Organizer Information
UAxEU (Ukrainian cultural eXchange with the European Union) is a Creative Europe cooperation project supporting the recovery and long-term strengthening of Ukraine's cultural and creative sectors and industries. It is coordinated by ELIA — the European League of Institutes of the Arts — an independent membership organisation representing higher arts education institutions across dozens of countries, founded in 1990 and headquartered in Amsterdam. UAxEU is delivered in partnership with the Lviv National Academy of the Arts, the Coalition of Culture Actors, the Ukrainian Museum Association, and the State Agency of Ukraine for Arts and Art Education, alongside HKU University of the Arts Utrecht and Culture Action Europe. The initiative builds on the emergency response model of a prior ELIA program (2022–2025), expanding its methodology from higher arts education into the wider cultural ecosystem by combining capacity building, professional development, heritage protection, and EU–Ukraine networking. UAxEU is one of several projects receiving Creative Europe support dedicated to Ukraine's post-war cultural recovery.
Title & Description
UAxEU Internship Programme 2026
The UAxEU Internship Programme is a professional mobility initiative placing Ukrainian cultural professionals in hands-on, experience-based learning positions within leading European cultural institutions. It is designed to respond to priorities identified by Ukrainian cultural professionals themselves: strengthening institutional practice, enabling genuine exchange between Ukrainian and EU organisations, and building lasting professional relationships across borders. Ten Ukrainian professionals per year will be placed in museums, heritage organisations, cultural centres, and arts education institutions across Europe. The programme favors depth over breadth — participants are embedded in the real working life of a host institution rather than receiving isolated technical training — and expects each participant to transfer what they learn back to their home institution through internal presentations, new projects, or ongoing collaborations.
Categories
- Internship
- Art Management
- Culture
- Curatorial
- Educations
- Art
Eligibility
- Currently living and working in Ukraine
- Affiliated with a Ukrainian higher arts education academy, museum, heritage organisation, cultural centre, or other cultural institution
- Relevant educational background and/or professional experience in the cultural and creative sectors
- Early to mid-career stage (up to 5 years of professional experience) with clear potential for further development
- Working proficiency in English (minimum B2)
- Available for the full placement period (October–November 2026) and all pre- and post-internship activities
- Motivated to apply the knowledge and experience gained within their home institution
Program Benefits & Awards
- Travel bursary of €1,000 per participant, paid as a lump sum, to support travel and subsistence costs
- Host institutions encouraged (but not guaranteed) to provide additional in-kind support such as accommodation, meals, or local transport
- Structured mentorship: supervision by an experienced professional in a peer-to-peer format during the placement
- Exposure to a range of institutional activities beyond the core assigned task
- Opportunity to make a tangible contribution (e.g. delivering a lecture, presenting findings, leading a workshop, contributing to an ongoing project)
- Potential for a concrete output such as a concept, proposal, or pilot activity
- Possible follow-up collaborations or longer-term cooperation, including joint projects or formal institutional agreements between Ukrainian and European organisations
Application Fee
None
Application Requirements
- Completed application form
- Current CV outlining professional experience (maximum 2 pages)
- Motivation submission — either a short video (up to 3 minutes, uploaded unlisted to YouTube or Vimeo and shared as a hyperlink in a Word file or PDF) or a written letter (maximum 1,000 words)
- Motivation must introduce the applicant and their institution, address what excites them about their work, what they hope to learn, and how they intend to apply and share that learning afterwards
- Review of the list of institutional hosts, with an indication of the thematic areas of interest, motivation for selecting them, expected benefit, and rationale for suitability
- Institutional host names must not be specified in the application
How to Apply?
Online Application
Key Dates
- Application Deadline: 31 July 2026
- Interviews: August – September 2026
- Matching Process: September – October 2026
- Online Preparation Phase: October 2026
- On-Site Internship Placement: November 2026
- Knowledge Transfer Phase: December 2026 – January 2027
- Reporting Deadline: 31 January 2027
Location
Host institutions across the European Union
Additional Details
- Applications are reviewed by a selection committee composed of programme partners, with each application assessed by multiple reviewers
- Shortlisted candidates advance to a second round consisting of a 20-minute interview with the selection committee, conducted in English
- Selection criteria span four areas: Professional Profile & Eligibility, Motivation & Learning Objectives, Institutional Relevance & Impact Potential, and Leadership & Network Capacity
- Total travel/subsistence costs may exceed the €1,000 bursary; any shortfall not covered by the host institution is the participant's responsibility
- Selected participants must report their travel expenses at the end of the internship period, per instructions provided after selection
- Final deliverables include a programme evaluation survey and a short narrative report on what was learned and how it was transferred within the home institution