Swedish Institute Academy for Young Professionals

The programmes "Innovation Ecosystems and Entrepreneurship" and "Perspectives on Multi-level governance, Decentralisation and Human Rights" are funded by the Swedish Institute as a part of the SI Academy for Young Professionals (SAYP). SAYP is a training programme organised by Swedish universities and aimed at young policymakers, public servants and civil society actors from selected countries in the Baltic Sea Region, the EU’s Eastern Partnership and the Western Balkans. The purpose of SAYP is to serve as a platform for sharing experience, building knowledge and networking around public governance issues. SAYP is designed to strengthen participants’ ability to lead the change in their regions.

Innovation Ecosystems and Entrepreneurship (Western Balkans)

Dates: 24 May–11 June 2021 (online) 
Target countries: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia 
Application period: 15 February– 22 March 2021

• Learn more about the programme and the application procedure (PDF 153 kB, new window)
• Learn more about the SAYP framework on the Swedish Institute's website
• Apply for the programme at Lund University here (external webpage)

For your application for Innovation Ecosystems and Entrepreneurship, please use these templates:

• Motivation letter (Word, 931 kB)
• CV (Please, send in your CV indicating professional and educational background, using, for example, the Europass CV Template)
• Reference letter (Word, 24 kB)
• English certificate (Word, 19 kB)

Perspectives on Multi-level Governance, Decentralisation and Human Rights (Baltic Sea Region/EU Eastern Partnership)

Dates: 21 June–2 July and 3–14 September 2021 (both online) 
Target countries: Armenia, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Sweden and Ukraine
Application period: 15 February–22 March 2020

• Learn more about the programme and the application procedure (PDF 1.7 MB, new window)
• Learn more about the SAYP framework on the Swedish Institute's website
• Apply for the programme at Lund University here (external webpage)

For your application for Perspectives on Multi-level governance, Decentralisation and Human Rights, please use these templates:

• Motivation letter (Word, 935 kB)
• CV (Please, send in your CV indicating professional and educational background, using, for example, the Europass CV Template)
• Reference letter (Word, 24 kB)
• English certificate (Word, 19 kB)

Please note, there are different programmes at different universities within SAYP. You can apply to more than one. However, it is recommended that you apply to a maximum of two programmes/universities. You can only be admitted to one. Read more about this on the Swedish Institute’s websites: 

• For the Western Balkans (external website) 
• For the Baltic Sea Region and the EU’s Eastern Partnership (external website) 

Testimonials about the SAYP-programmes

The Swedish Institute (SI) conducted interviews with two participants who have studied the programmes "Innovation Ecosystems and Entrepreneurship (Western Balkans)" and "Perspectives on Multi-level Governance, Decentralisation and Human Rights (Baltic Sea Region/EU Eastern Partnership)"'. You will find the full interviews below. 

• Read the full interview about Innovation Ecosystems and Entrepreneurship (Western Balkans) on SI's website
• Read the full interview about Perspectives on Multi-level Governance, Decentralisation and Human Rights (Baltic Sea Region/EU Eastern Partnership) on SI's website