Dr Jeneen Naji, Department of Media Studies has received a Fulbright Award along with 39 other Irish Fulbright Awardees at a recent event in the US Ambassador’s Residence. Dr Naji is the Digital Media Programme Coordinator in the Department of Media Studies at Maynooth University. As a Fulbright TechImpact Scholar, Jeneen will be visiting Brown University in Providence,Rhode Island. She will be based in the department of Literary Arts in order to make a multicultural digital poem in their immersive 3D CAVE.
Since 1957, the Fulbright Awards are given annually by the Irish and U.S. governments and provide Irish students, scholars, and professionals with the opportunity to study, lecture, and research at top universities and institutions throughout the United States.
Patrick McDermott, Chair of the Fulbright Commission Board, commented: “The breadth and diversity of specialist knowledge, combined with immense leadership ability, makes this contingent an incredibly powerful group of representatives for Ireland. Each individual has overcome a rigorous selection process where research and study objectives were judged based on their potential to drive the Irish knowledge economy."
“However, their mission extends even beyond academia. Fulbrighters are recognized for their capacity to forge meaningful collaborations between Ireland and the US. This element of inter-country collaboration is crucial to driving creativity which is at the core of all innovation and Fulbright itself."
“Recognising global needs in digital technology, the Irish Fulbright Commission has also launched the TechImpact Awards this year. These are new short-term grants intended to facilitate faster movement for cutting edge digital research. This year six TechImpact candidates will explore areas such as optical communications, online laboratory environments, human-computer interaction technology and digital humanities.”