The Regional Network of Centers for Advanced Studies in Southeast Europe (RECAS) proudly announced the selection of 15 outstanding fellows for its 2025 Regional Fellowship Program. Following a competitive application process, these fellows represent diverse disciplines and innovative research projects addressing this year’s theme, “Change in the Balkans – Strategic Interventions for Democratic Europe.”
This year’s fellowship theme focuses on addressing interconnected challenges in economic, digital, and green transitions across the Balkans, aiming to inspire action-oriented solutions and strengthen democratic resilience in the region. Key areas include fostering regional innovation ecosystems, and exploring alternative economic models to promote equitable development, examining grassroots initiatives, environmental justice, and regional strategies for addressing pollution, renewable energy adoption, and ecological preservation, exploring ethical AI, cybersecurity, innovation drivers, and the role of digital platforms in reshaping cultural and civic participation.
Together, these projects aim to provide actionable insights into how the region can navigate its economic, environmental, and digital challenges while fostering democratic resilience and regional collaboration.
The program, hosted in partnership with leading universities across Southeast Europe, provides fellows the opportunity to pursue their research projects while fostering regional academic collaboration. Fellows will receive host support at the Universities of Rijeka and Belgrade, with the option to choose co-hosts at Universities of Skopje, Sarajevo, Ljubljana, Prishtina, Tirana or Podgorica.
Apart from the individual work the fellows will take part in CAS Uni online seminar, capacity building workshops and public events aimed at promoting their research not only to academic community but to wider public, thus contributing to knowledge production and shaping the solutions to key challenges.
Fellowships are enabled by the, Open Society Foundation Western Balkans, ERSTE Foundation and Rockefeller Brothers Fund in the framework of supporting brain circulation for democratic development in Southeast Europe.
RECAS extends a warm welcome to the new fellows and looks forward to the transformative impact of their work in addressing the region’s most urgent challenge.