Fulbright Forum nurtures Southampton’s US relationships
The University of Southampton welcomed 53 US Fulbright Scholars to Southampton for the 2019 Fulbright Forum in January.
The US-UK Fulbright Commission is one of Southampton’s most prestigious partners and the University was delighted to have the opportunity to host the Scholars and develop our relationship with the Commission.
The theme of this year’s three-day Forum was ‘Connected by Oceans: Exploring the Impact of the Oceans on People and Place through the Ages’.
University of Southampton Vice-Chancellor and President Sir Christopher Snowden commented: “The Fulbright Forum provides a key social and cultural opportunity for US Fulbright Masters and postdoctoral scholars across the UK and we were delighted to host this event in Southampton in 2019. This year’s theme of ‘Connected Oceans’ builds on Southampton’s position as the UK’s maritime city, the geographical importance of the Solent historically, politically and commercially, as well as the University’s contribution to world-leading research through the National Oceanography Centre and the Southampton Marine and Maritime Institute.”
The Forum gave Fulbright scholars an opportunity to enjoy a mix of interactive workshops, cultural visits and talks from leading academics from across the University of Southampton, all connected by the maritime theme. During the course of the event, Scholars visited Southampton’s Waterfront Campus at the National Oceanography Centre, spent the day exploring the UK’s naval past at the Naval Dockyards in Portsmouth, and engaged in a climate change debate hosted by the Southampton Marine and Maritime Institute.
One Scholar shared: “The oceanographic focus at Southampton is dynamic in its interdisciplinary breadth and its attention to contextualising the present in terms of our past and potential futures.”
Director of Fulbright programmes, Amy Moore, reflected on the Forum: “The University of Southampton put on a fantastic schedule of sessions, and we all quickly became enthralled by oceanography, innovative approaches to understanding climate change, work of the WorldPop program, marine robotics, pirates and more! It was a real treat visiting the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard and enjoying a private viewing of the John Hansard Art gallery. Perhaps the nicest thing about the conference though, was the warm reception we received from everyone at University of Southampton, including all of the experts who delivered presentations, who went above and beyond to interact with our Fulbright scholars.”
Every year the University of Southampton partners with the US-UK Fulbright Commission to offer one fully funded masters scholarship for a top US applicant. Applications for scholarships commencing in September 2020 open in April 2019.
