News from Fulbright Alumnus Bogdan Tudor Tulbure

Bogdan Tudor Tulbure, Fulbright researcher at the University of Virginia back in 2007-2008, is the coordinator of a recently launched project entitled PsiTAD (Psychotherapy of Anxiety and Mood Disorders) concerning internet-delivered transdiagnostic intervention for anxiety and mood disorder. As the project team mentions “Developing a single program that could effectively reduce anxiety and depression has the potential to significantly impact public health, and to increase the international visibility of Romanian research. Because internet-delivered interventions represent an effective way to disseminate evidence-based programs, we decided to present our intervention online. The online dimension contributes to the uniqueness of the present proposal, the integrated smartphone application further improving the technological innovation.”

The PsiTAD program is run by a team of young experts from the Department of Psychology, West University of Timisoara, coordinated by Assistant Professor Bogdan Victor Tulbure, PhD. More details are available at:

Building on the enthusiasm created by Rebecca Bosshart’s workshop on flash fiction, offered on April 19, the “Scoala Altfel” program at the FEAC-EducationUSA Advising Center continued with two Skype chat sessions with John Nesbitt, Senior Assistant Director of Admissions at Vanderbilt University. On April 20, students from “Mircea Voievod” high school in Targoviste had an opportunity to learn directly from a Vanderbilt University representative how to proceed with the application process and, equally importantly, what key advantages to keep in mind  when considering studying in the United States. On April 21, a group of students from “I.L. Caragiale” National College in Bucharest heard again from John Nesbitt and from FEAC’s advising team about the highly appealing funding opportunities at Vanderbilt University and, respectively, the library resources and advising tips and sessions offered by FEAC-EducationUSA.

On April 18, the Romanian-U.S. Fulbright Commission held its first presentation ever at the Military Technical Academy in  Bucharest in order to inform its students and faculty about study and research opportunities in the U.S. via the Fulbright program. The event took place in the Aula Magna of the university and drew a large audience made up of both students and professors. The presentation was split in two parts covering the Fulbright Student and Senior awards and concluded with a Q&A section designed to provide more details on the Fulbright Award selection. Most of the inquiries addressed topics such as the application steps, funding, fields of study/research, eligibility criteria and the documentation required to apply for a Fulbright award. We would like to thank Prorector Tudor-Viorel Ţigănescu, who supported and coordinated the event at the university headquarters, as well as Assistant Professor Adriana Carolina Bulz, who helped us with the logistics and the advertising of the Fulbright presentation.

We kicked off this year’s edition of “Alternative Education Week” at the Fulbright Educational Advising Center (FEAC)-EducationUSA with a creative writing workshop titled “Introduction to Flash Fiction”, coordinated via Skype by Fulbright ETA and published author Rebecca Bosshart.

We are happy to report this special “hands-on” workshop drew a large audience – 20 students from “Cantemir-Vodă” National College in Bucharest joined us in the flesh, while students from Botoşani (“Vasile Alecsandri” National College), Sibiu (“Andrei Şaguna” National Pedagogical College) and Târgovişte (“Ienachiţă Văcărescu” National College & “Voievodul Mircea” High School) joined us via Skype.

Undaunted by the large audience, Becky gave us a tour de force introduction to the art of flash fiction, providing the participants with some poignant examples, guiding them through a closer reading of a sample text and, finally, deftly nudging them into producing their own first drafts.

Many thanks to Becky for this engaging workshop, as well as to the teachers who accepted our invitation!

Our series of events held under the “Alternative Education Week” umbrella continues tomorrow, April 20, from 3:00 p.m., with a presentation on “Undergraduate Study Opportunities at Vanderbilt University”, to be delivered by the school’s Senior Assistant Director of Admissions, John Nesbitt, also joining us via Skype.