while staying in a war-affected city: youtube.com/watch?v=aRnyER… 🔹 Bohdan Shumylovych on socialist “ideal city” visions and how Lviv’s urban experiments echo today’s smart cities: youtube.com/watch?v=3pgZPR… 🔹 Sofiya Filonenko on Ukraine’s bestsellers and how post-Soviet publishing shapes public discourse: youtube.com/watch?v=N5cD58…

In Belarus, 38‑year‑old chemist and candidate of sciences Vadzim Mikulich has been sentenced in a politically motivated case linked to the “Hajun case” The Belarusian Hajun project documented the movement of Russian and Belarusian troops during Russia’s full‑scale invasion of Ukraine, and in February 2025 security forces gained access to its chatbot and began tracking users. Mikulich is one of many people prosecuted for “promoting extremist activities” in connection with the project, with sentences ranging from home confinement to several years in prison and reports of ill‑treatment and torture. He dedicated many years to research on complex optical materials, earning a PhD in Physical Chemistry in 2016 and later heading the Department for Science and Innovation at JSC “Holographic Industry.” This case shows how the Belarusian authorities seek to intimidate society and punish civic engagement, while each arrest of a scientist further harms the country’s academic community and its capacity for research.

The Eastern Academic Alliance (EAA) offers funding for conferences in the field of Social Sciences and Humanities with the participation of Russian researchers The project aims to create a space for collaboration among researchers in Exile and support independent scholarship. 🔹 Grant amount: €3,000–€5,000 🔹 Who can apply: Academic institutions and non-institutional research collectives 🔹 Application period: 16 March–19 April 2026 🔹 Results announced: 4 May 2026 🔹 Events must take place by: 30 November 2026 Preference is given to events involving researchers with academic degrees and recent publications. Conferences may take different formats but cannot be held in Russia or Belarus. 📄 Before submitting an application, please review the full description of the application requirements on our website 👉 science-at-risk.org/russia/

Thank you to everyone who applied for our open call to support research projects focused on social processes and civil society in Russia within the Eastern Academic Alliance by akno e.V. We have now closed the application period and are grateful for the large number of thoughtful, well-prepared proposals we received. We look forward to following and supporting your research initiatives. Our team will carefully review all submissions over the coming days. The results will be announced on 30 March 2026.

“Mr. Nobody Against Putin is about how you lose your country,” one of the film’s directors said. “And what we saw when working with this footage is that you lose it through countless small little acts of complicity. When a government murders people on the streets of our major cities, when we don’t say anything, when oligarchs take over the media and control how we produce and consume it – we all face a moral choice. But luckily, even a nobody is more powerful than you think.” 🎬 Mr. Nobody Against Putin has won the Oscar for Best Documentary. The film follows Russian primary school teacher Pavel Talankin, who, while documenting the everyday life of his pupils, inadvertently captures how the Putin administration seeks to control public perception amid the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian war. We believe it is deeply significant that this story has been recognized internationally and reached such a wide audience. It offers an important insight into what is happening in Russian schools today, and how these processes may shape the next generation. Congratulations to the entire Mr. Nobody Against Putin team for this remarkable achievement. We will continue our work to resist the erosion of academic freedom and the militarization of education. Voices like Pavel’s are vital to this shared effort.

We’re offering a training program for Ukrainian scholars on strategic communication and LinkedIn use to boost academic careers and international visibility. The program will help participants: 🔸 Strengthen the international visibility of their research 🔸 Build connections with universities and research centers 🔸 Use LinkedIn to find fellowships, visiting positions, and grant opportunities 🔸 Develop a personal academic communication strategy Program format: 🔸 3 online workshops 🔸 1 month of follow-up support 🔸 Individual consultations (upon request) Group size: 10–15 participants Language: Ukrainian Note: Only applications from scholars with an existing LinkedIn profile who are actively developing it will be considered. Speaker & Coordinator: Ganna Skytova, PhD in Economics, certified project manager (IPMA, PMI), coach, and facilitator. Start date: March 26 Weekly sessions: 17:00–19:00 Kyiv time Format: Online Apply and see details here: facebook.com/share/p/18Mph1…

Russian universities are now involved in recruiting students for the war against Ukraine Students are pressured to join drone units with false promises of short service and bonuses — even underage students are told they’ll assemble Shahed drones. 📸 HSE “Festival of Unmanned Systems”, Feb 24, 2026 Full investigation by T‑invariant: t-invariant.org/2026/02/new-mo…

Want to support at-risk scholars and their initiatives in exile while bringing your finance expertise? Apply for Head of Finance (Sick Leave Cover) Akademisches Netzwerk Osteuropa, akno e.V., is seeking a Head of Finance (m/f/d) to start ASAP within projects funded by the German Federal Foreign Office and other public bodies, including the SCIENCE AT RISK Emergency Office. This supports academics affected by war in Ukraine or political repression in Belarus and Russia. Read full details on the website: science-at-risk.org/jobs/

We are pleased to share that our umbrella organisation, Das Akademische Netzwerk Osteuropa e.V. (akno), has joined Forum Menschenrechte Forum Menschenrechte is a network of more than 50 German NGOs committed to defending human rights in Germany and worldwide. Working together to: 🔹 Monitor German human rights policies 🔹 Launch joint human rights initiatives 🔹 Raise public awareness of human rights and address violations in Germany 🔹 Exchange human rights information across the network We look forward to contributing our expertise on academia at risk.

