Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law is housed in the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies
The 2022-23 application is now closed.
The Ukrainian Emerging Leaders Program (UELP) is a 10-month academic training fellowship hosted at Stanford University. The program was founded in 2016 at the Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law at Stanford’s Freeman Spogli Institute as an initiative to address development challenges in Ukraine and across the broader region.
UELP provides a unique opportunity to three mid-career practitioners working actively as policy-makers, legal professionals, entrepreneurs, and leaders of civil society organizations in Ukraine to visit one of the world’s leading research universities for an academic year. The objective of the Ukrainian Emerging Leaders Program is to strengthen fellows’ leadership skills and bolster their academic foundation. The fellowship is supported by a committee of leading Stanford faculty at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies. The program is designed to facilitate capacity building for fellows through faculty mentorship, community engagement, courses, events and site visits to Silicon Valley technology firms.
The Ukrainian Emerging Leaders Program combines academic courses, faculty mentorship and community engagement to support capacity building and leadership development for program participants.
The program will have a project-based approach to learning where fellows will identify an issue they would like to address and/or gain an in-depth understanding of to apply once they return to Ukraine. Over the course of the academic year, each fellow will have a faculty mentor with whom they will meet regularly during their stay. Faculty members will engage fellows through guidance on their projects, coursework, discussions around challenges in Ukraine and connecting fellows to the diverse Stanford community.
Fellows will have the opportunity to take courses at Stanford that support their area of expertise and also provide them with an academic foundation to further their knowledge base. In addition, they will visit technology firms based in Silicon Valley to learn about approaches to different challenges around the world. During the final 6 weeks of the program, fellows will present their findings to the program faculty and the greater Stanford community.
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:
Details on each section are included in the application guidelines available below.
Email: emergingleaders@stanford.edu
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Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law
616 Serra St.
Stanford University
Stanford, CA 94305-6055
Sasha Jason