Masaryk University offers scholarships to Belarusian students and researchers

Masaryk University has opened a fellowship programme for students and academics from Belarus in response to the alarming events that have been happening in Belarus since the recent presidential elections. The university has previously called for respect for democratic principles in Belarus and condemned repressions in the country.

Masaryk University (MU) is offering scholarships to 20 students from Belarus in amounts ranging from 10,000 to 20,000 CZK per month (approx. 380–460 EUR/month), as well as academic grants to persecuted Belarusian researchers in amounts of up to one million CZK per year (approx. 38,000 EUR/year).

“The deans of all our faculties immediately expressed their support for this scholarship progamme and are prepared to release money from their scholarship funds. I believe that by taking this step we will motivate other universities to follow suit,” says Rector of MU Martin Bareš.

The scholarships and grants will be awarded based on merit. Students interested in the scholarship should send an application to belarus@muni.cz.

The university also launched a research grant programme called MUNI AWARD JUNIOR BELARUS which creates conditions for achieving research autonomy for extremely promising junior researchers shortly after the PhD. The university will finance the grants from the internal grant agency.

The award is designated for excellent academics and scientists from all fields of the natural sciences, humanities, and social sciences. Students up to 40 years of age are eligible to apply for the grant. Detailed conditions of the research grant are available here. The programme will be open for applications in mid-September.

Previously, MU expressed deep concern about the latest events happening in Belarus following the recent presidential elections. The Rector of Masaryk University published a public statement in which he has called on the Belarusian authorities to stop violence and persecution and to enter into an open dialogue with Belarusian civil society.