On the anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion, SCIENCE AT RISK Emergency Office Director Dr. Philipp Christoph Schmädeke spoke with the Deutschlandfunk about the situation of Ukrainian science. Our monitoring research shows that Ukrainian scientists demonstrate impressive resilience, but also face: 🔻 A "gigantic brain drain" as thousands of academics are forced to leave 🔻 Massive destruction of infrastructure, including around 3,700 damaged or destroyed educational institutions 🔻 Precarious working conditions and severe psychological strain for those researchers who stay 🔻 The end of international cooperation with Russia and the political instrumentalization of science by Moscow These impacts threaten Ukraine's future – that's why they matter. Listen to the interview with Maximilian Brose: deutschlandfunk.de/4-jahre-krieg-… Or read the article on the Deutschlandfunk website: deutschlandfunk.de/gigantischer-b…

Why are battles over remembering the past also struggles for the future? This question lies at the heart of the curatorial and research practice of Elena Ishchenko. Her project “Counter-Memory: Soviet Repressions against Indigenous Peoples and Its Reflection in Contemporary Art” was presented at the ANAMNESIA conference in Paris (November 2025) with support from the Eastern Academic Alliance by akno e.V. Between 1939 and 1945, over 3.5 million people were repressed in the Soviet Union solely because of their ethnicity. Some nations were forcibly deported in full from their Indigenous lands to Siberia and republics of Central Asia. Among them are Ingrian Finns, Karachays, Oirtat Kalmyks, Chechens, Ingushes, Balkars, Crimean Tatars and Meskhetian Turks, as well as non-Indigenous Koreans and Germans. Autonomies of their republics and regions were dismantled, and for decades, fear and silence clouded the memory of this violence. Elena Ishchenko’s work explores how contemporary Indigenous artists engage in counter-memory: practices that resist state-driven erasure, reclaim suppressed histories, and affirm the right to their own pasts and futures. In today’s Russia, where remembrance of these repressions remains politically dangerous, such artistic and scholarly work becomes an act of courage, healing, and resistance. Supporting this work means supporting voices that help envision a safer, more truthful, and more hopeful future. On the photos: “Motherland” by Victoria Sarangova: installation at the exhibition Өмә (2023, photos Alexander Anufriev); a series of embroideries, 2018–ongoing. The project is realised by Victoria independently, without the support of akno e.V.

Today marks four years since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and twelve years since the war began Nearly half of Ukraine’s universities have suffered war-related destruction, each representing disrupted research, lost opportunities, and a blow to the country’s intellectual and cultural future. Since 2022, the number of higher education institutions has fallen, the pool of school graduates has halved and continues to shrink. Around one-fifth of academic and research staff have left Ukraine or left academia, creating a lasting "brain drain". Despite enormous pressure, Ukrainian scholars show remarkable resilience. A survey of over 2,000 academics reveals a community working under extreme stress — 55% report feeling depressed, yet motivation and productivity remain stable. But resilience alone is not enough. Balanced, sustained international support, directed at both institutions and individuals, is vital to preserve Ukraine’s intellectual capacity and ensure its role in post-war recovery. Ukraine is part of Europe. Supporting Ukrainian academia today means investing in the country’s recovery tomorrow. Photo: Kharkiv, Ukraine — May, 04, 2023. depositphotos.com

The Eastern Academic Alliance (EAA) will support collective research projects focused on social processes and civil society in Russia This year, EAA by akno e.V. is offering a new form of assistance for scholars from Russia. We aim to support research teams whose work focuses on the social and political consequences of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, including the impact of the war on the academic community, civil society, and science in Russia. 🔹 Grant amount: €5,000 for small research teams 🔹 Teams: 3–5 researchers at different academic levels (bachelor’s, master’s, doctoral, etc.) 🔹 Application period: 16 February to 15 March 2026 (23:59 CET) 🔹 Results announced: 30 March 2026 🔹 Project implementation period: 30 March to 12 July 2026 Apply via our website: science-at-risk.org/russia/

We’re looking for new team members! If you are interested in supporting academia in exile, these roles might be for you: 🔹 Research & Monitoring Officer (m/f/d) 🔹 Project Manager – Russia Programmes (m/f/d) 🔹 Finance & Budget Officer (m/f/d) Do you know someone who might be interested? Please share these opportunities and visit our website for more details: science-at-risk.org/jobs/ We look forward to receiving your applications!

Scholars for Belarus by akno e.V. invites applications for financial support to organize conferences, seminars, round tables, panel discussions, workshops, and other public events featuring Belarusian scholars. The goal of the competition is to foster connections and enhance collaboration between Belarusian researchers living in different countries of the diaspora, as well as to increase the visibility of Belarusian studies within the European academic space. Applications must be submitted by the event organizer via the form on the website. The application deadline is March 1, 2026. All funded events must take place by October 31, 2026. The amount of support for each event is determined individually, based on the submitted budget. The maximum amount that can be requested is 7,000 EUR. More details about the terms of participation can be found here: scholarsforbelarus.org/projects/konku…

We’re thrilled to share that Mr. Nobody Against Putin, the documentary by Pavel Talankin, has been nominated for an Oscar for best international feature film! Pavel Talankin, a schoolteacher from Karabash, Russia, spent two years filming everyday life in Russian schools. His film exposes how classrooms are increasingly being used as tools of state propaganda rather than places of learning. We congratulate Pavel and his team! This is an important film that helps the world understand what’s happening inside Russian schools today. The consequences reach far beyond Russia’s borders, shaping a generation where violence and suppression of thought risk becoming the norm. It’s great to see this work recognized by the Academy, ensuring even more people get to see it. You can already watch it on ARTE Mediathek (in German) or check if it’s screening in your city! 🎬✨

A new article on academic freedom in Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine is out on T-invariant, an independent media platform for the academic community. It draws on our Monitoring Reports to show how war and authoritarianism reshape universities: long-term erosion and militarization in Russia, the dismantling of autonomy in Belarus after 2020, and wartime pressure and self-censorship in Ukraine: t-invariant.org/2026/01/academ…