Roberts Kits Awarded 2026-2027 Mudīte I. Zīlīte Saltups Fellowship

May 4, 2026

The Association for the Advancement of Baltic Studies is pleased to announce that Roberts Kits has been awarded the 2026-2027 Mudīte I. Zīlīte Saltups Fellowship.

The fellowship provides for up to eight weeks of study in the United States with a maximum stipend of $10,000, and is funded from a bequest in memory of Dr. Mudīte I. Zīlīte Saltups. Dr. Saltups’ will provides that recipients of a fellowship must be citizens of the Republic of Latvia, speak Latvian, have their permanent residence in Latvia, and come to the United States to study or conduct research.

The 2026 applications were evaluated by the AABS 2025-2026 Grants and Awards Committee consisting of AABS VP for Professional Development Dr. Kaarel Piirimäe, AABS President Dr. Jörg Hackmann, and AABS Director-at-Large Dr. Dovilė Budrytė. Learn about the other 2026-2027 recipients here.

A man with glasses and a mustache in a gray suit

Roberts Kits is a PhD student at the University of Latvia, Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences, where he researches defense innovation in small European states. His work focuses on how the three Baltic states develop and leverage defense innovation to strengthen their defense and deterrence capabilities while simultaneously supporting economic development. In addition to his doctoral studies, Kits is a defense and resilience researcher at the Latvian Strategy and Economic Research Institute (LaSER Think Tank). His recent publications examine Baltic defense cooperation and civil defense in the Baltic region.

Project Overview

The Saltups Fellowship will provide critical support for advancing Kits’s academic trajectory by enabling a research visit to Stanford University. During this visit, he will examine how the evolving nature of modern warfare shapes the governance of civic engagement in defense innovation. This experience will help situate Baltic perspectives within a broader international context and contribute to ongoing debates on defense innovation and resilience.