IIE Europe Newsletter  
Vol II. Iss. 1, February 2012

Dear Colleagues,

We hope that the first month of the new year has brought you much success and new opportunities so far.

In addition to our general program announcements, this month we have a special feature from program alumna Gina Adam, make sure to read her reflections on the opportunities the GE Foundation Scholar-Leaders Program has afforded her.

In this issue:

Russell Berrie Fellowship in Interreligious Studies
GE Foundation Scholar-Leaders Program
Future Leaders: Gina Adam
Bellagio Center: Practitioner Residencies
English Language Services



berrieRussell Berrie Fellowship in Interreligious Studies - Call for Applications

Berrie Fellows in Jerusalem

 

The Russell Berrie Fellowship Program is pleased to announce the opening of the call for applications for the academic year 2012-13.

 

Application materials and further information for this cycle are available now. The application deadline is March 30, 2012.

 

The Fellowship offers members of the clergy, religious orders, and the laity an opportunity to study at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum), in Rome, to obtain a License or Doctoral Degree with a concentration in Interreligious Studies. The award provides one year of financial support for up to ten new Russell Berrie Fellows. It is intended to cover tuition, a modest living stipend and book allowance, examination fees, and travel to and from the recipient's home country.

 

The aim of the Fellowship Program is to build bridges between Christian, Jewish, and other religious traditions by providing the next generation of religious leaders with a comprehensive understanding of and dedication to interfaith issues. Applicants of all faiths and backgrounds from around the world - including students currently enrolled at the Angelicum - who have a demonstrated interest in Interreligious Studies, are encouraged to apply.

 

 

geGE Foundation Scholar-Leaders Program in Central & Eastern Europe 

  

GE LDP2010 

This year the GE Foundation Scholar-Leaders Program is celebrating its 10th anniversary in Central-Eastern Europe. 

 

The program provides financial support, as well as workshops, trainings and shadowing day opportunities to second year undergraduate students from selected universities in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Romania. As part of the program, students are required to perform community service, thus giving back to their communities. In this region, a great added value of the program is the opportunity it offers for winners of all four countries to participate together in a regional Leadership Development Program in the summer of 2012 thus fulfilling a key goal of the program which is to create a Central-Eastern European network of future leaders who can tackle and solve problems in the area by taking a regional approach.

 

The application deadline is March 5, 2012 for all four countries. Further information and application materials can be found at http://scholarshipandmore.org/cee

 

 

ginaFuture Leaders: Gina Adam 

 

 

Guest post by Gina Adam, GE Foundation Scholar-Leader 2008. 

Crossposted with the GE for CEE blog.

  

The GE Foundation Scholar-Leaders Award came when I most needed an impulse to dream big. The Award symbolized the fruition of my efforts towards success, made me optimistic and opened plenty of doors for me. Receiving this award has been a constant motivation for success.


I received the GE Foundation Scholar-Leaders Award in Romania in 2008. At the time, I was pursuing my undergraduate degree in electrical engineering at the  Polytechnic University in Bucharest and my degree in Business Administration at the Academy of Economic Studies. This award has been an eye-opener for me. Three years ago I could not have imagined how much my life would change due to this opportunity.

 

Thanks to the award, early during my undergrad I became aware that taking advantage of the endless possibilities offered by studying and doing internships abroad is my responsibility. Shortly after obtaining the award, the supportive team from the  Institute of International Education informed us that GE Poland offered internship opportunities at the Engineering Design Centre (EDC) in Warsaw for the GE Foundation Scholar-Leaders Award recipients. It was a great occasion for me to experience the world of a multinational company such as GE from inside and to work in a foreign country for a month. The GE Foundation Scholar-Leaders Program has already shown me what a job in a foreign country would involve, both on a professional and personal level.

 

In addition to the financial support provided by the scholarship, I was able to attend the "Fundamentals of Nanotechnology" workshop at the University of Twente in the Netherlands. This is where I realized that I can combine my passion for chemistry with my electrical engineering background and work in Nanoelectronics. And things only got better and better. In the summer of 2009, I was invited to work at the Ludwig Maximilians University in Germany on a research project under the NanoInitiative Munich fellowship.

 

As I wanted to become a scientist in Nanoelectronics, I decided that the best step would be to receive a PhD from the United States. I am honored to be the first Romanian recipient of the International Fulbright Science and Technology Award. With the financial support of the US government, I am currently a second year Electrical Engineering PhD student at the University of California, Santa Barbara. I am a part of  Professor Dmitri Strukov's group, where I focus on fabrication of novel memristive systems.

 

In the future I want to work in academia, but also contribute to positive changes in the Romanian education system. At the two universities I attended, I met professors who have become my mentors and my models in life. They have shown me that it is possible to be a truly exceptional researcher and professor, even if bureaucracy and mentalities are important obstacles.

 

Consequently, I consider it necessary to get involved in the administrative aspects of the Romanian education and research system. I pursued a second specialization in Public Administration at the Academy of Economic Studies in Bucharest. My bachelor research projects focused on research management and funding mechanisms in Romanian universities. I have been involved in the "Coalition for Clean Universities" and I benefited from an internship at the Romanian Ministry of 'Education, Research, Youth and Sports, General Directorate for Higher Education.'

 

In the long run, I want to return to my home university and build a career as a scientist with the hope that I would have the same positive impact on my students as my mentors had on me.  


Read more stories from scholars at GE for CEE  

 

 

 

bellagioBellagio Center: Practioner Residencies

 

  

Bellagio Grantees
Through residencies and conferences, the Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center in Northern Italy supports innovations that change the way we address complex global issues.  Here, people of diverse expertise and backgrounds come together in a thought-provoking, creative, collegial environment that helps create change and have impact on a wide range of world issues.

 

Applications for Practitioner Residencies are considered on a rolling basis. This type of residency typically lasts four weeks in length and are for practitioners at least in their mid-career stage with a record of significant achievement in their field.

  

Visit the Bellagio Center Residency Program site to learn more about the program or begin an application.

  

The call for applications for the Academic Writing and Art & Literary Art residencies will begin in a few months time, look out for an announcement in our next newsletter.

 

elsEnglish Language Services

 

Our office partners with Educational Testing Services (ETS) to provide academic institutions and scholarship programs in a number of countries in Europe with standardized, reliable, and affordable English language testing tools.


TOEFL ITP is the most common tool our partners use to assess students' level of English for academic purposes. TOEFL ITP is: 

 

  • Paper-based, low to medium-stakes English language test.
  • Reliable - based on TOEFL, the internationally recognized standard of English Proficiency testing.
  • Mapped to the CEFR on A2, B1, and B2 levels.
  • Convenient & flexible - the test is administered in-house so you decide the test time, date, place, the group size, and how often to test.
  • Quick - score reports available in 2-3 business days
  • Affordable - available at a nominal price regardless of quantity

 

Our partners in Europe include Central European University (CEU), the American University in Bulgaria (AUBG) and the Open Society Foundations (OSF).

 

To learn how your institution can benefit from TOEFL ITP please visit our website or contact us at [email protected].

  

For the latest news about IIE Europe English Language Services, visit our Facebook page  

 

 

Connect with us

 

   Find us on Facebook  Follow us on Twitter  View our photos on flickr

 

lanchid 

Deadlines
 
March 30

 

Join Our Mailing List