Receiving the Fulbright-Schuman Award 2022/2023 is a milestone in my scientific and academic career! Thanks to this scholarship, I started empirical research as a Visiting Graduate Student at the University of California San Diego under the supervision of prof. David G. Victor, head of the Center for Global Transformation and the Deep Decarbonization Initiative. The host research center is one of the world’s leading institutions in shaping strategies for counteracting climate change, which is an ideal place to conduct research as part of the internship and acquire new research and teaching competencies. The research objective of the internship is to assess the impact of California energy transition policies and strategies in the context of efforts to increase the deployment of hydrogen and fuel cell technologies in the energy and transportation sectors.
The implementation of the awarded research concept (and thus the current concept of the dissertation) will lead to the formulation of a number of recommendations for regional and central authorities in shaping public policies in the indicated area. The recommendations will be the subject of individual in-depth interviews with decision-makers at the EU level (European Commission) and at the national level in Germany and Poland.
The Fulbright-Schuman program has been offering scholarships for doctoral students and researchers for over 30 years for the implementation of research projects related to the policies of the European Union in all scientific disciplines or relations between the USA and the European Union. The scholarships are funded by the US Department of State and the European Commission. In this year’s competition under the Fulbright-Schuman Program, only 11 scholarships were awarded (in the category dedicated to Ph.D. students) from all EU Member States.
RECEPTION IN THE UNITED STATES EMBASSY IN BRUSSELS (JUNE 15, 2022)
His Excellency US Ambassador Michael Adler invited all this year’s Fulbright-Schuman scholarship grantees, as well as American Fulbright scholarship recipients who stayed in Belgium and Luxembourg, to the reception at the US Embassy in Brussels. The reception was an exceptional opportunity to meet the Prime Minister of Belgium, Alexander De Croo, representatives of the Fulbright Commission in Brussels, as well as other Fulbright grantees from almost all corners of Europe. I am so grateful that it was in these circumstances that I was able to join the Fulbright fellowship community!
Source of pictures: U.S. Embassy in Belgium.
INFORMATION MEETING AND PRE-DEPARTURE OREINTATION IN WARSAW ORGANIZED BY THE POLISH-AMERICAN FULBRIGHT COMMISSION (May 12, 2022)
Although my scholarship is coordinated directly by the Fulbright Commission in Brussels, the Polish-U.S. Fulbright Commission in Warsaw invited me to a unique orientation meeting, combined with integration and a series of training workshops for Polish Fulbright grantees.
The full-day meeting was a phenomenal way to meet many exceptional Fulbright fellows from all over Poland. We also had the opportunity to meet last year’s alumni who shared their experiences and many valuable tips. I would like to thank all employees of the Fulbright Commission in Poland for organizing such a wonderful event!
Źródło zdjęć: Polsko-Amerykańska Komisja Fulbrighta
FIRST STEPS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SAN DIEGO (AUGUST 2022)
The University of California San Diego is an excellent place for scientific development and also offers many opportunities to meet other foreign Ph.D. students and experienced scholars. From August 10, I work under the supervision of prof. David G. Victor, together with the other researchers at the Center for Global Transformation. Our office in the center of campus is a place of intense debates at work and during lunch breaks. At the beginning of my scholarship, I can say that it is an ideal place for research and self-realization. I hope to carry out all the planned studies without any problems, and I will return with lots of unforgettable experiences and a complete set of research results for my doctoral thesis in just six months!