About AFP

Higher education reform in Eastern Europe and Eurasia is often impeded by lack of funding, ineffective education policies, poor planning and management, reliance on traditional curricula that emphasize passive rather than active learning, limited flexibility in career choices, corruption, and elitism.

Recognizing that universities play a fundamental role in maintaining civil society, the Academic Fellowship Program (AFP) aims to contribute to higher education reform in the region. The Open Society Institute’s International Higher Education Support Program (HESP) launched AFP in 2004, building on HESP’s experience as a core funder of the Civic Education Project (CEP) while also adopting new approaches for achieving lasting reform in higher education throughout Southeastern Europe and Eurasia.


Approach

The Academic Fellowship Program aims to contribute to higher education reform in the region and to help build academic networks locally, regionally, and globally. AFP focuses on both the educational institution and the individual scholar by:

• helping reform-minded departments achieve world-class academic stature in hopes that the departments will become model platforms for innovation and reform elsewhere in the region; and
• assisting promising local scholars by promoting their return to the region, their positioning within academe, and their continued professional development.

To achieve these goals, AFP offers two fellowship programs, the Returning Scholars Fellowship Program and the International Scholars Fellowship Program.


Programs

Returning Scholars Fellowship Program (RSFP)
The RSFP helps universities in the region retain promising young scholars who are essential to the revitalization of departments and to the sustainability of reforms in higher education. RSFP represents a conscious strategy to combat "brain drain" in the social sciences and humanities by supporting talented scholars who, after studying abroad, seek university positions and academic careers in their home countries. The program offers financial, institutional and professional development support for one academic year (with the possibility of renewal for subsequent years), as well as opportunities for further professional growth as AFP alumni. Fellowships include a monthly stipend and various allowances, including professional development funds, in addition to the opportunity to participate in departmental and professional development projects. In the 2006/2007 academic year AFP is supporting nearly 140 Returning Scholars.
View RSFP grant guidelines


International Scholars Fellowship Program (ISFP)
ISFP invites highly qualified scholars in the social sciences and humanities from around the world to teach and/or consult at selected university departments in the region. By sharing the latest developments in their discipline, introducing new courses in their host departments, and encouraging development of skills critical to academic discourse, the International Scholars (ISs) expose students and departmental colleagues to a range of new materials and methodologies. International Scholars share their expertise with host departments on a consulting basis. They visit host institution for several short consultations and remain in contact for mentoring and advice between the visits. Details of such arrangements are negociated on an individual basis during the selection process. Applicants for IS postions must be senior or well-established academics; recent PhD recepients will NOT be considered.
View ISFP grant guidelines

AFP fellows are placed in carefully selected departments that have been prescreened to ensure they are amenable to change and have a realistic and clear vision for future development. Returning Scholars placed in such environments will find the support and encouragement they need to successfully launch and pursue their academic careers while at the same time contributing to efforts at reforming their departments. Partner departments are encouraged to take the lead in recruiting qualified Returning and International Scholars whose professional profiles match departmental needs. Departments also are consulted during final selection and before placement recommendations are made.

Departments are chosen based on several criteria: awareness of the need for educational reform, demonstrated willingness to embrace change, and concrete, realistic plans for achieving lasting reform. AFP gathers detailed information on departments at universities throughout the region, using written questionnaires, interviews, and site visits. Departments meeting program criteria are invited to submit detailed proposals for AFP support, outlining their plans for departmental development over the course of several years. Based on these proposals, AFP selects the most promising departments for collaboration. In the 2006/2007 academic year, AFP is working with more than 40 partner departments throughout the region.

Download a list of 2007-2008 AFP partner departments  (as a PDF-file).

AFP partner departments benefit in many ways from the presence and activities of Fellows they host, both international scholars and those returning from programs abroad. AFP invites Fellows to submit proposals for Departmental Development Projects and to play an active role in the implementation of the AFP strategy for partner departments.

Funding for Professional Development Projects is also available; core faculty are offered opportunities for professional development and training, as well. Specific areas of focus include curriculum development and teaching methodology.

The program also works directly and indirectly to provide current literature in the field. AFP aims to promote best educational practices through training events, workshops, roundtables, and the provision of support materials. The program provides support for projects to extend the impact of teaching by bridging teaching, learning, and research.Alumni Involvement

Academic Fields

AFP supports scholars in the humanities and social sciences, including:

• anthropology
• area/cultural studies
• gender studies
• economics
• history
• political science
• psychology
• public administration
• sociology
• social work
• public health
• human rights and public law
• journalism/media studies
• international relations

Geographic RepresentationAFP supports efforts for higher education reform in the following countries and areas:

• Albania
• Armenia
• Azerbaijan
• Bosnia & Herzegovina
• Bulgaria
• Croatia
• Georgia
• Kazakhstan
• Kosovo
• Kyrgyzstan
• Macedonia
• Moldova
• Mongolia
• Montenegro
• Romania
• Russia
• Serbia
• Tajikistan
• Ukraine
  

AdministrationAFP is administered from Budapest in cooperation with field offices located in and serving the following subregions:

• "RUM" (Russia, Ukraine, Moldova)
• Caucasus (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia)
• Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan) and Mongolia
• Southeastern Europe (Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, and Serbia—involving also alumni from those Central European countries that are now part of the European Union.)

Download the AFP brochure