This program is aimed at mid-career practitioners working actively as policy-makers, legal professionals, social entrepreneurs, business entrepreneurs and leaders of civil society organizations.

1. Candidates should hold Ukrainian citizenship and must reside in the country, and have plans to return to Ukraine after the fellowship.

2. Candidates must be at least 28 years of age at the start of the fellowship program.

3. Candidates should have demonstrated professional and personal achievements in a relevant sector of democracy, development and the rule of law.                 

4. Candidates must have at least five years of experience to qualify for the fellowship. Those with more experience are much more competitive in the selection process.       

5. We strive to recruit a diverse group of four individuals who are at the right stage in their professional trajectory to benefit from rigorous academic training and mentorship. Successful applicants will have the academic credentials necessary to participate in academic courses offered at Stanford University. A bachelor's degree at the time of participation in the program is a requirement for admission to the program. We do not accept candidates who are in the midst of full-time university degree programs.

6. A working knowledge of English is an important prerequisite. It is expected that each fellow have a solid command of written and spoken English in order to fully benefit and participate in the program.

All applicants must be prepared to commit themselves to the fellowship rather than to regular professional work. If selected, your full-time job is to be a Stanford fellow. We require fellows to take leave from their regular jobs, whether they be in the nonprofit or government sectors, to devote their energy to the fellowship.

The Ukrainian Emerging Leaders Program uses the WizeHive application system to manage all incoming applications and the review process and contains the following sections:

The application contains the following sections:

1. Applicant Information
2. Academics & Career Information
3. Candidate Background Questions
4. Resume/CV
5. Fellowship Project Statement
6. English Language Proficiency
7. Video Submission
8. Letters of Recommendation

Details on each section are included in the application guidelines available below. 

The program is funded with generous support from Western NIS Enterprise Fund; Svyatoslav Vakarchuk; Tomas Fiala; Astem.Foundation; Oleksandr Kosovan; and Viktor and Iryna Ivanchyk.

WNISEF is a regional private equity fund, a pioneer in Ukraine and Moldova with more than two decades of successful experience in investing in small and medium-sized companies. WNISEF is supported by the United States Agency for International Development.

Svyatoslav Vakarchuk is a civic activist, Ukrainian musician and the lead vocalist and founder of the band “Okean Elzy“. Vakarchuk is also the founder of a charity fund called “Lyudi Maybutnyogo” (People of the Future) and co-founder of the Center for Economic Strategy, an independent policy think tank dedicated to supporting reforms and sustainable economic growth in Ukraine. He was a Yale World Fellow in 2015.

Tomas Fiala is the  Chief Executive Officer of Dragon Capital, a leading investment bank in Ukraine. Fiala has over twenty years’ experience in Central and Eastern European securities markets. He served as elected President of the European Business Association (2010-’15) where he led the top association for foreign businesses in Ukraine uniting over 900 companies with more than a million employees. In October 2016, Fiala was elected to the Board of Transparency International Ukraine.

Astem.Foundation is a mission-driven fund, focused on the development of social innovation, impact-oriented initiatives and support for creative leadership teams that will contribute to betterment of life through education, modern cultural trends and new social and political relationships. The fund is led by Aslan Omer Kirimli and Rustem Umerov.

MacPaw is an app development company with a number of successful macOS, iOS, and Windows applications in their portfolio. Headquartered in Kyiv, Ukraine, MacPaw has gained solid recognition among over four million customers all over the world. Since 2008, the company has been developing apps with a strong focus on design and functionality to ensure exceptional user experience.

Victor and Iryna Ivanchyk are the founders of “Povir u Sebe" ("Believe in Yourself”) Foundation, which over the past 9 years supported 450 children from rural areas in their aim to obtain higher education. At the same time the foundation provides grant financing to leading Ukrainian universities for scientific research and implements projects on development of leadership, creativity and entrepreneurship among young people. Viktor Ivanchyk is also a founder and General Director of Astarta - leading company in agricultural and sugar industry of Ukraine.

Learn more about our alumni here!