This month, we see the Festival of Fulbright come to a close with a final event at the US Embassy on 8th May. In this piece, Dr Arlene Holmes-Henderson gives a wonderful insight into the festival that all began at Durham earlier this year.
In February 2024, I had the absolute pleasure of hosting the Festival of Fulbright, celebrating a wonderful partnership between the US and UK, and helping students and academics to experience new cultures and opportunities.
Fulbright is an international educational and cultural exchange programme. Since 1948, Fulbright Awards have funded American and British students to do a postgraduate degree or research to cross the Atlantic. They have also funded American and British scholars—and mid-career professionals— to do research or teach in each other’s country. To date, over 25,000 postgraduate students and academics have benefitted. Fulbright’s mission is to advance knowledge, promote civic engagement and develop compassionate leaders through educational exchange between the peoples of the US and the UK.
Celebrating Fulbright
Working together with some of my Fulbright Alumni Council colleagues, we successfully bid for, and received, a grant from the US State Department to host the Festival of Fulbright. As a ‘Fulbrighter’ myself, it was a real honour to welcome delegates from the Fulbright Commission and the US Embassy to Durham. It was fantastic to engage with alumni from across the country and promote and amplify the opportunities available via Fulbright to undergraduate students, postgraduate students, and members of the academic community not just from Durham but from our sister universities across the North East of England.
As part of the festival, we were able to show what a wonderful place our city is to live and learn, demonstrating the opportunities that the region presents while promoting the links between the North East and North America, of which there are already many.
Collaboration
The festival was really well attended with representatives from the US State Department, the UK’s Department for Education and HM Treasury. Business leaders from prominent organisations including Lockheed Martin Space UK, AtkinsRéalis, and the Darlington Economic Campus attended alongside The 93% club, The Brilliant Club, Smart Cities Forum and the Marshall Aid Commemoration Commission.
Many colleagues from across the University celebrated with us too, including the Vice-Chancellor and Warden, the Pro-Vice Chancellor (Global) and Associate Pro Vice-Chancellor (Development and Engagement), as we welcomed current Fulbright awardees and alumni from across our region, industry partners and the MP for Sedgefield, Paul Howell.
Durham was the first venue of a trio, followed by De Montfort University in Leicester and the final Festival of Fulbright event will be hosted by the US Embassy in May.
These partnerships are so important to us all. Whether you’re a student looking to experience a different culture for living and learning, an academic with a passion for sharing knowledge and inspiring change-makers of the future or a businessperson looking to learn from new markets. By working together, I’ve seen how much more can be achieved. It was great to hear from the Head of the Economic Campus in Darlington who shared thoughts on the importance of cultivating connections at the educational and cultural level between the UK and the US.
Where do we go from here?
We want more Fulbrighters! We want to encourage more students and academics to come to Durham, and not just to Durham, but to the North East of England to experience all it has to offer. From a world top 100 university in Durham and centres of innovation excellence, to historic places to visit, and a friendly and welcoming culture we really do have a remarkable offer for students from around the globe.
And we also want people from the North East to experience all the US has to offer too. I hope, as a direct result of this event that the Fulbright Commission has a wider pool of applicants for these prestigious scholarships, and we see more people from our region going over to the US and having a transformative life experience.
During my own time as a Fulbrighter, I was lucky enough to join the University of Hawaii as a Visiting Professor. I was able to teach in new ways, in a completely different environment while showcasing and sharing some of the traditions of home. From surfing at Waikiki to addressing the Haggis at a Burns Night Supper!
Our event brought people together whose paths would not normally converge. It will be exciting to see these conversations continue with all partners thinking about ways to collaborate to make things better. For example, our US colleague from Rutgers, spoke with us from Newark, New Jersey about how private companies can make donations that widen access to Higher Education for people from underrepresented groups. Imagine what we can achieve if this conversation develops to allow us to remove barriers which currently exist.
I can’t wait to see what happens next. The future is bright, with Fulbright.
Find out more
Durham’s work with the Fulbright Commission
Watch our Festival of Fulbright video
The Fulbright Commission
Supporting the next generation through oracy development
Arts and Humanities research informing policy: Arlene Holmes-Henderson
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