The Fulbright Visiting Scholar Program is an international program to promote international exchange of knowledge and cultures. It provides lecturers from different countries with an opportunity to gain new experience in teaching and research at American universities. In 2024-2025, 10 scholars from Ukraine were awarded Fulbright scholarships. Two of them belong to SumDU.

We talked to one of the fellows, Natalia Letunovska (DSc in Economics, associate professor of the Marketing Department), about her impressions.

Please tell us more about the Fulbright Visiting Scholar Program.

This program is aimed at supporting scholars from different countries to conduct their research at US universities and research centers. You can gain new foreign experience and familiarize yourself with the socio-cultural life of the United States.

What did you do when you applied for the Fulbright Program?

The idea of applying for the Fulbright Visiting Scholar Program came to me quite spontaneously. I was sitting in my room on a rainy day during my summer internship at the University of Liverpool.

I already had general ideas about my future research proposal after visiting the behavioral laboratories at the University of Liverpool. After talking to my colleagues there, I decided that I would work on behavioral aspects of healthy eating.

In the first days after returning from my internship to Ukraine, I wrote an application. So, I can say that it was my internship in Liverpool that gave me an impact to participate and win the Fulbright Visiting Scholar Program.

How did the selection process go?

Selection for the program takes place in two stages. At the first stage, written applications from participants are evaluated by experts from different countries. Only if the research proposal is approved by all experts, the participant is admitted to the next stage of the competition. It is an interview where the applicant communicates with the committee about specifics of his/her research, available experience, what results he/she seeks to achieve during the internship, etc. After the interview, the jury makes the final decision on the list of winners.

How did you react when you found out you had won?

I called my parents, and only then I did realize that I had actually won and what opportunities were opening up for me.

Where are you now and how long will your internship last?

I am currently in State College, Pennsylvania. Yes, yes, that is right. It is a town on the map. And it is not the name of an educational institution. My host university in the United States is Pennsylvania State University (Penn State), whose campus is called University Park. My internship lasts three months.

What are your first impressions in America?

I am on a university campus, so there is a lot of life here. It is also a very international city, where I met many people from other countries. Of course, there were Ukrainians as well. It is interesting that here at State College, there is a charitable organization called Sister’s Sister, which was founded to support Ukraine.

Americans are friendly, open to cooperation and sharing their academic and scientific experience. As a health researcher, I am pleased to see that people here at the local level care about health, proper nutrition. They support physical activity. Of course, if a person is willing to do so.

What do you do during your internship?

The first internship month was full of events: meetings, lectures, study tours, etc. In October, I have an opportunity to focus on conducting my research at the College of Health and Human Development of the School of Hospitality Management. I attend courses that interest me most of all.

What are your plans for future after completing your internship?

To develop the SumDU behavioral laboratory, to continue my research in the chosen field via neurotechnologies. I have a new course for graduate students in the spring semester called “Neuroscience in Marketing”. I want to incorporate the experience and knowledge gained in the United States.

What advice would you give to those who are planning to participate in this program?

Believe in yourself. Write an application, no matter how it sounds. Make sure that your passion for the field you are working in is transferred to the experts who will read your research proposal.

This interview structure lets you not only learn about experience of lectures who are on internships in the United States. You may also understand how this experience can affect the educational process in their home countries.

Interviewer: Anna Mytrofanova (group ZHT.mz-31s).

Notes: SumDU members who are Fulbright scholars of different years share their impressions of participating in video records:

Tetiana Pimonenko:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mV0Gt3xapwA&list=PLkCaxWwwBI26JmRaxL7Pkui8f_fMNlGky&index=18

Tetiana Marynych:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfF4O5TW99Y&list=PLkCaxWwwBI26JmRaxL7Pkui8f_fMNlGky&index=14

Hanna Shvindina:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-r0HAOoSvk&list=PLkCaxWwwBI26JmRaxL7Pkui8f_fMNlGky&index=20