Category Archives: fulbright

Fulbright Hungary orientation – February 2014

Last week I attended the orientation for the 2014 spring group of American Fulbright grantees in Hungary. I am grateful to the Fulbright Hungary staff for making the American grantees’ transition into life and work in Hungary smooth. I especially want to thank Annamária Sas, who is the Program Officer in charge of the American grantees. Annamária knows what needs to be done, and she accomplishes everything with seeming ease and with enthusiasm. I also want to thank Csanád Nagypál for his work on our financial arrangments. Finally, I want to thank Dr. Huba Bückner, Director Emeritus, as well as Dr. Károly Jókay, Diretor of Fulbright Hungary, for their leadership of Fulbright Hungary. Their strong engagement is evident in the work of the organization.

The orientation covered three areas:

  • Life in Hungary: history, language, customs, art, and current affairs.
  • Work in Hungary: organization of higher education, suggestions for success in teaching and research, and engaging the citizens of Hungary.
  • Practical issues: working with Fulbright Hungary, and with the US Embassy in Budapest.

In retrospect, it’s amazing how much we learned about these areas in just four days. Below is a brief overview.

History. Hungarians feel a strong connection to their history. We were treated to a stellar history lesson (covering over 1,000 years of Hungarian history, starting in 896) by Prof. Dr. Tibor Frank. We also participated in a guided tour of the city, learning many tidbits from our guide. And in our visit to the Hungarian Academy of Sciences we saw, and sometimes even touched, items such as a 16th century Hungarian codex, and artifacts collected by the founder of tibetologySándor Csoma de Kőrös.

Gábor Tóth of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences showed us this codex.

Language and customs. Over the centuries Hungarians have worked successfully to maintain their language. The Fulbrighters who do not speak Hungarian were introduced to basic words and expressions by a passionate teacher, Mária Sánthané Gedeon. Mária also spent time exploring the differences in culture and customs between Hungary and the US. One of the differences: Americans are more likely to be assertive than Hungarians. Donald Morse, who has lived in Hungary for many years, also discussed customs, from what to bring to dinner parties (flowers, wine), to who pays for lunch (the person issuing the invitation). Professor Morse also recounted personal experiences of Hungary’s recent communist history.

Music. Hungary’s rich contribution to the world of music was discussed by Dr. Veronika Kusz, a musicologist at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. Veronika provided a brief overview of the works of the most influential Hungarian composers over the centuries. I was delighted to discover the 16th century lutenist, Bálint Bakfark. Following Veronika’s presentation we attended  a spectacular ballet performance of Onegin at the Hungarian State Opera.

Dr. Huba Bückner, Director Emeritus, introduces Dr. Veronika Kusz

Current affairs. We explored current affairs with two people who are shaping the future of Hungary: Katalin Ertsey, Member of the National Assembly, and TV host Dr. Levente Boros Bánk. The discussion was animated, especially since Hungarian parliamentary elections are scheduled for April 2014.

Work. We spent a considerable amount of time discussing work life, and how to leverage our time in Hungary to our benefit, and to the benefit of our hosts. Dr. Huba Bückner, Director Emeritus, as well as Dr. Károly Jókay, Diretor of Fulbright Hungary, urged us to be ourselves, so that our Hungarian students and colleagues can gain experience dealing with the US model of education and research.  Prof. Dr. Zoltán Abády-Nagy gave us an overview of the Hungarian higher education system, from organization, to historical perspectives, to faculty career paths. And current student grantee Jamie Hoversen warned us plan ahead, because there is so much to do and never enough time to do it all.

Engaging citizens of Hungary. Karyn Posner-Mullen and Dmitri Tarakhovsky, both with the US Embassy in Budapest, discussed ways in which we can engage the citizens of Hungary, from participating in the work of American Corners, to attending events organized by the embassy, to making our own professional and personal connections. Erika Sólyom, the director of the Budapest American Corner, discussed specific types of programs we should consider participating in.

Practical issues. Finally, we discussed a number of practical issues, from the ever important financial issues, to the reports required by Fulbright Hungary, to taking advantage of US Embassy resources. I was also glad to hear that there’s a Hungarian Fulbright Alumni Association, which is headed by Dr. Katalin Nagy.

Last, but not least, I’m very happy to have met the new American Fulbright grantees in Hungary: Stephen HartkeJanet Holmes, Amy Forss, Andrea Mitnick, Leslie Muray, Nicholas Rubashkin, and Peter Szende. I’m looking forward to following their efforts.

You can see more pictures from the orientation on Flickr.

With my wife Jennifer at the Hungarian State Opera presentation of Onegin.

Impressions from the USA: Hungarian Fulbrighters report

Dr. Károly Jókay, Executive Director of Fulbright Hungary, opens the meeting.

Yesterday I attended a meeting organized by the Hungarian Fulbright Commission, in which the 2012-2013 cohort of Hungarian Fulbright recipients reported on their experiences in the USA. Here are some of my impressions from this meeting:

Americans are kind, and America is a beautiful and exiting country.
All of the presentations I attended included words of praise for Americans as welcoming, supportive and open. Presenters also shared photographs of the US, from nature, to monuments, to street corners, to small town soccer teams. The Hungarian Fulbrighters took it all in and enjoyed the experience.

US data infrastructure is a game-changer.
Hungarians visiting the USA felt that our infrastructure, and primarily our ability to access and process large amounts of data, is a tremendous strength. This came across especially vividly in the presentation of András Pethő, editor at the origo.hu Hungarian news portal. 

Of personal interest: Hungarian-Americans retain cultural heritage.
Since their birth, I’ve been teaching my two kids to speak Hungarian, which is one of the two languages I grew up with. One of the presenters, history PhD student Tímea Oláh, explored Hungarian-Americans in New Brunswick, NJ. It was interesting to hear that the New Brunswick Hungarians have a viable community where the Hungarian language and customs are thriving.

You can see my pictures from the meeting on Flickr.

Fulbright 2014

I’m spending the spring 2014 semester at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics. The university’s Hungarian name is Budapesti Műszaki és Gazdaságtudományi Egyetem, or BME for short.

My stay at BME is funded by a Fulbright Scholarship. My hosts in Hungary are the Hungarian Fulbright Commission, and BME professor Bálint Kiss. Bálint and I are planning to explore the effects of different user interface characteristics, and different assistive control algorithms, on the cognitive load of users of an assistive technology. My educational efforts will include classroom teaching (focusing on the field of ubiquitous computing), advising student projects, and research talks.