The Fulbright Program is a highly competitive federal award that gives scholars and students opportunities to study, teach and conduct research internationally. Participants in the program, often referred to as "Fulbrighters," come from different countries and academic backgrounds.
For Fulbrighters coming to Penn State (visiting scholars) and those traveling to other countries (U.S. scholars), the experience can extend beyond research. Fulbrighters interviewed at Penn State described opportunities to experience different academic environments, meet people from different backgrounds and build connections that continue beyond their time in the program.
Stepping outside the familiar
Biljana Mileva Boshkoska, a Fulbright visiting scholar and researcher at Penn State Great Valley from the University of Novo Mesto in Slovenia, described one of the biggest benefits of the program as having the chance to step away from her usual academic environment and see her ideas from a fresh perspective.
"When you're working in academia, you need to get out of your environment to learn more," Boshkoska said. "And once you do, then suddenly, the world opens."
Boshkoska said working in a different environment exposed her to new ideas and ways of approaching her research. Meeting people from other countries and academic backgrounds also gave her opportunities to consider different perspectives, methods, and questions that she may not have encountered at her home institution.
Building connections across countries
Research is a major part of the Fulbright experience, but Fulbrighters also emphasized the relationships they formed through the program.
Laëtitia Nebot-Deneuville, a Fulbright visiting scholar from Dublin City University conducting research at Penn State, said the biggest difference Fulbright has made for her is the "connections and sense of community."
Those connections can form through conferences, research collaborations, and interactions with other Fulbrighters. For some participants, the relationships continue even after their time abroad ends.
Betsy Campbell, a former U.S. scholar who conducted her Fulbright work in Tunisia, said she remains in contact with the people she worked with and has continued collaborating with them virtually. As an associate teaching professor at Penn State's College of Information Sciences and Technology, Campbell has been able to bring perspectives from her experience abroad into her teaching and work with students.
Her time in Tunisia also gave her the opportunity to experience a culture and country she might not otherwise have encountered. "I probably wouldn't have just gone to Tunisia on my own," Campbell said, "The opportunity was a really rich experience."
A community at Penn State
This year, the Penn State Faculty Fulbright office is starting Fulbright Community Coffee Chats, held on the first Friday of every month. Fulbrighters can stop by any time between 4-5 p.m. in Room 410 at Boucke Building, University Park. These informal gatherings give Fulbrighters a chance to meet, share ideas and experiences, and build connections over coffee.
Fulbrighters have already responded positively to the opportunity.
"The Coffee Chats are a good way to meet people and make connections," said Gregory Pavlak, an associate professor of architectural engineering at Penn State University Park and a Fulbrighter to Australia. "It's a great opportunity to share your ideas and experiences with other Fulbrighters."
More than a fellowship
The Fulbright program offers participants the opportunity to experience different academic environments, people, and ways of approaching their work.
"It created a whole new network of people, and I discovered really different ways of doing things," said Campbell.
At Penn State, those individual experiences contribute to an international community that grows as Fulbrighters arrive at the University and Penn State scholars take their work abroad.
