NEWS AND VIEWS: First Fulbright students go to Ukraine (11/12/00)

NEWS AND VIEWS

First Fulbright students go to Ukraine

by Larysa Szanc Smarsh

Beginning this year, the U.S. government's flagship international exchange program, the Fulbright Program, will include grants to support student study and research in Ukraine.

Established in 1946 through legislation passed unanimously by the U.S. Congress, the Fulbright Program has provided scholarships enabling U.S. citizens to study or conduct research in over 100 countries around the world. The program is named in honor of former Sen. J. William Fulbright who, in the period immediately following World War II, envisioned promoting mutual understanding among nations as a means of helping prevent further armed conflicts. What has emerged from Sen. Fulbright's vision is a program designed to provide Americans with the opportunity to travel to other countries, interact with people of other nations, and observe and thus better understand foreign institutions, traditions and societies.

Fulbright participants are expected to gain insight into a foreign culture and develop an expertise that will be useful in today's internationally interdependent world. The program also brings citizens of other countries to the United States to gain a better understanding of America.

The Fulbright mission encompasses a variety of programs, including the Fulbright Student Program, which offers fellowships to U.S. graduate students for study and research abroad, and brings foreign students to the United States; the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program, which sends American scholars and professionals to foreign countries where they lecture or conduct research; and the Fulbright Visiting Scholar Program, which awards grants to foreign scholars to lecture or conduct research at U.S. institutions. While this is the first year that grants have been made available to support the research efforts of American students in Ukraine, the Fulbright Scholar Program has been active in Ukraine for several years, bringing academics and professionals from across the United States to Ukraine to lecture and conduct research at various Ukrainian institutions.

The Fulbright Student Program targets recent B.S./B.A. graduates, master's and doctoral candidates, and young professionals and artists. Projects that may be supported by Fulbright grants include university coursework, independent library or field research, classes in a music conservatory or art school, special projects in the social sciences or life sciences. Students are expected to plan their own programs and should be prepared to work independently.

This year's competition for awards to Ukraine was open to all fields of study. The projects selected confirm Ukraine's rich history and culture: "The Return of Soviet Power to Kyiv, 1943- 1946"; "Ethnopolitics in Ukraine's Regions"; "Ukraine's Formation of National Identity in Foreign Policy Towards Russia"; "Images of Monastic Resurgence in Ukraine" (a photographic study); and "Ukraine's Emerging Business Values."

Of the five Fulbright students going to Ukraine this year, two are of ethnic Ukrainian background and three others have developed an interest in Ukrainian studies and a competence in the Ukrainian language as a result of their academic pursuits or through their experiences traveling in the region. Grantees are affiliated with institutions in Kyiv, Lviv and Uzhhorod, and one student will be traveling accross the country.

Most Fulbright grants are for a period of 10 months and provide funds for airfare, a research or tuition allowance and a monthly living stipend based on the cost of living in the host country. A pre-departure orientation program is also subsidized for certain world areas, and limited health insurance is provided for the duration of the grant.

Students who would like to apply for a Fulbright grant must complete an official application booklet, which includes a detailed proposal of the project they intend to carry out and a personal essay. Foreign language proficiency sufficient to complete the proposed project is almost always required at the time of application. Competition for Fulbright grants varies by country and depends on the number of awards available to a country, as well as the number of applications received.

The Fulbright Student Programs are administered by the Institute of International Education (IIE) in New York. More information about the program may be obtained on IIE's website at www.iie.org or by calling (212) 984-5326.

The Fulbright Scholars Programs are managed by IIE through the Council for International Exchange of Scholars (CIES) in Washington. Further information may be found at www.cies.org or by calling (202) 686-4000.

A Fulbright grant

The addition of Ukraine to the roster of Fulbright Student Programs, provides an unparalleled opportunity for students interested in issues or topics related to Ukraine, to pursue their research and to do so under the auspices of an internationally respected academic organization.

I am fortunate to be among the inaugural group of Fulbright students to Ukraine. I graduated from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, with a B.S. in accounting in 1999 and a B.A. in international studies in May 2000. A dean at the university told me of this Fulbright opportunity when it first became available, in late March.

As an undergraduate, I completed an independent project about changes to accounting policy being adopted in Ukraine, and contributed to research being conducted into socio-economic influences on voting behavior in Ukraine and in Russia. The project proposal I submitted to the Fulbright Committee is titled "Emerging Ukrainian Business Values: Developing a Partnership with Western Enterprise." Using the Fulbright grant I intend to study how Ukraine is integrating Western norms into its own business practices. Specifically, I will focus on changes in accounting policy initiated to address needs in a competitive market; challenges encountered by foreign investors in adapting to the Ukrainian business environment; and challenges faced by Ukrainian entrepreneurs in establishing business relationships with foreign partners.

Members of the Ukrainian diaspora who are active in the community in Cleveland, were integral to my efforts in preparing a feasible project and successful application. They provided me with contacts in Ukraine whose work is relevant to my area of research. I am very grateful for their assistance.

On a professional level, I have a unique opportunity that I have no doubt will be challenging, and carries the potential to be very rewarding. On a personal level, I will have time to get to know my family in Ukraine: the people whose letters I have read and whose pictures I have seen, but whom I have never met.

My grandparents would have been surprised to learn that I will be spending a year in Ukraine, just a generation after they fled the country. In truth, during the 14 years of Saturdays in Ukrainian school, I never once thought I would be doing this.

The Fulbright mission is to "increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries." To encourage entrepreneurs and economic growth, viable trade relations that would bring Ukrainian products to new markets must be forged.

Achieving a form of interpretability with Western business practices is key to strengthening the Ukrainian economy. Using this Fulbright grant, I hope to contribute strategies for establishing these kinds of relationships.

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